MIB Bulletin March 2008 - Namibian Government

8/7/2019 MIB Bulletin March 2008 - Namibian Government

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Govrnmnt Information Bulltin Marc 2008

Rpublic of Namibia

Govrnmnt Information

BulltinMarc 2008

IN ThIs Iss

ue All about Namibian

education tm

Pag 3-5

Mor stat hou

pictur

Pag 10-11

Namibia

@ 18: Rad

mor about

dvlopmnt

Progr

FREE/GRatis

Nw stat hou inauguratd

President Hikepunye Pohamba inaugurated the new State House in Auasblick, Windhoek, constructed and

furnished for under N$400 million during Namibia’s 18th Independence anniversary on 21 March 2008.



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Govrnmnt Information Bulltin: Publiciing GovrnmntThe Government Information Bulletin was

established through Cabinet Decision Number

13th/04.07.06/002 as an ofcial information

bulletin to publicise the Government’s

programmes, policies and activities for the

benet of Government institutions and theNamibian public. All Government institutions

contribute towards the Bulletin. The

Government Information Bulletin is published

monthly by the Ministry of Information

and Broadcasting. To meet the specic

information needs of communities, the public

is invited to send comments and suggestions

on Government projects, programmes

and policies, which will then be covered in

the Bulletin. More Government news and

information can also be accessed on the GRN

News button on the Government Internet siteat www.grnnet.gov.na

Prve Bg 13344, Windhoek,

telephone 061 x 2839111,

Fx 061 x 230170,

E-ml [email protected].

The Bulletin is distributed free of charge to rural

communities through the Ministry’s different

regional ofces.

The public and organisations are welcome

to subscribe to the Bulletin, but mailing costswill be for the account of the subscriber.

Degn DV8 Saatchi & Saatchi,

Windhoek.

Lyou Solitaire Press, Windhoek.

nd prnng

Nmb 18 yer old. this the age signicant to theright passage from childhoodto maturity according to theNamibian Constitution, Article17 (2), which states that every

citizen who has reached the ageof egheen yer hll hve hergh o voe. th men hNmb h ped or grownfrom newly ndependencountry into nationhood.

A t this age Namibia has come toan end of a stage of searching

for self-identity and is stepping intoan era of self-knowledge, an era in which Namibians will apply theirexperience in creating strategic plans to ensure the provision of quality care, success and protability in socio-economic, political andcultural areas.

This is the era that Namibians should plan to succeed over socialevils of hunger, ignorance, diseases and vicious circles of poverty.The use of the rich experience accumulated through the nationalliberation struggle and the seventeen years of independence will nowlead the nation into a prosperous country. A push towards systematicand successful planning, implementation and achievements of national goals will promise scores of prosperity, as a result of theapplications of new visions, great values, morals, luminous spirit of peace, democracy, harmony, stability, unity of purpose and tolerance.These values will promote and encourage lurid economic growthand prosperity. Namibians must have learned enough from theirexperience in the seventeen years of independence the importance of a sense of hard-work. It is only through hard-work that productivityis maximised to improve earnings to uplift the living standards of our

people promised in the goals of Vision 2030.

Now that the youth have role models of leadership, born out of independence and freedom from slavery, they will have faith in theirwork, socio-economic, political and cultural systems, determinedto achieve the national goals of wealth creation. When the seedsof prosperity are planted in the minds of the all citizens, in theirwill and emotions, the country will eventually produce a greateconomic harvest. Namibians should intensify the ght againstHIV/AIDS with the aim to create an HIV/AIDS free generation forour country to survive and have a future. We must intensify andimprove interventions by holistically work to stop the further spreadof the disease. The government is doing its part in providing freeAnti-retroviral drugs, efforts which have so far given hope of life inour society.

The nation is expected to participate in the education of theirchildren, supporting the Ministry of Education to achieve its goals.Read more in this edition about the government’s developmentachievements in the past year.

ContntNew se houe nugured............................................ 1

From he dek of Mner.................................................. 2

Education system Namibianised........................................ 3

There has never been automatic promotion in

Namibian schools............................................................... 3

The role of NAMCOL in the education sector...................... 4

Is Namibia reaching the goal of ICT?................................. 4

Education wisdom – hear it from the horse’s mouth......... 4

ETSIP to make a difference in the Namibian

education system............................................................... 5

“solder re workng hrd nd no only eng nd

sleeping,” says Defence Minister....................................... 6

NDF to recruit only top graduates in the army.................. 6

ter of dne nd joy: ory of HiV/aiDs

pandemic in Namibia.......................................................... 7

What is TESEF?................................................................... 8

State House in pictures................................................ 10-11

se Houe: Generl informon..................................... 12

Mineral exploitation in Namibia................................... 13-14

tougher dy hed: shor nd long-erm

measures to power the nation........................................... 16

if whe were Gold: Ol exploron n Nmb

wll brng unhne............................................................. 17

Gender Equly progreng n Nmb............................ 18

Hon. Muorw on Culure................................................... 19

Assist the youth to understand the world.......................... 20

From t Dk of t Minitr

Hon. N. Nandi-Ndaitwah



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Tr a nvr bn automatic promotion in

Namibian coolBy Klen Hylw

education tm NamibianidBy Klen Hylw

In the determination to establish an educationsystem which has meaning to the Namibian

nation, its culture and heritage, people and

ecology and scientic space, the Ministry of Education has set a ball rolling to implementan improved and quality education system.

The Minister of Education, Hon. NangoloMbumba will, for sometime from now on,engage his management teams to see how toimprove professional training programmes andthe enrollment of as many learners as possible.The Ministry wants to nd out which subjectsmust be a primary concern for all learners whodid not get good marks in grade ten. This is tomake sure they improve their marks to be ableto proceed to the next grades like all the otherchildren.

It all started when a new education system wasimplemented by the Ministry of Education afterdropping the cambridge education system,the HIGCE and IGCE. Now a new Namibianeducation system is being implementedwith changes and differences visible in theexamination system. The new system seeksto reect the Namibian realities which thestudents would be comfortable with. Forinstance, questions for the examination willrather ask what distance is between Windhoek and Otjiwarongo rather than ask for thedistance between London and Cambridge.

Mathematics would be considered generallyuniversal and will still use kilometres asmeasurement of distances. The idea is only tolocalise or Namibianise the subjects as muchas possible without lowering or watering the

system down. The difference between theprevious education system and the new onehas already been marked in the outcome of the

2007 examination. The Ministry of Educationindicated that quality was noted and assuredthrough strict control and marking.

However, there is still a link between theNamibian and the Cambridge examinationsystem. The Cambridge system will continueto be bench-marked on the local examinationsystem to ensure that the new system isinternationally recognised. The aim is to makeit possible for learners to enroll at higherlearning institutions in Namibia, South Africanand other universities within the SADC regionand abroad.

After President Pohamba came to power in2005 he was unhappy that children could notnd places in grades one, eight and eleven. Onthe bases of President Pohamba’s concern andthe Namibians’ outcry for change, the Ministryfound it appropriate to do something to changethe previous education system and introducelocal examination arrangements.

Access to education has increased and alllearners are now proceeding to the nextgrades, depending on the continuousmonitoring by the teachers and schools thelearners are going to. There will be no general

continuous examination in grades one to eightas would have been the case.

Grade eight will be the check point for thelearners moving through from grade one.

It is in grade eight that learners’ ability andcapacity will be measured as to whetherthey would be ready or not to proceed to

the next grade. Grade ten will be the nationalexamination point and kids will be competingwith the best students in the best schools. Forinstance, a child in Okongo will be competingwith a child in Oshakati and a child in Oshakatiwill be competing with a child in Tsumeb.A child in Tsumeb will be competing with achild in Rundu, Katima Mulilo and Windhoek,Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Keetmanshoop.

This is considered to be a major challengebecause not all the schools are equippedequally with books or have capable principalswho would be providing leadership or teachersin Mathematics and English. Again, the

Namibian communities do not speak the samemother tongues. The Ministry of Education isaware and understands the challenge thatfor learners to become uent in the Englishlanguage at this level is not easy.

The system is open to all but it is not at thesame level. Other constrains hampering theeducation system are human and nancialresources, software, books, computers,dictionaries and reference materials.

The Minister of Education, Hon. NangoloMbumba made it clear that there is no turning

point to the old system “because we do nothave the capacity to go back”. “We must makesure that we address this. As years come wewill gain more experience and will have moreresources,” he added.

Hon. Nangolo Mbumba

The Minister of Education, Hon. NangoloMbumba, denied that there has ever been

automatic promotion that is said to causefailures and low pass rates in schools. Hesaid that the promotion of young learners iswrongly interpreted because what is true isthat the promotion of a child to the next class isbased on her/his ability and capacity identiedin the class. The ability of the child is measuredby the existing and continues records in theclass. The responsibility is placed in the handsof the classroom teacher to monitor and assessprogress of the child. In this way the learningdifculties can be identied at the class level.“What we are saying is that we can identifythese children ahead of time to give themextra lessons in language, Mathematics andextra tutor,” the Minister explained. He saidthat teachers, school principals and inspectorsare also charged with the responsibility tocheck the home background of learners to

point out what difculties the children arefaced with. “Is this child loved, taken cared of or fed? Is the child having a medical history orhealth problem or any other problem or whyis the child is not passing?” the Minister saidof the role of teachers, principals and schoolinspectors.

Hon Mbumba said if this is not practiced inschools now, it is not a question of lack of human resources because no principal is havingfull time teaching period. “That is the reasonwhy they have to manage the schools. Andmanaging the schools does not mean sitting inthe principal’s ofce,” he asserted, emphasingthat principals and teachers ought to do theassessment of learners. “That is why we aresaying let us, wherever you are in the country,go to their neighbourhood schools so that, asa teacher, you can check on the background of

Continu on pag 5



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T rol of NAMCOL in t ducation ctorNAMCOL remains a government programme.It has a Director, Board of Directors andManagement. It gets money from thegovernment. NAMCOL was established tocater for learners who are above sixteen

years of age and students who need toimprove their marks in few subjects sothat they can move up to universities andcolleges. Unfortunately the negative publicperception, due to lack of understanding theobjectives of the institution, has sparked badpublicity.

Talking tough on the current situation of NAMCOL, Hon. Nangolo Mbumba, Ministerof Education said “we are not going to dropNAMCOL because we will not have any othersystem of replacing it with. Those who are

capable of utilising it, they can utilise it. Itwill be of assistance to adult learners.”

The Ministry is planning to address the issueof NAMCOl as soon as possible in terms

of issues concerning younger learners tohave face-to-face school The plan is not yetapproved but the programmes will assiststudents to either pass examinations or helpstudents who have passed with lower markswith emphasis on Mathematics and theEnglish language. The English language willbe emphasised because all students at anytechnical or high school levels must be ableto communicate uently and students needto understand mathematics and science andany other subjects they think are essential fortheir studies in business, including statistics.

“NAMCOl is a programme still to help us.There will always be adults who want tolearn and study something and go to otherprogrammes to become professionals.But we are also expanding the vocational

training. We want to improve and expandthe vocational training centres to learnhow to do things and if we know how todo something then you will not need to beemployed,” the Minister reiterated.

The Minister gave the assurance thateverything was practically going to beeffected. To start off, the Minister’s team,including all directors of education, all headsof vocational training centres and all headsof courses have met to design the roadmapto a better education for all.

I Namibia racing t goal of ICT?By Klen Hylw

One of the government’s priority aspectsis the Information Communication andTechnology (ICT). The Ministry of Educationis making all efforts to ensure the universalICT knowledge in the country. Unfortunately,there is still a lot to be done before adequatecomputers are distributed to most schoolsaround the country. Some of the challengesthat hinder the efforts are the lack of nancial resources, electricity distribution tosome schools, especially those in the ruralsettings. Technological know-how amongteaching staff is also one of the problemsslowing down the use of computers.

This is how the Minister of Education, Hon.Nangolo Mbumba put it: “the truth of thematter is that we do not have enoughcomputers. We don’t have enough trained

teachers on ICT, no enough schools withadequate facilities with electricity”.

To be able to teach ICT, there is a needto have ten, twelve or 24 computersin one classroom. Electricity has to beproperly coordinated by a person certiedby the Ministry of Works, Transport andCommunication.

The Ministry is waiting on the MWTC toprovide technical people to set in beforethe computers are installed at schools.Despite the fact that the private sector andNGOs have been training people, there areonly few teachers who are specialised onICT. There have been people of good will,internationally, who conduct and supporttraining on ICT. The Ministry of Education is

planning to make use of these skills to trainlearners while they are still young.

The Ministry is stepping up its efforts tobring technology closer to people. Teacherswho are now graduating are also beingtrained on ICT. The starting point is theteacher training on ICT because everyschool is expected to have a computer foradministrative purposes. The new systemwill ensure that all the school programmesand schedules will be programmed in thecomputer, including attendance and all therecords of learners and teachers will becomputerised

The use of computers has to go hand inhand with a functional maintenance systemand the details are being worked out.

education widom - ar it from t or’

moutthe followng re word of wdomfrom Hon. Nngolo Mbumb, Mnerof Education

“All I want us to understand is that educationis wealth. Education is valuable. Educationis important. And nothing that is valuable ischeap. It is not cheap for the government. Itis not cheap for our region. It is not cheapfor our families. It is not cheap for ourselves.We must put in the necessary time. We

must put intellectual power to succeed.The school cannot be the place where yougo and sit down. And you must go and sitdown because you want to learn. You wantto tap the knowledge of that teacher. Youwant to read every book in school or library.You even want to check other books in other

libraries. You want to talk to people to ask forinformation about your future and so on.”

“So as a country, we must not be too muchin a hurry so that things are done cheaplyfor us. We must be determined. We mustbe steadfast to make sure we succeed asindividuals, as a nation and as communities.We gained our independence throughtremendous sacrices.”

“We cannot get education which is equallyexpensive, cheaply. This is a tough countryto be in. Some times when the rain does notcome, you want to move away to the northor to the east. But when the rain comes,you are also under water. We must be readyto be survivors, to be determined, to be

disciplined people and to depend on ourown energy and efforts. And then be ableto support each other before we make anappeal to the outside for help. “

“Like in the Bible: “God helps those whohelp themselves”. We must be ready tohelp ourselves. The government is there.The government is willing. The Presidentis putting so much pressure on me to dosomething and deliver. And I am happy of a

President who supports me. The President isreally taking leadership in education. We arewilling to follow the lead of our President andwill overcome this question and query aboutgrade ten and unsuccessful learners. As wemove from here to there, we will learn as tohow the system is working. “



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eTsIP to mak a diffrnc in t Namibian

ducation tmThe Education and Training SectorImprovement Programme (ETSIP) is

considered to be the most important drivefor quality education in the Namibianeducation system. The current educationsystem wants to offer learners, teachers andprincipals the best. Once the Ministry getsthe money pledged at the 2006 educationconference, it will be able to implement itsprogrammes to ensure that learners havelearning materials. At least there will beone text book per four or ve learners.But because the Ministry has an ambitiousplan to improve Mathematics and Englishlanguage passes in schools, each learnermay have access to a book per child in thelong run.

The European Union (EU) will be the mainsource of funding for the ETSIP programmealthough there are various support effortsfrom within the country and abroad. Themoney will be used in improving classroomconditions at senior Secondary Schools andwill upgrade some of the schools for grades10 and 12. The continuous training of principals in management courses and theintroduction of computer literacy training in

the school system remain the principle policyprogtammes.

Hon. Nangolo Mbumba made it clear thatETSIP will make a difference becausethe Ministry will continue to improve theeducation system from grade one to gradetwelve and also to equip learners andstudents who want to enter colleges tobecome teachers, with knowledge, in termsof the subject matter they want to teach.The aim is to train teachers to understandthe mission and nature of their work.

The Ministry of Education is also aiming atimproving the local university and tertiaryeducation level. The efforts are also aimedat providing students with courses that willoffer them employment possibilities.

Families are urged to encourage theirchildren not to take the easy way out butto go to school to study the difcult things.“If you want to get a job do technicalsubjects. Get direction for what you want,be it teaching towards engineering, nancialmanagement,” Minister Mbumba advised,noting that everybody wants to study

politics nowadays. “You know that in eachconstituency you have only to elect one

council,” he warned.

The Ministry needs to introduce subjects tolearners that would guide and expose themto a variety of opportunities in life scienceelds such as marine biology. “We have theshery and a huge mining sector,” notedMinister Mbumba. He sees it important forstudents to venture into the energy sectorwhere electricity is running out, notingthat people with qualications in termsof electricity engineering and operationsin hydro, coal and nuclear would get jobopportunities. The education sector will haveto introduce those subjects to students,knowing that there will be employment.When introducing those subjects to learners,it will also be made clear as to whether thereare possibilities for employment. The systemwill create an opportunity that such subjectswill also be introduced to the parents.“Parents may be illiterate but they mayunderstand,” said Hon. Mbumba.

“Naturally, employment sectors arecontinuously changing. In terms of

these kids to know their families – even bynames and their social status,” the Ministerre-iterated. He stated that this performanceneeds extensive preparations, training andtrue commitment.

On whether principals, teachers andinspectors are checking on these values inschools, Hon. Mbumba said that it shouldbe a normal practice because every person

trained as a teacher is supposed to do it. “Itis part of the teacher’s training,” he added..“It is only that we are not exactly eitherdoing our work properly or somehow wehave forgotten or we have just assumedthat everything is ne, as long as I amteaching and there are no problems becausechildren are not ghting or crying, kickingor destroying windows, I am a teacher.” heobserved. He also added that “a teacherdoesn’t only count students when they arein class [because] they are your studentsuntil they pass and become adults,” said theMinister.

Letting children to continue their schoolingin the mainstream education when they turn21 years has been a concern for parents,arguing that some learners begin schoolat the age of seven due to their dates of birth and some of them would have failedone grade and by the time they are in grade

Tr a nvr bn automatic promotion inNamibian cool

Continu from pag 3

twelve they are over 21 years. Parents arguethat this cannot be their fault that they areover-age before they complete their school.

Minister Mbumba does not see the problemof overage children in school seventeen yearsafter independence. He acknowledged thatthere are still problems of over-aged learnersin specic places. “I have travelled betweenBagani and Rundu and it is the same thing

between Nkurenkuru and Okongo. If youlive in that area, the main thing is the milletelds and looking after the livestock. That isvery clear. In those communities – let thosecommunities apply for special programmes[for their children to be catered],” the Ministerdirected. He added that “we are not just goingby book. A child who is in Windhoek and whois nineteen or twenty one is a big person withall kinds of knowledge, tricks and moneyknowledge. “If you place that person withyounger children, girls and boys together youare creating a problem for the nation,” MinisterMbumba noted.

The Minister gave another example of thelearners he saw at Kandjimi school, in Rundu,who he said were “big” in relation to classesthey are attending. The Minister said thatthe age factor should better be left to theexperience of the local school principals,teachers, regional directors of education who

should know how to handle the situation.“If situations are complicated they cantelephone to Headquarters to see what canbe done,” said the Minister.

However, the Minister said that there is noreason to exclude anybody but that studentsshould be serious to go to school and not beone day in school and the next day absent.“If you come back to school and your age

is advanced, behave yourself please. Be afriend of that teacher and help the teacherso that he or she can help you pass all yourcourses. If you are fteen years old and youare in grade ve or six you would have beenin grade ten already. If you are bright andyou are willing to learn, you can do better,more than the kids because you know whatis best for you and you know that you are notgoing to be in school for long,” the Ministersaid.

The Minister said that a learner can be inschool for as long as the community feels

they deserve to be there. “Communities arewilling to help. We can also organise ourthings. I went to University when I was about24. So we know the background. We knowthe condition. But learners must be willingto work hard. Our families or associations,political parties and churches must be willingto support,” advised the Minister.

Continu on pag 9



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by assisting the Namibian Police (NAMPOL)and other agencies. Members of the defenceforce only participate in these activities whenthey are called upon to assist. For instance theyhave been assisting the Police to curb crime andviolence during festive seasons and holidays byhelping in manning road blocks whenever thePolice needs to re-enforce its capacity.

Now that the Namibian Police has strengthenedits ranks and have adequate capacity to ghtcrime, NDF is rarely requested to assist.

Soldiers also take part in activities such asextinguishing res and assisting in the oodwater relief efforts. Although these activities arenot part of the soldiers’ tasks they participatewith the aim to contribute to the well being of communities..On the question that there is no war in Namibiaand the work of the soldiers may be limited,the Defence Minister retorted that it is easy tosay that there is no war in the country. He drewthe attention to the Oshiwambo saying that “aperson doesn’t go and get a dog to bark the

same night”. “You train. Soldiers are beingtrained constantly in anticipating to ght in war.You cannot say there is no war and thereforeyou don’t need to train,” said the Minister.

Responding to the suggestions advanced bysome members of the public that soldierscould be involved in benecial activities suchas working in development brigades and otheragricultural schemes which may provide theNamibian population with adequate food tocreate a food self-sufcient nation, the Ministernoted that the NDF can partially cultivate theland as a contribution to the development of the country. “We are running farms. But it is asecondary role. We cannot say because thereis no war in the country we must engage infarming,” the Defence Minister said, addingthat “if we want our soldiers to work on farmsbecause there is no war, then, if the war comesthere will only be farmers and not soldiers”.

A former Commander of the People’sLiberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), Major-General Namoloh observed that people failto understand that when people are recruitedin the army they have to undergo training indifferent disciplines, saying that the soldieris not only trained to shoot and kill but to

understand his responsibilities because hewould be handling dangerous weapons in hishands.

He explained that to train a soldier requiresa lot of energy as one soldier can be inpossession of a gun with one hundred andtwenty cartridges in its magazine. He addedthat care has to be taken to prevent a situationwhere a soldier might take an advantage of the gun in his possession. “If he takes theseone hundred cartridges and go on rampage toshoot to kill, it will cause a lot of damage,” theMinister added.

Continu on pag 15

The Minister of Defence, Major-General CharlesNamoloh has refuted allegations that membersof the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) donothing, except for eating and sleeping. Henoted that people only see soldiers and think that they are just in the bases doing nothing.“In every base there are duties to be performedand soldiers are assigned work. If you havelived a soldier’s life you would understand. Allthose who have not lived a soldier’s life theywill not understand. They will only say thatthe soldiers are only eating and sleeping,” theMinister said.

Soldiers attend classes and participate intraining programmes continuously, followingthe Defence Force’s annual work plan. “Thecapacity of soldiers is constantly built everyday,[by undertaking] their duties and operatingtheir equipment,” the Minister explained. Healso explained that even though the defenceforce service is 24 hours, it is not every soldierthat would be on duty for 24 hours becausethere are shifts. When other soldiers are onduty, others would be eating and those whohave been on duty would be replaced by others,adding that some of them would be released togo and do their shopping. “When people seethese soldiers around they think that the whole

army is walking about. It is not the case. TheMinistry of Defence issues training directivesand all the soldiers undergo training every year.Units work out their own programmes in termsof training of soldiers. So they do not just sitand eat,” he explained.

As an institution that is responsible for keepingpeace in the country, the Namibian DefenceForce (NDF) has been keeping up with itsobjectives and goals. Apart from its nationaland international responsibility, the NDF hasalso been participating in activities aimed atcombating crime and violence in the country

“soldir ar working ard and not onl at-

ing and lping” a Dfnc MinitrBy Klen Hylw

NDF to rcruit top graduat in t armIn the near future the Namibia DefenceForce (NDF) will recruit highly academicqualied people. This will be the priority ontop of the recruitment agenda of the Ministryof Defence. These are words of the Ministerof Defence, Major-General Charles Namoloh,in an interview with the GovernmentInformation Bulletin.

The Minister stated that “we will [only]

accept highly qualied people [in future] -those who will pass with distinction.” “Theywill be our rst priority,” Said the Minister..

The Minister was answering a question asto what contribution the Defence force ismaking in terms of research and scientic

technology for Namibia towards theattainment of Vision 2030.

He linked the contribution of any defenceforce in the world to research, scientictechnological development, education andskills training, saying it is the culture of society that inuence people’s performancein every sector, including the military.Noting that education play a greater role

in the development of any country, Hon,Namoloh said the role of the army in thedevelopment of countries in the world is thatpeople have set higher academic standardsand skills for the benet of their societies.He observed that this is contrary to thementality in Namibia that suggests that the

army should only consist of those who havefailed their grades at school. “Every childwho fails is supposed to come and seek employment in the defence force. And thishas been the trend in this country. All thosewho have failed their grades ten and twelvemust either go to the army or the NamibianPolice,” the Minister added. He wondered:“How do you expect to have highly qualiedand professional people to do research if you

only have failures?”

Hon. Namoloh is saddened by the fact thatpeople believe that it is right to recruit thosewho have not passed, reiterating that “this

Hon. Maj Gen (rtd) Charles Namoloh



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TeARs OF sADNess AND jOy: a tor of hIV/AIDs

Pandmic in NamibiaBy Klen Hylw

Dr. Richard Nchabi Kamwi

Namibians are saddened by the effects of thedisease that continue to challenge modernresearch on both preventative vaccine andcurable medicines. The HIV virus seems tochallenge mankind’s existence as it has so farsucceeded in beating scientic efforts to nda solution.

Namibia is one of the countries with the highestHIV prevalence in the world. Hon. Dr. RichardKamwi, Minister of the Ministry of Health andSocial Services (MoHSS) traces the trails andtribulations of the Namibian struggle againstthe killer disease. He talks of the challengesand success stories of the government’s efforts

to combat the virulent disease. At every step of the journey he sketches the tears of sadnessand joy of Namibians.

“Obviously, as you are aware, HIV/AIDS isthe government’s top priority programme. Interms of prevalence rate, the HIV infectionwas reported in this country in 1986 and theepidemic has been growing rapidly into 1990and the epic period was in 2002. In 2002,former Minister of Health and Social Services,Dr. Libertina Amathila and the team, sat downand said; “we cannot allow the people to die”.We heard from the World Health Organization

(WHO) and UNAIDS that treatment is doingwonders in other parts of the world. It isrolled out in USA, Uganda and Botswana.We too decided to put in place programmes,addressing the epidemic. And we have putin place the prevention of mother-to-childtransmission immediately. And then we putin place the ART, including the voluntarycounseling and testing to make sure thosewho are found to be positive and who meetthe requirements are put on treatment tosustain their lives, Dr. Kamwi began.”

“In 2001, Member States of the UnitedNations went to New York at the Special

General Assembly to address the HIV/AIDSpandemic and set themselves targets for theprevention of infection of mother-to-child andthe provision of the Anti- Retroviral (ARV)treatment for those who qualify. Namibia wasone of the countries that participated in thatmeeting. [It was agreed that] by 2005, somany people were to be put on treatment [inNamibia] and the women who were positivewould be on the prevention of transmissionof the disease from mother-to-child. Andthose who qualify for ARV were to be put ontreatment.”

“In 2006 the former Secretary-General, KoAnnan, invited Member States to go andreview HIV/AIDS programmes to see how farwe were in terms of the commitments set byourselves. I went there to listen to the reportof the UN Secretary-General. And I want totell you, without reservation, that my teamwhich accompanied me, as Minister of Health

and Social Services, and the Namibian civilsociety were behind me. We were all smiling.Why? According to the Secretary-General’sreport there were only three countrieswho met the commitments, here in Africa.Namibia, Botswana and Uganda were the onlycountries, who made it. And I want to tell you,this year around, we are going there. I don’twant to disclose where we are. My team isworking around the clock.”

Dr. Kamwi shared some of the success storiesthe country had made, starting by quoting aparagraph from an e-mail he received fromMr. Stephen Lewis, the former UN Secretary-General, Ko Annan’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa. “We are doing it,” he remarkedsmiling.

“Dear Richard, I really miss you myfriend. Our personal contacts werealways intermitted. But it’s been a sadlylong since our paths have crossed. I readof your work on regulr bss n thenews compendiums, and the way you

continue to handle the health portfolio,especially dealing with AIDS remainstruly mpressve.” Congrtultons.Lewis - (dated 10/02/08).

(Serious) “This does not mean that we shouldsit on, as they say take a back seat to saywe are doing well in Africa. Yes, challengesremain. What we are seeing is approximatelyfrom 1986 when it [HIV/AIDS] was [rst]reported [in the country], the prevalence ratewent up by 22 percent in 2002. “

MoHSS produces an HIV surveillance reportevery two years, as an indicator of HIV/AIDS

prevalence in the country. It is the collectionand analysis of data of blood samples frompregnant women attending selected anti-natal clinics throughout the country, using themethods recommended by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO). Namibia produces andpackages top quality condoms called “Smile”

- the only textured condoms produced in theSouthern African region with the support fromthe Global Fund and which the governmentpurchases for distribution to the public as asafer-sex measure. The condoms are said tobe on high demand. “We saw, for the rst time in 2004, a decline.We realised it started to decline to 19.9percent – what they term stabilisation. Butunfortunately by 2006, we had another plus.It went up by 0.2 percent. Towards the endof 2007 more than 195 000 people wereliving with HIV in Namibia. By March 2007,nine thousand four hundred women were on

ARV treatment, four thousand one hundredchildren needed ARV and a total of adultsneeding ARV was fty-two thousand vehundred. More than forty thousand people areon ARV. The efforts exceeded the target of 15000 people set to be put on ARV treatmentby having put forty thousand people on ARVtreatment. “We are doing well in this area,” Dr. Kamwi commented.

Dr. Kamwi said: “Since the introduction of ART from 2002 - 2008, we are now seeingthe number of HIV/AIDS patients and related[diseases] declining from the wards. This is

good news.” Reports show that Namibia isone of the few countries in Africa which hassucceeded in addressing HIV/AIDS infectiondue to ARV treatment that is made availablefree to everybody.

Dr. Kamwi noted: “If you recall, before 2002,you go to ward eight in Oshakati [hospital],you were seeing death. But this is not whatwe are seeing nowadays. Yes, the challengestill remains. There are those who come [fortreatment] late. Surely, they are dying. We arenot saying that there are no more deaths. No.Infection is still growing. But what I am sayingis that there is now a glimmer of hope because

there are fewer patients in the wards since theintroduction of ARV in our hospitals.”

Reports coming from different health regionsindicate that people on ARV treatment aregetting better and as a result stigma isalso reduced and people are accepted andsupported in their homes and communities.People are witnessing that patients who weregoing to the hospital on stretchers are gettingbetter, gaining weight with others resumingtheir work and going about their normal lives.

Nowadays, men are also volunteering to becounseled and tested for HIV/AIDS to be puton treatment, unlike before when they werereluctant to do so. The prevention of mother-to-child transmission has become a successstory for Namibia as the rate is drasticallyreduced from thirty percent of children bornwith the virus to four percent.



8


So the social and economic empowermentframework, which the OPM is working on isa framework which will enable those whowere previously deprived from participatingin the life and economic life of the country

to have an entry point to participate. Thesocial and economic transformation of thecountry is actually a policy framework forempowerment, inclusion and participation.There are a number of obstacles. It is thegroups which have been historically excluded.We can look at them from the point of viewof class, gender and generation.

1. Cl:

In terms of stratication of our societythe lowest and most deprived are actuallythe rural folks, the peasants who till thesoil. And they have been deprived fromimproving their productive systems andhave been living from hand to mouth. Thatis when subsistence economy comes in. A subsistence economy is an economy withvery little productive assets. And actuallypeople at that level derive little benetfrom the assets they have. The questionis how to empower the peasants, - thesubsistence people. One of them is to givethem attention by way of modernising theirproductive systems. So the focus must beon the subsistence productive system of the people, especially the peasants, who arelocked up in this type of economy. The aim

is to see how to improve their productionsystems. Right now people use droughtrelief and animals to plough their elds. If you have hectres of ve thousand, you, needthe government help to look at a range of issues surrounding their productive systemssuch as soils, seeds, and post harvestingsituation of their production, markets and atvalue addition. Peasants, in terms of class,are the lowest. Then they can move up if they can improve some production to bringit to the level of some form of commercialproduction so that they can produce surplusand sell that surplus to continuously improvetheir quality of life. When that is done then

they can move to the next level, in termsof class of the workers –the blue colourworkers - people who keep the economyrunning. These workers are found in themines, hospitality industry, retail, harbourand railways. In most cases these peopleneed a salary. And sometimes they do nothave any other benets such as housing,medical care, and transport allowance.

Workers get under paid. Even those whogain skills on the job. But because their skillsare not documented, they are still being paidas unskilled workers. These workers need to

be documented. The government, throughits institutions, should document the level of skills of these workers so that proper rewardsfor their labour is ensured. That is what canbe done in terms of employment equity sothat there is mobility in the work and peoplewould not just got stuck as unskilled labour.

But if their skills are recognises, they are ableto improve mobility in terms of promotions.It would be incumbent upon the employersto work together with the government torecognise these skills of their workers and

reward them accordingly.

2. Gender:

One of the sections of the Namibianpopulation that has been historicallydeprived is the women. That is why genderis a topic. The majority of people in villagesare women. Why? Historically, during thecolonial time, women mobility was restricted.As the men folk were taken up to work ascontract labourers, women were left in thevillages to make a living there take care of the children and tilling the land. Therefore,in terms of empowerment, to deal withgeneral poverty within the population, thereis a need for a concerted focus on the socialplight of women in terms of their economiccircumstances.

There is a need to develop programmes,focusing on, especially the women in thevillages to see what can happen. Perhapsas part of community development or partof rural development, specic programmescan be devised to pull the rural womeneconomically. Social agencies such aseducation and health should have specialprogrammes to encourage, for instance,

the girl child to stay in school to study forprofessions.

Girls are now enrolling in schools althoughit is not happening rapid enough. But theparticipation of the girl child in educationin Namibia is encouraging. It has to beencouraged so that participation is not onlyat the basic level, in terms of professions,career, education to see more womenparticipating so that they gain, in terms of economic empowerment.

3. Generation/Youth:

The majority of the Namibian population ismade up of young people below the age of 30 years. The youth are the ones who areimpacted upon by unemployment, HIV/AIDSand other afictions. As a result, there isa need for empowerment programmes,targeting the youth. There is a generationchallenge. It is also known that most of the employers seem to favour to employelderly people rather than young people.Somehow this situation should be dealt withbecause young people are likely to be moreproductive and are likely to be around for alonger time. So it is in the interest of the

employers, in terms of employment equity,to consider employing young people.

Young people should be seen takingownership of the national resources to

Wat i TeseF?Prime Minister Nahas Angula explained whatis meant by one of the government policies,the Transformational Economic and SocialEmpowerment Framework (TESEF) that isaimed at bringing progress to the Namibian

socio-economic situation. He talks aboutwhat would be expected from the TESEF, thetargets and how they will benet from theimplementation of the policy. “The work of the Ofce of the Prime Ministeris basically the coordinating agency forgovernment. It is to coordinate the work of the government in terms of government,Cabinet work, public service, legislature andparliamentary work.

Public Service: Sometimes it involvespolicy making, especially policies whichimpact on the various sectors of the nationallife. It deals with issues of cross-cuttingnature, one of the issues which was assignedto the Cabined to the Ofce of the PrimeMinister is empowerment. Empowermenthere probes on how the governmentenables citizens, especially those who werehistorically excluded, to be able to participatein the economic life of the country.

One of the challenges in Namibia is thequestion of disparity in the distribution of thenational resources among the population.Disparity is a form of social injustice. If youwant to deal with social injustice, you also

have to deal with wealth distribution of thenational resources.

Empowerment is to enable other people,especially those who have been left out, toparticipate and in the process also gain fromthe economic life of the country. The processof empowerment therefore, involves someforms of social transformation. There mustbe a change and a change is there to bringabout the re-alignement or rearrangementof the economic structure of the country.

Continu on pag 9Prime Minister Rt Hon. Nahas Angula



9


Wat i TeseF? Continu from pag 8

participate in the production by way of ownership. There are, for example, twosectors that are very vibrant. Tourism is oneof the sectors and young people shouldparticipate in the operations of lodges or

in provision of safari type of services tothe tourists such as tours guides, perhapsestablishing small transport companies.

The other sector that is vibrant isthe Information Communication andTechnology (ICT). Young people shouldcreate their .coms and the ICT companiesto provide solutions to the industry. Butshould own these companies themselvesin such a way that they actually becomeowners of productive assets.

4. Mining:

There are a lot of mining venturesopening up. Young people should takeequity, take risk in mining companies,especially the professional ones who arestudying engineering, should be part of the ownership of the mines so that theywill have productive assets. Therefore thesocio-economic transformation framework is aimed at achieving some of these thingsthat are outlined here to empower peoplewho have been previously excluded. Theframework is created as a policy framework so that the peasants, workers, .womenand the youth are given opportunities to

empower themselves. This is the wholeidea behind the TESEF.

5. Capital:

The issue of capital and collateral. Thestarting point is oneself. Theprimary wealth of every person isthe personal endowment in terms of intelligence and will, as a person, toachieve something in addition to thephysical asset which enables one to work.That is the starting point to discover thekind of potential natural endowment oneposseses. Government can then come in to

provide education and training for the youngpeople to achieve their optimal potential asindividuals. That is why the government isinvesting a lot in education and training.But personal efforts matter. If one does

not make personal efforts, and work hard, he/she has no aspiration. Whateverempowerment the government brings therewill be no benets.

In other words everything starts with theindividual self, rst and foremost and thegovernment can create the conditions forthat individual-self to realise their potential– undergoing self-actualisation. This isimportant because one cannot get very farwithout the self-actualisation.

The government can create that possibilityand conditions. For example, the governmenthas created the two banks, the DevelopmentBank of Namibia (NBN) and the AgriculturalBank of Namibia (ABN). They have severalwindows which can be exploited by wayof accessing capital – start up capital orventure capital, and technical advice. TheABN services those who want venturinginto the commercial sector to be assisted inacquiring land, livestock and start farming.The participation of the private sectorin the social transformational economicempowerment policy is very important.The private sector can play a signicantrole in ensuring employment equity in

terms of social development, offering socialparticipation in companies and training. Fordevelopment to take place, the government,the private sector and committed individualsneed to participate, not through forms of patronage. Naturally, patronage has to beavoided by all means because it is distractiveto empowerment approach. Patronage orsponsored social mobility do not recognisethe merit and effort. These hold a tendencyto exclude other people. The TESEF shouldrecognise the efforts of individuals andmerits. The benet through individuals’ efforts is feasible and greater. Thegovernment has an obligation to provide a

framework for subsidy and everybody canbenet from it.

in oher word

everyhng r

wh he ndvdul

self, rst and

foremo nd he

government can

create the conditions

for h ndvdul-elf o rele

her poenl

– undergoing self-

actualisation. This is

important because

one cannot get very

fr whou he elf-

actualisation.

6. Implementation:

The programme emphasisesconsultation(s). There is a need forconsultation between the private andpublic sectors. The TESEF will becomea policy to be adopted by Cabinet anddebated in parliament. It will hopefully be

supported by a law in 2009.

Continu from pag 5

engineering, there are few people in theeld. There are not enough architects,quantity surveyors, marine biologists andchemical engineers. That is why eventhe construction of our bridges, housingor accommodation take a long time to

complete,” Hon. Mbumba noted. Almosta thousand young people are studyingin Cuba. They are specialising in specialsubjects. The Ministry is planning to

eTsIP to mak a diffrnc in t Namibian

ducation tminitiate a data base to indicate how manylearners or students are enrolled for specicsubjects, where and at what level. This willavoid duplication of scholarships. It will alsobe a way to trace the expertise and providethem with relevant jobs in appropriate

establishments. The Ministry of Education isgiving nancial assistance to best students,especially for the students enrolled for

the two-year foundation courses inengineering and medicines at both UNAMand Polytechnic. These courses preparethe students to enable them for admissioninto South Africa institutions of learningand schools within the SADC region

or anywhere abroad. They are taughtcomputer and how to use labs and librariesas necessity for their further studies.



0


Above left a view of the

Cabinet Chambers with a

huge painting of the Namibian

ag on the wall.

On the right the impressive

chandelier in the dome of the

Cabinet Chamber. On the left the

President’s chair in the Cabinet Chamber underneath the

Coat of Arms

A fountain

national sy

Touch-sensitive escalators leading to the

Cabinet Chambers

The banquet hall with a massive painting of a Welwitchia Mirabilis. On the opposite

side is a stage from where cultural groups and other artists can entertain guestsAn outside view of the g

premisesLeft the media brieng

room, right the room

where the president

receives credentials,

below right the

conference room for

meetings with foreign

delegations. Below left

Mr. Abisai Shaningwa in

the new resource centre

Above and right-the

water fountain next the restaurant come

life to the tunes of ty

Namibian music

stat hou

Phoo by Joeph Neky, immnuel thom nd Wlm Deelef



11


elements from Namibia’s

ols in front of State House

t house on the State House

al

Oryx at the fountain at the

main entrance to State House

A painting of some of the members of Namibia’s Constituency Assembly,

under the chairpersonship of Dr. Hage Geingob can be seen in the

entrance hall to the State House

Painting of Namibia’s liberation struggle

The statues onthe right adorn

different corners in

State House while

the painting of the

Ruacana Falls greets

one on entering the

VIP section of the

building. Below a

homestead scene

A mural depicting Namibian

woman dancing

n pictur



2


stat hou: Gnral InformationThe State House administrative block, whichwill be inaugurated at the 18th anniversaryof Namibia’s independence on 21 March2008, is a picture of splendor and good taste

and all Namibians should be proud of thissymbol that is to become one of the nationalheritage sites of independent Namibia.

The State House administration block coversa massive 18 000 square metres of built-uparea and with its solid construction, the newState House in Auasblick, Windhoek caneasily outlive the next few generations if properly maintained in years to come.

Built and furnished at a cost of just underN$400 million, the marble-clad pillars,granite and wooden oors, touch-sensitiveescalators, limestone tiles and a water

fountain that performs to the tune of Namibian music, is awe-inspiring.

No wonder that project manager MasoudFani proudly says that the new StateHouse is unique in Africa, especially withreference to its size, the quality of thework, furnishings and wealth of artwork thatrepresents the different cultures, animal lifeand paintings of typical Namibian scenes andnatural wonders known to draw tourists tothe Land of the Brave.According to Mr. Fani, the many negativerumours that are going around about the

new State House don’t hold water. Namibianever had a State House. Now there is onethat is ready to take its place among thenational heritage sites in the country. Theconstruction of the new State House was nota waste of taxpayers’ money, he insisted.Construction costs are continuouslyescalating and if the government hadpostponed the construction of a state houseindenitely, the cost would have gone wellbeyond the current amount that was spent.

The foundation of the new State House waslaid in September 2002 and the building wascompleted in ve and a half years. Mr. Fani

is convinced that any other contractor wouldhave taken between seven to nine years tocomplete the new State House and the costwould have been considerably more than thealmost N$400 million spent.

The main contractor on the site was aforeigner and the Koreans initially worked for18 hours per day and seven days per week to ensure the completion and timely delivery

of the building to the Namibian Government.Towards the end, the builders startedworking six days per week, taking Sundaysoff to rest. Contrary to beliefs that only

Koreans worked on the site, Mr. Fani said thatmore than 40 local contractors were involvedin the construction of the new State House.They were involved in providing wood andother material. However, due to the size of State House, Namibian contractors were notalways able to deliver the required quantities,which forced the main contractor to sourcemarble, limestone, granite and other itemsfrom different countries abroad.

According to Mr. Fani, the contractorssourced quality material, but always keptthe price factor in mind. For instance, solidwooden doors with copper handles are used

throughout the administrative block. Eachset of doors weigh 190 kg.

Mr. Fani speaks highly of the ofcials fromthe Department of Works in the Ministryof Works, Transport and Communicationwith whom he worked on this project.The team work was excellent and the twoparties supported each other throughout theconstruction of State House.

With the new State House magnicentlyoverlooking the Namibian capital, Windhoek,the challenges faced during the construction

period have somewhat faded. Yes, agreedMr. Fani, they had challenges - with theconstruction, with different governmentinstitutions, with the Windhoek Municipalityand with nances. And the exceptionallygood rainy season of 2006 brought its ownproblems.

Financial constraints resulted in only oneguest house being built, while the householdquarters also had to be scaled down toensure that expenses stay within thebudget.

State House boasts with a collection of

paintings done by Namibian artists, as wellas paintings done by Korean artists who hadtravelled the country to photograph naturescene and to then capture these scenes oncanvas. Besides the paintings that depictthe majestic Fish River Canyon, the RuacanaFalls, the Spitzkoppe, the big ve, culturescenes and the liberation struggle, severalwood carvings, murals and statues depictingthe variety of cultures in Namibia adorn the

walls and corners of the new State House.

From the ceilings of the different halls,including the Cabinet Chamber hang

chandeliers that were imported fromdifferent countries around the world. Inthe different conference rooms, lights thatremind one of Moroccan lights immediatelyattract attention when you enter the rooms.The oors are covered with beautiful loosePersian rugs, leaving large areas of granite,marble or wood to compete with thesplendor of the carpets.

Conference rooms – both big and small – arefurnished with heavy wooden tables aroundwhich numerous comfortable leather chairsare arranged. The rest of the halls andwaiting areas also boast leather furniture

– some in black, others in brown and in thewaiting room adjacent to the conferenceroom where the Head of State engagesin ofcial talks with his counterparts, thestunning white leather furniture take yourbreath away.

The banquet hall in State House hasNamibia’s national plant, the WelwitchiaMrbl painted on a whole wall andopposite the painted wall is a stage fromwhere cultural groups, choirs and musicianswill entertain guests during ofcial events.

While President Hikepunye Pohamba andhis personnel will start working from thenew State House soon after its inaugurationon 21 March 2008, the President will have towait a few more months before his ofcialresidence will be habitable.

Construction on the 3 500 square metreresidence started on 19 November 2007. Theresidence is being built with a grant madeavailable by the Chinese government. It isexpected that President Pohamba would beable to move into the State House residencetowards the end of November 2008.

Besides the administrative block, theresidence, the guest house and householdquarters, barracks, police quarters, parkinggarages and a helipad form part of theState House complex. Provision has alsobeen made for emergency situations. Insuch a situation, State House has enoughgenerators and a big enough water tank to allow it to continue normally with itsoperations.

“Built and furnished at a cost of just under N$400 million, the marble-clad

pillars, granite and wooden oors, touch-sensitive escalators, limestonetiles and a water fountain that performs to the tune of Namibian music, is

we-nprng.”



13


Minral xploitation in NamibiaThe Governmen informon Bullen spoke to Hon. Erkki Nghimtina on the mineral exploration in Namibia.

GIB: What is the contribution of minerals to the country’s economy?

The mining sector contributes 12% to the country GDP as at 2006 and 25% towards annual investments in Namibia. The GDP contribution isbroken down as follows:

Year: 2003 2004 2005 2006

Mining and Quarrying: 8.8% 9.6% 8.6% 11.7

Diamond Mining: 7.8% 8.4% 7.0% -

Other Mining % Quarrying: 1.0% 1.2% 1.6% -

GIB: How do citizens benet from thecountry’s mineral wealth?

anwer: On the average mining companiesemploy round about 7786 labour forceannually and they spend approximatelymore than half a billion ( N$ 730 325 764)on the labourers.

GiB: How he mplemenon of cutting and polishing of Namibiadiamonds?

anwer: Since the establishment of theNamibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC)and the agreement between the Governmentof Namibia and De Beers, one can say thatthere is an improvement in the cutting and

polishing of Namibian diamonds. NDTCare supplying the cutting factories withNamibian diamonds and we make sure thatthose diamonds are cut locally. The DiamondAct is a useful instrument in this matter.

GIB: Who is in charge of producing andselling the Namibian diamonds?

anwer: Companies and individuals arethe ones that produce and sell diamonds,The only requirement is that they must belicensed in terms of the relevant legislation.Recently with the newly renegotiatedNamdeb agreement, NDTC has become oneof the new entrants in the dealing of roughdiamond.

GiB: are Nmbn dmond old nthe local market as nished products,cut by Namibian companies andpeople? What is the percentage?

anwer: Diamond cutting and polishinglicenses were issued in 2000 for the veryrst time after the implementation of theDiamond Act 13 of 1999 in April 2000.Although the whole idea of issuing licenseswas to cut and polish Namibian diamonds,

there was no way to get local goods as thethree major diamond producing companieswhich is NAMDEB, DIAMOND FIELDS andNAMCOR were having agreements withinternational companies to export roughdiamonds. After the agreement betweenthe Government of Namibia and De Beers

in January 2007, Namibia Diamond TradingCompany (NDTC) was established to supplylocal cutting and polishing factories with

rough diamonds. The rst sales was done inOctober 2007 and that iwas the rst time thecutting and polishing companies got hold of Namibian goods. After 6 to 12 months, wewill be able to sell Namibian diamonds in thelocal markets as nished products, carved byNamibian companies and its people.

GIB: Before independence and beforehe mplemenon of he governmen-Nmdeb dmond hreholdngthe sector has been dominated byprevouly dvnged people. Howmny prevouly ddvngedemployee re now employed n he

top structure of Namdeb, NDTC and DeBeers Namibia?

anwer: Namdeb has undergone arestructuring process in order to includecompetent and qualied formerlydisadvantaged Namibians in the structure.You would appreciate that Namdeboperations are amongst the most expensivediamond mining ventures in the world,therefore the success depends on theinnovation and prudent management of the natural and nancial resources at itsdisposal. You are aware that ManagingDirector (MD) is a formally disadvantagedfemale Namibian. Similarly, among thetop management majority are formallydisadvantaged. The Chief Executive Ofcer(CEO) of the NDTC as well as the GeneralManager of DBMN are also formallydisadvantaged Namibians.

GIB: Who determine the price of Namibian diamonds at both domesticand international markets?

anwer: The price of Namibian Diamondsat both and international markets aredetermined by Government Diamond

Valuators contracted by the government.The Ministry of Mines and Energy ensurethat unpolished diamonds mined in Namibiaare evaluated before export.

Government Diamond Valuators (GDV)through the ofce of the Diamond

Commissioner determines the market valueof unpolished diamonds. The Minister issuesa certicate regarding the value agreed upon

between the person who sells or otherwisedisposed of that diamond and the personto whom that diamond is sold or otherwisedisposed of at arm-length sale and priceswhich are in the opinion of the Minister atthe particular time paid on internationalmarkets for such diamond, less any amountsdeducted in respect of fees, charges or levieswhich are in the opinion of the Ministercharged on international markets.

GiB: How he governmen nvolved nthe production, evaluation, distributionand selling of Namibian diamonds?

anwer: Every contractor, producer or sub-contractor is required to obtain a registerprovided by that Ministry in question. Everyentry (production) is recorded in the registerafter the occurrence of the event. Anyoneprovided with a register is obliged to forwarda true copy of such register within 14 daysafter the end of each month to the ofce of Diamond Commissioner. The Ministry hascreated more efcient distribution channels;this move has liberated the distributionacross industry.

The Ministry ensures that any selling ordisposal of unpolished diamonds from onelawful seller to another is monitored andevaluated by Government representativesto see if they meet the international marketrequirements. It also ensures that no conictdiamonds enter the market.

GiB: Who enure he fe of dmond from he mne, mnng, nddistribution, cutting, polishing, sellingvlue ddon o hrng nd nvengthe output? In other words from thesource to the beneciary?

anwer: According to Section 50 of the

Diamond Act 13 of 1999 before starting withany diamond activities each company has topresent a security plan. In the security plan,they state the handling of diamonds from themines up to the sales departments.

Continu on pag 14



4


The security plan contains the following:

a) The policy and procedure to beapplied and followed with respect toemployees involved in offences underthe Act or in any way connected tounpolished diamonds.

b) The systems of surveillance andcontrol of activities on the businesspremises, other approved premisesand in the relevant restricted area orareas covered by such plan.

c) The systems and procedures to befollowed to safeguard any unpolisheddiamonds.

d) Access persons to unpolisheddiamonds and to the premises or area

covered by the security plan.

e) The manner in which and methodby which unpolished diamonds,diamondiferous concentrate or sand,soil, clay, gravel, stone or any mineralis or are to be moved on or fromthe premises or area covered by thesecurity plan to any other place.

f) Systems and procedures regarding thecontrol of movements of employeesand other persons or the premisesor in the area covered by the securityplan.

g) Each location inside or outside thepremises or area covered by thesecurity plan where unpolisheddiamonds shall be kept and the securityarrangements at such locations.

h) The person responsible for theexecution and enforcement of thesecurity plan.

i) In the case of the producer, contractoror sub-contractor, the securityarrangements at the place where

mining occurs and at every stage of the recovery process until the nalintended product is recovered:

j) The storage of any diamondiferousconcentrate, sand, soil, clay, gravel,stone or minerals.

k) The security arrangements at placeswhere bulk sampling is being carriedon.

l) The systems and procedures to befollowed during the transport of anyunpolished diamonds, as well as inthe case of an exception referred to in

regulation 15(1), particulars regardingthe documentation that should bekept.

Regulation 15 (1) Except where otherwiseprovided for by the relevant security planapproved under section 50 of the Act,any person who carries or transports anyunpolished diamonds outside a restricted

area or from any restricted area to anotherrestricted area, as the case may be shallhave in his or her possession-

a) an original document, issued ,signedand dated by the producer, contractor,sub-contractor, holder of an exclusiveprospecting licence or a non – exclusiveprospecting licence, licencee or permitholder, as the case may be for or onbehalf of whom the unpolished diamonddiamonds are carried or transported onhis or her own letterhead, stating-

(i) the name and identity or passport

number of the person carrying ortransporting the unpolished diamonds;

(ii) the origin, destination, number andweight of the unpolished diamonds:

(iii) the date intended carriage or transportor the unpolished diamonds:

(iv) the period of time which would probablybe required to carry or transportthe unpolished diamonds to theirdestination;

(v) the route by which the unpolisheddiamonds should be carried ortransported, which shall be theshortest possible route which would bereasonable to follow;

(vi) the specic instructions to the carrieror transporter regarding the precisedestination of the unpolished diamonds.

b) In the case of an exception referredto in regulation 11(3) alternativearrangement with regard to thekeeping of registers or records relatingto unpolished diamonds.

Ofce of the Diamond Commissionerand the PRU are making sure that nounpolished diamond are leaving themining areas without been accompaniedby the PRU Ofcial or DiamondInspector. PRU are accompanied allthe export of unpolished diamondsfrom Oranjemund, sea and Luderitz.We make sure that containers aresealed and we are Diamond InspectorOR PRU are unsealing the containersor parcels which means there is propercontrol when it come to transportationof unpolished diamond from the mining

areas to the evaluations and salesdepartments.

Minral xploitation in Namibia Continu from pag 13

GIB: How many qualied Namibiansevluor re employed ndiamond sector and at whatlevels are they employed?

answer: In total we are having less than15 valuators in Namibia, out of whom close to ten are Namibianswho own their own companiesand have been given a tender bythe MME.

GIB: How is the policy of diversication implemented?i workng o mee heexpectations?

anwer: I would say yes. Diamondcutting and polishing factory,jewelry manufacturing as well

as dimension stones cutting andpolishing ventures are currentlybeing implemented. One of thethemes in the Mineral Policycalls for value addition as ameans of diversication. MyMinistry continues to engage themineral producers to conceiveand implement value additionprojects to the raw minerals,where technically and nanciallyfeasible.

GiB: Do you hnk enoughwealth can be created andaccumulated to benet allNamibians by the year 2030?

anwer: I believe that the sector hasthe capacity and potentialto generate sufcient wealthfor the contribution towardsthe achievement of Vision2030. However, there is a keyinstrument/framework thathas delayed the accumulationof wealth to the broad basedformally disadvantagedNamibians. I am talking

about the TransformationalEconomic Social EmpowermentFramework (TESEF). Thisframework needs to be speededup to compel companies andindividuals operating in thesector to allocate shares tolocal and indigenous people. Inthe absence of the policy andthe legislation, the Ministry of Mines and Energy has no basisto compel redistribution of benets. I am condent thatthe mineral sector will make asignicant contribution.



15


NDF to rcruit onl top graduat in t arm Continu from pag 6

is what we don’t want”. The Ministry hasnow decided to put up a ceiling level as ameasure to guide recruitment processes.Any person to be recruited in the defenceforce will have Grade 12 pass with good

marks in English, Mathematics, scienceand biology. “These are the qualicationsthat we are seeking now, looking aheadthat we have qualied people who willcome and work for the defence force,” theMajor-General declared. He added that“everybody is calling us that my child hasfailed grade so and so …they must come tothe army”. “Of course you are aware thatmany of the technologies being inventedin the world [such as] the computer, thecellular-phone, the Satellite and othertechnological instruments are made, rstlyfor military use,” he noted. Major-GeneralNamoloh said that in places where highly

skilled and scientists are recruited in thearmy there is a capacity and capability todefeat the enemy.

He noted that it was in the militaries thatsome of the tractors, used in ploughingelds and aircrafts were rst designed.

Hon. Namoloh noted also that it is thearmy that is in charge of the best hospitalsin the world, staffed with best doctors.He said that most world leaders receivetreatments at military hospitals. Hewondered as to how the Namibian defencecan produce good doctors if most of thepeople who are enrolled in the defenceforce are those who have failed theirgrades at school.

“We would want to appeal to the parentsthat their children who they want to sendto us must be highly qualied so that theycan become scientists to develop ourequipment to meet the standards andspecications of the Namibian needs,” hesaid.

However, the Ministry is not sitting onits laurels in the face of rampant lack of

technological know-how. The Ministersaid that his Ministry is doing its beston scientic research and development.“We are doing something but we mustemphasise that we need highly qualiedpeople in the defence force. And thesociety out there must also understandthat we will no longer accept those whopass with low marks,” he re-iterated.

The Ministry has established a researchand development department which looksinto specic research needs. The force hasdeveloped its own vehicle, the Werwolf,which the Minister said is not the same as

the cassipir. The vehicles are manufacturedby the Windhoek Machinenfabric and aredesigned by Namibians themselves tolocal specications to meet the domesticrequirements.

The second project is the Sat-Com whereradio stations are manufactured for the useby the army. The radio stations are alsomanufactured to the specications, needsand requirements of the Namibian Defence

Force. “We are doing very well on that,” Major-General Namoloh commended.

“We would wn o

ppel o he pren

that their children

who hey wn o

end o u mu be

highly qualied so

that they can become

scientists to develop

our equpmen o

mee he ndrd

and specications of

he Nmbn need,”

he d.

The Ministry of Defence has started aprogramme, strategic studies in militarystrategy at a Master of Arts degree inSecurity and Strategic Studies, taking placeat the University of Namibia (UNAM). Thereare twenty ofcers enrolled for the course.The Ministry wants to build up the capacityof ofcers to be able to face the challengesof the 21st Century. “This is what we aredoing and we are doing it for all our ofcers,” the Minister said.

The force is sending young ofcers abroadto be trained in various elds so that whenthey graduate in military science they willcome back home to serve their country.They are doing intensive courses offered bydifferent countries because the NDF doesnot have money to buy courses, which isone of the handicaps that the Ministry isfacing. The Minister wants to inform parentsto make inquiries to relevant departmentsin the defence force when they wantinformation related to the recruitment of thepeople because he noted that people phonehim because they think he is the one whodeal with recruitment process. “I receivenumerous calls on my cell-phone fromparents inquiring about the recruitment of

their children,” he observed.

The Minister advised people to follow theprocedures and proper channels when theyare applying for jobs. “They tell me that theyhave children who have failed grade 10 or

12 and they want them to join the army.I explained to them that the army is notrecruiting those who have not passedbut parents still press on, wanting tosend them to see us,” he revealed. The

MoD boss said that often parents insistto convince him to get their childrenemployed as cleaners. “We do not recruitcleaners. We are recruiting soldiers to betrained to become professionals,” he said.

“We want to bring in people who willdevelop this institution. It is not only tocome here for the sake of receiving acheque. We want the people who candevelop other people’s mind and also todevelop the defence force,” the Ministeremphasized.

He also said when the army goes to war,

there is a lot of science involved. It is notonly shooting with an AK. There is a lotof coordination to be put in place. Thereare those who operate the AKs. Bazookas,artilleries, anti-aircraft, misiles and pilotsare needed. They are calculated on aminute by minute that at this time theartillery will re this time, the personnelwill move in this time. Every angle iscalculated and is scientically done. It isnot just haphazardly done,” he observed.The Minister also explained that soldiersuse maps in their operations, sayingthat one can not win the war if not welltrained. The NDF comprises the army,navy and airforce. All this services requirehighly motivated, disciplined and qualiedpeople. Therefore, those intending to jointhe NDF have to possess those qaulities.

“We wn o brng

n people who

wll develop h

nuon. i

not only to comehere for he ke of

receiving a cheque.

We wn he people

who can develop

other people’s

mnd nd lo o

develop the defence

force,” the Minister

emphasized.



6


Tougr da aad: sort and long-trm

maur to powr t nationBy Klen Hylw

Without beating about the bush, Namibiawill expect tough days of energy shortages,involving power cuts and power servingmeasures for sometime to come before along-term and sustainable solution will befound. This was revealed by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Hon. Erkki Nghimtina as hesaid: “Frankly speaking, the current situationcan regrettably not be rescued overnight. Itwill take quite some time and resources tocompletely turn the situation around.”

The situation is worsened and is likely to becostly to the country because, the Ministerexplained, “unfortunately, Namibia does nothave any inland perennial rivers on its entireterritory apart from the three rivers, theKavango, Kunene and Orange Rivers. Andany potential hydro projects on these threerivers have to be preceded by often lengthyinter-governmental negotiations before anyagreement on such projects can be reached.Namibia also does not produce fossil fuels suchas coal which makes any potential thermalpower project very expensive due to high costsof imported fossil fuels.”

The power shortage in the Southern Africancountries comes at a time when these

newly independent nations are struggling todevelop and reconstruct themselves from theprotracted war conicts that have left most of them with rundown economies. Mindful thatthe 21st Century economies are technologicallybased, the power shortage leaves a limitedblotch of hope. Home to more than 200 millionpeople, the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity’s fourteen nations have been, inone way or another, affected by the war forliberation against apartheid and colonialism.

It was a long standing promise that afterindependence, these countries would developand take control of the endowed naturalresources for the benet of all the citizens,unchaining them from poverty, deprivationand unequal distribution of the resources. Atindependence, the promises for developmentand prosperity were louder enough andpeople’s aspirations and commitment to hardwork rose high. Every new nation resolved toembark upon economic plans, programmes,projects and activities with the aim to attainedthe goals of economic development. Theregion’s natural resources endowment gavehope of prosperity. To make development areality, countries need to build industries inthe mining, shing and marine, construction

and agriculture sectors to enable them exploitand process the natural resources to generateand produce goods for the their domestic andinternational markets. Although challengesgo hand in hand with development, the sub-continent nds itself challenged by, most of all,sustainable water and energy resources supply

and management. The availability, locationand means of exploitation and production of water and energy is currently challenging thedeveloping SADC nations. This has led to theshortages of resources midst plenty. Scoresof people in the SADC countries are living inpoverty because of these daunting challengesof skewed distribution of national economicresources, underdevelopment and shortagesof the means of production and humanresources.

Like other countries in the SADC region,African continent and the world, Namibia hasembarked upon economic goals of developmentand growth as a priority programme in itsagenda. As a country rich in minerals suchas diamonds, copper, sheries and marineresources, the country needs to developindustries to produce goods and services toboth local and international markets.

As an accelerator in the generation andproduction of goods and services, the needand demand for energy supply is indispensable

hence the need for electricity and power notonly to make industries function, facilitatethe work but also to make life easier forcitizens. The provision of electricity for lights,and cooking go a long way to improve thestandard of life of the people and add valueto the nation’s development. The need forelectricity supply in rural areas is a prerequisitefor infrastructure development in the SouthernAfrican region and in Namibia in particular.Without power supply, it is hard for a countryto develop. The dependency on power supplyfrom South Africa has been a colonial legacy.South Africa has been generating a cheapersurplus power and has been exporting it to

neighbouring countries, including Namibia,at a low cost per kilowatt-hour. This made itdifcult for importing countries to generatetheir own electricity because the product wouldnot be competitively viable as the payment of investment to set up power projects in Namibiawould have been too costly. In the past,

Namibia did not see it feasible to implementlocal power generating projects because localelectricity supply would be costly than theimported power.

Although the country was aware of thedanger of relying heavily on importedelectricity, Namibia was forced to rely on theimported electricity from South Africa whileencouraging potential investors to investin the electricity generation sector and toencourage Independent Power Producers(IPP) to participate in the electricity supplyindustry to ensure reliable supply of electricenergy. This did not work because investorswere discouraged by the low electricity tariffsin the entire Southern African region. Namibiawanted electricity tariffs to be increased to costreective levels so that the electricity supplyindustry can operate in a technically andnancially sustainable manner.

The tariffs cannot be increased speedily to costreective levels as this can cause inations andother economic problems in the country. Toavoid taking wrong decisions that might plungethe country into economic difculties, Namibiaopted to wait for the increase of tariffs to costreective levels although it is being done step

by step to attain desired results. Namibia hasnot been sitting on its laurels since it is awareof the danger of dependency in the long run.To reduce dependency on imported electricityand to increase security of continuous supply,Namibia contacted many feasibility studies onvarious projects to generate electricity, butmost of these projects proved to be eithernancially or environmentally unsuitable. Forinstance, the abandoned Epupa Hydro PowerProject on the Kunene River which was notimplemented due to environmental aspects.

Revealing the plans to the GovernmentInformation Bulletin, Hon. Erkki Nghimtina,Minister of Mines and Energy, said for Namibiato meet the domestic demand for electricitythere are short and long-term strategies.He said that short term projects that couldhelp to mitigate the crisis are the DemandSide Management (DSM) project and theHwange Power Station project in Zimbabwe.A DSM alternative, about 600 000 – 900 000energy-saving bulbs have been distributedcountrywide at the end of last year. NamPowerhas also introduced the Time of Use Tariff withto entities which have a large number of customers such as mines to promote efcientuse of electric energy. Other DSM alternatives

such as the replacements of electric geyserswith solar water heaters on all GRN institutionsand the use of Ripple Control Systems by themunicipalities and town councils are in thepipeline for implementation and extension.

Hon. Erkki Nghimtina

Continu on pag 17



17


If wi wr Gold: Oil xploration in Namibia

will bring uninBy Klen Hylw

It is said that “money makes the world goround”. It is also true that the world cannotbe a global village if there was no oil. At leastthis is evident in today’s world. Countries whichproduce oil have the power to control not onlytheir economies but also command inuence inthe world affairs.

Namibia is in search of wells of oil on its ownsoil. Any discovery of the oil will always changethe direction for development in the country.So the work has already started to this effect.

Namibia is endowed with various types of natural resources and depending on the right

exploitation and equal distribution, the countrycan become one of the prosperous countriesin the world.

Oil exploration activities are progressingwell in Namibia, according to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Hon. Erkki Nghimtina, in aninterview with the Government informtonBulletn. Activities that have been carriedout so far include 2D and 3D seismic surveys,geochemical sampling and other integratedapproaches towards oil and gas exploration.Last year the Kudu-9 well was drilled by Tullow,while this year INA is nalising the acquisitionof 500km of 2D seismic lines onshore in theNama basin. The rst ever well in the Namibebasin will also be drilled soon by SintezneftegazNamibia at a cost of US$80 million. Hon.Nghimtina commended: “We are expectinggood news from the drilling of this well as

the block is the most prospective in Namibiaso far.”

Oil producing countries in the world are richand the living conditions are better if notbest since their budgets have the capacity tonance and subsidise national socio-economicand cultural programmes.

There are currently 15 petroleum explorationlicenses and one production license validin Namibia so far. The companies active inthe oil and gas exploration in Namibia comefrom countries such as the USA, Croatia,Russia, Ireland, UK, South Africa, and Japan.

Namibian participation is assured throughNamcor and other private initiatives.

The efforts to invest in oil and gas explorationare not far-fetched since there are countriesin Africa such as Angola and Nigeria that mineoil. The Namibian government is investing inoil exploration and exploitation to enhance itseconomic value and growth for the benet of its citizens.

However, the sector is faced with challenges.Namibia does not have a history of oilproduction. Appropriate technology and humanresources to explore and exploit oil are in shortsupply. But technology is widely availableinternationally at a cost. “We expect this tochange when oil is discovered in Namibia inthe near future,” said Minister Nghimtina. Lack of skills in the oil and gas sector in Namibia,

especially in the public sector is also a problem.The Minister explained that the small numberof staff that the Ministry train often defects tothe private sector because they get better paidoutside. Part of the solution would be to obligecompanies in the sector to provide in-servicetraining to Namibian workers.

On the global challenges in the fuel supply andrise in prices, Hon. Nghimtina said that Namibiahas no choice than to cope, at this point intime, with the current situation. “But there isa lot of work that needs to be done so that wemove from this vulnerable position that we ndourselves in. Petroleum is a strategic resource

and we need to make sure that Government isable to guarantee the availability of petroleumproducts at a competitive price,” Hon.Nghimtina remarked.

Namcor has a mandate to import 50% of the petroleum products into the country. TheMinistry of Mines and Energy is also faced withthe problems of institutional and infrastructuralnature. Namcor does not have a storagecapacity of their own and rely on private oilcompanies to accept or reject the importedproducts. “This is a risky situation that we cando well without,” the Minister sighed. He added that Namcor will have to put uptheir own storage facilities to complement themandate, saying that some regulatory reformsmight be necessary to better regulate andsupport the oil exploration industry.

Tougr da aad: sort and long-trm

maur to powr of t nation

Continu from pag 16

Since 1 January 2008, Namibia has started

receiving the rst 40 MW from the HwangePower Station as part of the agreemententered into between Nampower andthe Zimbabwean power utility company.According to that agreement, Namibia willbe receiving 150 MW from the HwangePower Station as from June 2008 for aperiod of 5 years.

The country is also working very hardto increase its internal generation of electric power to meet the rapidly growingenergy consumption. The Baynes HydroPower project looks very promising forimplementation and the Namibian and

Angolan Governments are expected tonalise and sign an agreement with aconsortium of Brazilian Power Companiesbefore the end of February 2008, startingwith pre-feasibility studies. Due to itsnature and scope, the Baynes Hydro

Power project is both medium and long-termpower supply scheme. The Namibian and

South African governments have agreed toconstruct small hydro electric power stations,along the Orange River on the southernborder. Feasibility studies on this project havealready been constructed by an independentconsultant several years ago and will need tobe reviewed to accommodate missing links. Toreduce the cost, the small power stations willnot require the construction of reservoirs andcan be implemented over a shorter period of time compared to big hydro power projects.

The Caprivi Interconnection Link is anotherscheme whose implementation will not onlyensure increased transmission of power

between Namibia and its northern neigbourssuch as the DRC, Zambia and Zimbabwe, butit will also reduce dependency of Namibia’spower import through the South African powergrid. Nampower has already awarded thetender for this highly technical power project

to ABB Namibia. “To answer your question,I think the situation can be rescued only

over a medium to long-term period. As forthe short-term of up to 6 months or a year,we can only manage the situation throughimports and by adopting more energyefcient technologies and encouragingmore conservative use of electricity. Thiscan be achieved by the use of energy savingbulbs and the replacement/conversion of electric geysers into solar water heaters.As was mentioned earlier on, Namibia hasfortunately already started receiving powerfrom the Hwange power station in Zimbabwewhich NamPower is assisting to refurbishthrough a loan agreement between theNamibian and Zimbabwean power utilities.

As far as our own generation projects areconcerned, none of them can be completelyimplemented within a year or two due totheir nature. Thus, the power shortagesituation in Namibia remains extremelycritical but manageable” the Minister said.



8


Hon. Marlene Mungunda

Gndr equalit progring in Namibia

The Minister of Gender Equality and ChildWelfare, Hon. Marlene Mungunda saidthat progress made on the issue of genderequality has been due to the existingpolitical will from the government. She saidthat since independence the governmenthas demonstrated a political will for genderequality programme by establishing rstthe gender desk which was expanded toa directorate of women and then into afull edged Ministry of Women Affairs andChild Welfare, which is now the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare.

The Minister has also noted progress

on women’s participation in decision-making processes and bodies such as theparliament, public service management andthe private sector. There was nine percent of women in the rst Parliament and today thenumber has increased to 28 percent womenin Parliament. Statistics has shown thatthere are more than thirty-three percentin the public sector and eighteen percentin the private sector although she saidwomen are not represented in some boardsin the private sector. Namibia’s politicalwill is also visible in the signatures xedon their different international protopcolsand conventions. Minister Mungundacommented that Namibia is moving in theright direction. “We have women, for therst time, - the Deputy Prime Minister,the Deputy chairperson of the NationalAssembly, a Namibian woman, Adv. BienceGawanas, is a Commissioner of one of theAfrican Union’s bodies and Namibia is alsoon the United Nations Commission on theStatus of Women.

At the local level, the 1992 local authorityelectoral Act allows for a quarter forwomen’s participation, as well as for azebra system in which 40 percent of women

were elected into power and the majorityof women are either chairpersons of thevillage councils or are mayors.

Hon. Mungunda wants to see more womenin decision making positions “We are movingand there is a difference with women in thedecision making but we really have to havean impact as per the SADC and also to the

African Union declarations on women indecision making. So we can do better. I wantto see achievements,” the Minister said.

She noted that the President nominateswomen after the elections, adding that onparty level, the President also nominates tenwomen on his list who qualify to becomemembers of Parliament. The oppositionsuch as the CoD came in Parliament withmore women but at the moment the partyhas only one woman representative. OtherPolitical parties do not have any womenrepresentatives in Parliament.

The elected women forum meets tolobby political parties to ensure women’srepresentation in their party lists at thenational level. The Parliament WomenCaucas is also composed of women in theParliament.

“We hve women,

for the rst time,

- he Depuy Prme

Mner, he Depuy

chairperson of the

Nonl aembly,

Nmbn womn,

Adv. Bience Gawanas,

Commoner

of one of the AfricanUnion’s bodies and

Nmb lo on

he Uned Non

Common on he

su of Women.

With regard to whether women in

Parliament contribute to the debates in thehouse, Minister Mungunda pointed out thatwomen have their own rights in the decisionmaking and there is no favour done to put

them in the positions. She gave examplethat the former Minister of the Ministry of Regional, Local Government, Housing andRural Development, Dr. Libertina Amathila,competently dealt with the needs of the

people at the grassroots. She explainedthat Dr. Amathila made a difference bystarting with low cost housing programmewhich was popular among the historicallydisadvantaged people. Hon. Mungundanoted that where women are in theleadership, there is a difference, citing theoutstanding performance of the Minister of Finance, Hon. Saara Kugongelwa-Amadhila.“They (women) have an ear of mercy andunderstanding, regarding the issues of women and children and ooding. “You cansee the work of the team led by the DeputyPrime Minister,” she commented. “When wehad problems with the people in Opuwo, it

was the Deputy Prime Minister who stood upon these things and she made a difference.Wherever you have women, they go an extramile because they have the touch with thegrassroots. You can see an impact, especiallywith the grassroots people because womenare by nature mothers and leaders. Thataspect of women is really making an impacton the governance of the nation,” the GenderMinister declared.

Minister Mungunda also said that Namibiahas met the aspirations of the SADCDeclaration on Gender Development which

states that Members States should haveattained the goal of ensuring 30 percentgender participation in the political decisionmaking by 2005. Hon. Mungunda said thatthe total numbers of women in the decisionmaking at the local authorities, NationalAssembly and the regional councils is thirty-three percent. “Namibia has reached morethan the 30 percent of women in decisionmaking if we combine those three levels of decision making,” the Minister said.

She added that there are more women in themanagerial positions in the government suchas Permanent Secretaries, Directors and

Deputy Directors, adding that the country isnow moving in another direction accordingto the Africa Union declaration of ftypercent of women in the decision makingpositions. “So we can reach as well becausethe political will is there, she said.

Wherever you hve

women, hey go n

extra mile because

they have the touch

wh he grroo.



19


“We are now celebrating 18 years of independence. The instruments that denewho we are, are in place. All what we must

do is to put our hands and heads together towork within the context and content of ourConstitution and our national development

plans and Vision to keep Namibia on this verypeaceful note that we have traveled so far to

achieve.” – Hon. John Mutorwa

The Minister of Sport, National Service andCulture, Hon. John Mutorwa looks at culturein Namibia. He reminded the nation tounderstand that culture is a people’s way of lifeand it is inseparable with him or her in all itsmanifestations.

Hon. Mutorwa explained that culture is aboutwhat people eat at home, how they dress andhow they prepare food. “Now, all these arepart of our cultures,” he noted, adding thatthe world is also becoming complicated. TheMinister remembered that, years ago in thevillages, people’s way of life was determinedby these people themselves. “Today, the worldis a global village. A global village in termsof communication, internet and what haveyou. In a second you just press a button andyou see what is happening thousands andthousands of kilometers away from where youare,” he observed.

The Minister noted that there is a strongprocess with cultures of different peoplesinuencing one another – “the process thatanthropologists call culturism”.

The Minister said that cultures have gotinuence on one another and not all theinuences are positive. He observed that someof the inuences are negative and the negativeones are stronger due to television, especiallythe violence depicted on television includingdrinking, and drug abuse that were not knownin other cultures.

Minister Mutorwa explained that if young peopleare exposed to the violence on television, thenparents have a challenge to deal with, sayingthat they have to nd an alternative to counteract negative inuences. He reasoned thatnegative cultural inuences can destroy anation since culture is not static but a way of life. “Your way of life can be inuenced to suchan extend that you can forget who you are,” said the Minister.

To sustain the Namibian culture, the Directorateof Heritage and Culture programmes,

recognises that Namibia is a diversity countryand the people’s unity is locked in the diversity.Cultural programmes and activities, especiallycultural dances are coordinated under thisdirectorate. At the constituency and schoollevels, even at primary, secondary schools,colleges, university and the Polytechnic of Namibia, cultural activities are transmittedthrough cultural festivals every year. There arethe adult and school children category groupswhich come together from different regions toperform. In 2007 the cultural festival was heldin the Ohangwena region at Helao Nadi townCouncil.

The main aim of coming together, fromdifferent regions and ethnic background, isto appreciate the idea of being Namibiansin diversity. Minister Mutorwa expressed hisdelight that the majority of young people areactively involved in the festivities of culturaldiversity. “And I think that is a thing that needsto be encouraged and not to be consumed upby other people in the process,” he said.

On whether there is something known as

Namibian culture, the Minister pointed out thatit is a challenge for all Namibians. “I will try torespond in my own way that it is a question toask ourselves, as Namibians.

Minister Mutorwa said that there is noNamibian culture at this stage. “But can wehave a Namibian culture? Yes, in as much asit is in diversity, involving different ethnicityand tribes. And you cannot take that away -for somebody to belong to a particular ethnicgroup or tribe. In actual fact no one had a sayin determining an ethnic or a tribal group one

belongs to. But there is something wrong whenyou use your ethnic tribe to do bad things toother people, Hon. Mutorwa said.

The Minister pointed out that Namibia hasdiversity of cultures as per article 19 of theNamibian Constitution. “We have diversity andwe also have unity. Our unity is demonstratedin the country in which we leave. We have onlyone country called Namibia, one President,one national anthem, one national ag, onenational constitution, one Parliament and youcan go on and on,” he cited. He said that basedon all the symbols of national unity, Namibiansmust journey continuously to dig within thediversity, with the ultimate goal to consolidateunity.

Minister Mutorwa has no doubt that unity isevident in the dances of groups from all overthe country, especially from Opuwo, Caprivi,Omaheke, Omusati or from Kavango, thatthere are a lot of similarities. “[There] aresimilarities in dancing, singing and the rituals,even the way we prepare our food. So if thereare so many similarities, then, there is also avery strong practical possibility to use thosesimilarities to dene our Namibian culture.It is a process. We must work towards it,” the Minister said. He added that to achievea uniform culture the emphasis should beput more on the similarities and on thedifferences.

The Minister acknowledges: “Yes, we differfrom our backgrounds. But even though wecome from different backgrounds we havemany things that we share in common andwe have similarities in commonalities. Takethe names [for instance]. This is one aspectof common identity. You have Ausiku inKavango, you have Hauku, you have Usikuand Haingura, – the same, even my name,Mutorwa, is the same name and have the samemeaning in other countries like Zimbabwe,” Hon. Mutorwa recounted.

In conclusion, Minister Mutorwa emphasised:“My call to the Namibian people is that wemight not have a Namibian culture now butwe should not be discouraged. If we continueto emphasise our oneness in one nation,our similarities and commonalities in ourcustoms and in our culture, it may bring usto a Namibian culture. And we must reachthere. I cannot set a timeframe but we have toreach there. It may not be us but maybe ourchildren will have a Namibian culture one daybecause culture is something that evolves. Itis dynamic.”

Hon. John Mutorwa

hon. Mutorwa on CulturBy Klen Hylw

“We have only one country called Namibia, one President, one

national anthem, one national ag, one national constitution,

one Parliament and you can go on and on”



0


Ait t out to undrtand t worldBy Klen Hylw

The Government Information Bulletin spoketo the Minister of Youth, National Service,Sport and Culture (NYYSC), Hon. John

Mutorwa. Below are the questions andansweres:

Que: How re he young peopleprepared to become useful futureleaders of the country?

an: It is very important when answeringthis question to clearly understand thatwhen we are talking about a young personor we are talking about youth we are talkingabout a living person in his/her fullest asa person. And therefore it is important tounderscore that as a living person he or shedoes not start his or her life in the school.

As a baby, life starts there at a parentalhome, then the school comes in to buildupon the foundation that the parents havealready instilled. The school as an essentialinstitution has got a responsibility toprovide the necessary life such as life skills,necessary knowledge, information, valuesand morals to this particular young person.All these things that I have just enumeratedmust assist this young person in his/herlife long journey to understand the world,the environment in which she or he lives.Once he/she understands the environmentand the resources around him or her, the

ultimate objective is that the knowledge,information, values and morals must assistthis person to make a living.

That is the essence of education and thatis the main mission of any school. I haveno doubt that the schools in Namibiaare essentially doing that. This Ministryis a sister or brother to the Ministry of Education. We are responsible for youngpeople, particularly those who are in schoolbut also for those who are out of schoolbecause we have established the Multi-Purpose Youth Centres in all the regions.These centres are equipped with libraries

and health Centres with programmes toprovide young people with guidance andcounseling. There are some classrooms toprovide training, dress-making, computersand libraries where children can go and doresearch. In other words we complementwhat schools are doing. We also have inour Multi Purpose Centres sport facilitiese.g. gymnasiums so that the children cancome there and exercise. Further more,we have other programmes through the

directorate of sport, extramural activities,athletics, football, netball, volleyball, hockeyand swimming. All these programmes are

geared to complement what schools aredoing so that when you educate a personyou educate him on all entirety and alsophysically. And that is how the government,through the Ministry of YNSSC, and theparent Ministry of Education, are tryingto prepare the young people of today tobecome responsible and mature futurecitizens of Namibia.

Que:`How re he youh nvolved nthe activities of the Ministry?

an: Now, we must emphasise, asgovernment and as a leader, that ideally,

all children in terms of article 20 of theNamibian Constitution must be in schooluntil at least these children have completedprimary education or they have at leastattained the age of sixteen. This is what ourConstitution is saying. I am not disputingyour question that that is the ideal. Thepractice of course some of the children whoare supposed to be in school and are not inschool due to different practical reasons. Andsome of these reasons are very complex. Wehave the problem of orphans in the country- children who have lost their parents. Wehave the problem of poverty in this country.

And all these problems can compound tomake things difcult for these children to bein school.

This is from the side of the governmentand not necessarily the responsibility of thegovernment alone. If you look, for example,the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare, ithas programmes targeting the vulnerablechildren. There are some programmesto cater for the Vulnerable Children andOrphans and these are efforts from thegovernment to try and make life a littlebit easier for the children to access theprogrammes. I have talked about making

it possible for them to go back to normalschool by addressing those impedimentthat would have kept them out and also bymaking it possible for them to participatein programmes that we are offering at theMulti-Purpose Resources Centres.

There is no discrimination that you arepoor, but we are just trying to address theproblems that have prevented these childrento be in school. And the government is doingit through institutions such as the MGCW.

Que: How re he kll progrmmeimplemented? Do you have enoughequipment such as computers and

appropriate trained teachers?

an: May be I should not be theoreticalabout that question. Let us take Windhoek here, the old compounds in Katutura wherethe migrant workers, during the colonialtime, used to leave. Few years ago, ourMinistry, through the directorate of Arts, hastransformed the place into what we now callthe Katutura Community Arts Centre. If yougo there, you will see many activities goingon. The artists, performers and recordersare all there. They are given some training indifferent disciplines of the arts. The idea is,once they have the skills they can go out in

the real world. If they are musician, they canrecord their music and can perform.

I must highlight programmes when I talk about skills training. In this Ministry wehave a national youth service. And thenational youth service is an institutionthat was established through an Act of Parliament in 2005. Our Headquarters useto be at Berg Aukas but we have relocatedto Grootfontein, 35 km from Berg Aukas.That programme is very important becausewe are training young people in differentskills such as agriculture, hospitality and

tourism, construction, ITC, driving and manyprogrammes.

In actual fact, a couple of months ago, wehave been concentrating more in putting upmanagement in place. Onesmus Upindi is theCommissioner, an Executive ofcer there. Itsboard is chaired by Mr. Vitalis Ankama,Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education. In April, this year, if things goesaccording to plan we are going to train theyoung people, especially those who are outof school who would like to join. So far it isnot compulsory. They will join on voluntarybasis. They will be able to trained in the

specic elds of their choice that are marketrelated. In other words, the skills that areneeded in our market economy will take aperiod of one and half or two years.

Successful students will be give certicates. Imust stress this point that at times we think that once we are trained then you expectthe same institution that has trained youto provide you the job. We are encouragingyoung people to use those skills and createemployment for themselves and others.

“There is no discrimination that you are poor, but we are just trying to

address the problems that have prevented these children to be in school”

Documents

MIB Bulletin March 2008 - Namibian Government