Staff Reporter
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration, which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of Vision 2030, will intensify its oversight functions, after a review of Namibia’s industrial policies revealed that the realisation of Vision 2030 has been significantly hampered by several challenges.
Natangue Ithete, the Chairperson of the Committee, said this after the Committee completed a four-day training workshop to gain an in-depth understanding of Vision 2030. The workshop took place from 29 August to 1 September.
“A key element of the Vision 2030 is to make Namibia an industrial nation. The industrialisation agenda is even more critical now with the world transition into new technology. Vision 2030 is considered a process rather than fixed plan, making it an adaptive, dynamic system or process that can continuously improve,” he explained.
Ithete said that the committee identified a number of factors that hamper industrialisation and trade enhancement in the country. These factors include, but are not limited to, the country’s declining economic competitive ranking, outdated laws and regulations, a lack of forward and backward linkages between economic sectors and fragmented business support systems.
“We were informed that the implementation challenges were partly the result of the slow down and stagnated economy since 2015,” he added.
He went on to highlight that industrialisation requires the production of quality human resource, which is why the disparity between urban and rural schools also need urgent resolution.
In this regard, he said, there is a need to chart an inclusive growth agenda. He added that for inclusiveness to be operationalised, the country’s education and development systems need substantial overhaul, particularly vocational and technical training.
To further minimise the rural-urban dichotomy, Ithete explained, there is also a need for the government to improve and capacitate Small-and-Medium Enterprise (SME) development. He emphasised the importance of this by emphasising that the informal sector has made many economies flourish.
“The Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration will intensify and prioritise its oversight functions with a view to fulfilling its mandate of parliamentary supervision of Ministry of Finance, National Planning Commission, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Works and Transport and all the State-Owned Enterprises reporting to these Office and Ministries as a way of contributing its quota to the national industrialisation agenda,” he said.
File photo for illustrative purposes only.
