Windhoek
During a special ‘Talk of the Nation’ programme on the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reflecting on President Hage Geingob’s first year in office, panellists noted his war on poverty is multifaceted and does not only hinge on the provision of food, but also on policies such as increased transparency and investment in human capital.
Last Thursday’s broadcast, which was presented by NBC’s Ricardo Gaogoseb, included Emma Muteka (SPYL), Advocate Bience Gawanas (former AU commissioner, and current special advisor to the minister of health), Uazuva Kaumbi (social commentator) and Professor Nico Horn (political analyst).
Soon after he was sworn in, in March 2015, President Geingob emphasised it will not be business as usual in the country. Along with the first lady, Monica Geingos, Geingob took the unprecedented step to declare his assets, which in turn set the tone for transparency that has since become one of the cornerstones for governance in the country.
In addition, the war on poverty has become the Geingob administration’s rallying cry.
“Like the president said, people don’t eat transparency. The war on poverty is multifaceted. The transparency displayed by the president paved the way for other policies to fuel the war on poverty,” said Kaumbi.
“We never saw the connection between health and poverty eradication. Now the end game is that every sector should contribute to a good governance system that will ultimately lead to poverty eradication,” said Gawanas.
“Without the president explicitly saying so, the fight against corruption has also been kicked up a notch. This is evident when you look at the reduction in spending and travelling,” said Professor Horn.
“You can’t eradicate poverty without investing in people. We need to build people’s capabilities to signify their lives. Our priorities have to be right. We need proper plans and targets and our economic growth relies on human capital, which we need to build,” added Gawanas.
Kaumbi added that every aspect of the president’s policies is about unity coupled with prosperity, while Gawanas emphasised Geingob’s symbol of the Namibian nation as a house bringing people of all walks of life together.
“We are now more aware of, and open to, discuss issues of poverty. The pension increase should not be taken lightly as it has a ripple effect across many spheres of society,” noted Gawanas.
She was referring to old age pensions which increased from N$600 to N$1 000 last year, this year increased to N$1100 and which is expected to increase even further to N$1 200 in 2017.
SPYL’s Muteka said she was impressed by the bold war on poverty, which aimed not to reduce the number of poor people in the country but to totally eradicate poverty.
“The president is serious about the war on poverty,” said Kaumbi, while Gawanas pointed out that Namibians feel a sense of purpose.
“We can see we are sharing a common vision. Many people can relate to the clarion call by the president,” Gawanas noted.