Albertina Nakale
WINDHOEK – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Coordinator for Namibia, Kiki Gbeho, yesterday bade President Hage Geingob farewell, as she leaves for her next assignment in Darfur.
Last month, the UN Secretary General António Guterres and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, announced that Gbeho is the new Deputy Joint Special Representative for the hybrid UN-AU operation in Darfur.
Gbeho reflected on her stay in Namibia saying she had to hit the ground running and start work on government-aligned programmes such as poverty alleviation.
“It’s been a short time but we have achieved a lot. We worked on the NDP5 [the firth National Development Plan] with the ministry. We worked on the poverty blueprint and the poverty conference. We worked on programmes to mobilise global funds for HIV/AIDS and the global environment fund. We brought tens of millions of dollars to Namibia,” she noted.
President Geingob, who wished her well in her next assignment, applauded her for having actively engaged within Namibian communities during her tenure.
She applauded Namibia for its good governance and also said the country has the “fastest reductions in poverty on the continent.”“We are saying Namibia needs to address its last mile challenge, which perhaps is the most difficult challenge of all,” she said.
Gbeho is optimistic that Namibia will win the war against poverty come 2025.
She also said the UN framework is now fully aligned with Namibia’s development strategy, where they are using the same pillar names as those in the NDP5. Gbeho has served in Namibia since 2015 supporting the government with the coordination of external development assistance through the UN partnership and development frameworks.