WINDHOEK- President Hage Geingob and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa had a private conversation on the margins of the launch of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work of the report in Durban last week.
This was revealed by Presidential Press Secretary, Dr Alfredo Hengari in a press statement on Saturday, saying the two heads of states discussed matters of mutual concern in the Namibia-South Africa bilateral relationship, including the Sadc region and Africa. Geingob who is also the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) was in Durban on three-days working visit at the invitation of his counterpart for the launch of the ILO Report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work.
Geingob according to Hengari delivered a statement alongside the Co-Chair of the ILO Report of the Global Commission on the Future Work Ramaphosa and IOL Director General Guy Ryder.
The Report, Hengari said the first to be launched outside Europe, and part of the Centenary Celebrations of the founding of the International Labour Organization seeks to understand how a better future of work can be guaranteed at a time when the world is going through shifts in the nature of work and employment.
Welcoming the report on behalf of Sadc, Hengari said, Geingob said: “As we celebrate the ILO centenary this year, we pay tribute to this esteemed organization, which has remained resolute in advancing the notion that people should be at the center of real progress in modern day global society. The Sadc region solemnly identifies with this ideal and as such, fully lends its support to the present report, which is anchored on the proposition of a human-centered agenda for the future of work.”
He said Geingob further emphasised: “As Sadc continues to implement the Sadc Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063), which is premised on transformative and structural changes of economies with the goal of having innovation driven economies by 2063, the key elements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will need to feature prominently in our implementation strategies and programmes”.
According to Hengari, Geingob said the region focus will be on strengthening growth drivers linked to the potential of priority value chains, particularly agro-processing, mineral beneficiation and pharmaceuticals. Key enablers in this regard have been identified as Energy, Intellectual Property Rights, Skills, Information and Communication Technologies and private sector investments.
“With respect to all these dimensions, Sadc is currently in the process of developing a regional strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and I have no doubt that the Global Commission’s report will be a valuable reference,” Hengari quoted the President as to have said.