Gurirab says Namibia is open to donor aid

PRIME Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab has said Government welcomes foreign assistance, whether it comes in the form of investment trade relations, joint venture initiatives or grants and loans.

“At the same time, Namibia wants our co-operating partners to respect our development policies and priorities that we have adopted. We would not want development aid to dictate priorities for us but rather to assist priorities we developed ourselves,” Gurirab told The Namibian.The PM was responding to questions posed by the newspaper on the outcome of the 3rd Extra-ordinary session of the African Union (AU) on Employment and Poverty Alleviation, which he recently attended in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.At the summit, Gurirab said that Namibia put emphasis on self-reliance.”This does not mean refusing assistance from the international community, but relying on your budget,” he said.The PM said self-reliance was what Namibia was trying to achieve through implementing Vision 2030 and the NDP II.”The Millennium Development Goals and Targets as well as Vision 2030 already provide for our programme of work.Employment creation and poverty reduction is a priority for the AU and a priority for Namibia in Vision 2030,” he said.Other issues enjoying importance in Vision 2030 are HIV-AIDS and women empowerment.The Prime Minister said that the AU decision complements Namibia’s National Development Plan (NDP).The summit was held under the theme, ‘Strategy for Employment Creation-Promotion and Enhancing Sustainable Livelihood’.The two priority areas are being implemented by AU member states through Nepad.Sub-themes included strategies and modalities for employment and poverty alleviation with special reference to vulnerable and marginalised groups.The summit adopted three main documents, A Plan of Action, A Declaration and the Follow-up Mechanisms for implementation.We would not want development aid to dictate priorities for us but rather to assist priorities we developed ourselves,” Gurirab told The Namibian.The PM was responding to questions posed by the newspaper on the outcome of the 3rd Extra-ordinary session of the African Union (AU) on Employment and Poverty Alleviation, which he recently attended in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.At the summit, Gurirab said that Namibia put emphasis on self-reliance.”This does not mean refusing assistance from the international community, but relying on your budget,” he said.The PM said self-reliance was what Namibia was trying to achieve through implementing Vision 2030 and the NDP II.”The Millennium Development Goals and Targets as well as Vision 2030 already provide for our programme of work.Employment creation and poverty reduction is a priority for the AU and a priority for Namibia in Vision 2030,” he said.Other issues enjoying importance in Vision 2030 are HIV-AIDS and women empowerment.The Prime Minister said that the AU decision complements Namibia’s National Development Plan (NDP).The summit was held under the theme, ‘Strategy for Employment Creation-Promotion and Enhancing Sustainable Livelihood’.The two priority areas are being implemented by AU member states through Nepad.Sub-themes included strategies and modalities for employment and poverty alleviation with special reference to vulnerable and marginalised groups.The summit adopted three main documents, A Plan of Action, A Declaration and the Follow-up Mechanisms for implementation.