By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK Reliance on a government grant-in-aid for its operational costs is one of the biggest risks to the National Theatre of Namibia. This became abundantly clear in a speech made on Tuesday by the general manager of the NTN, Werner Thaniseb, when he officially launched the year’s opening of the company. Various performing artists and other stakeholders attended the event. “The inadequate funding by government and the shrinking funds from international donors and the private sector have had an adverse effect on the performance of the NTN, but not to the extent that it has hindered the company meeting its national aims and objectives,” said Werner Thaniseb. He went on to urge the government to creatively engage in the arts and culture sector. “Such creative government funding should be linked to performance targets. Without government support we will still be talking about the same issues of art development sixteen years from now. We have to graduate from mere song and dance culture to people who can think critically, can write creatively and can participate in debates constructively through artistic expressions,” the NTN manager urged. At the same occasion, the company’s own website was also officially launched by the PRO, Johanna Nangula.