By Kuvee Kangueehi
Windhoek
The Central Committee, in its report to the 4th Swapo Party Congress, warned that the rate of unemployment in the country is too high and could lead to social unrest.
The report prepared by the Central Committee to review the implementation of previous congress resolutions and performance of the Government noted that although a reduction in poverty has been witnessed over the period under review, unemployment increased from 35 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2005. It says economic growth in the country has not created sufficient jobs to absorb the labour force.
Swapo Party Secretary General, Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, presented the report.
The report attributed the situation to the fact that most of the growth in the economy emanated from capital-intensive sectors.
The report recommended that in order to increase employment in remote rural areas, agricultural extension services should be stepped up to enhance the productivity of communal farmers.
It says the conversion of the land tenure system in communal areas to freehold could, in the long run, transform those areas from subsistence to commercial farming, which could result in increased productivity in those areas.
Recommendations were made that irrigation schemes, such as those envisaged in the Green Scheme, as well as Aqua Culture Projects, be prioritised.
The report noted that significant progress has been made in many areas regarding the implementation of the resolutions of the 3rd Swapo Party Congress as well as the actions emanating from the National Poverty Reduction Action Plan.
However, despite the successful implementation, it has also been observed that progress has not been satisfactory in certain areas.
The report states that the overall reports received from various ministries and offices fairly addressed the issues that were agreed by the party and some ministries have adequately addressed specific resolutions. Others, however, outlined in general their overall mandates and programmes without focusing on congress directives.
The report urged ministries to provide focused feedback on the implementation of the resolutions of the previous congress in future.
It was also found that most reports from the ministries lacked statistical information, which is crucial to highlighting the outcome of the various programmes and projects undertaken to implement congress resolutions.
The ministerial reports also failed to demonstrate any changes in status during the period under review.
The Central Committee says limited financial resources were cited as the major constraint to effective implementation of congress resolutions and mandates assigned to the various agencies of Government.
The report also observed that the implementation capacity in a number of ministries and offices was inadequate.
For the better part of yesterday, the congress delibe-rated on the Central Committee report and was expected to review the Prime Minister’s report in the afternoon. The congress was also expected to hold elections for the top four positions of the Swapo Party late last night.
The three-day gathering ends tomorrow.
The party will hold a public rally in the capital at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday.