Pohamba concerned about labour strikes

RECENT strikes and industrial action by labour unions in various parts of the country are causing concern, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said during the opening of Parliament on Tuesday.

He said the new Labour Bill would be among the first bills tabled during this session of the National Assembly, and would affect the daily lives of the citizens. “The issues of tense labour relations anywhere in the country are a source of concern for our Government, and for the entire country,” Pohamba said.”Industrial disputes hinder productivity and without productivity the economy cannot grow.If the economy cannot grow, there is no employment creation or generation of wealth.”Worse still, Government revenue is reduced, with the result that the implementation of projects for the socio-economic upliftment of our people will be negatively affected,” Pohamba outlined.Referring to the new Value Added Tax Amendment Bill, which is also scheduled to be debated in the National Assembly, Pohamba noted that taxes were an important source of Government revenue.”It is therefore important to ensure that our tax revenue collection mechanisms are efficient and watertight.No room should be left for tax evasion by individuals or corporations,” he emphasised.”A weak tax collection system translates into a lack of funds for the Government to fulfil its obligations and to achieve its development goals.We must try as much as we can to finance Government programmes from our own sources and taxes are an important component of this.”Unemployment in Namibia was high, especially among the youth, hampering economic progress, the President noted.”The education and training of our children and the youth is an issue very close to my heart.I urge all our people to follow keenly the debate on the Vocational Education and Training Bill,” he said.”We must put appropriate mechanisms in place in order to impart practical and marketable skills to our youth so that they can fully participate in the social and economic development of our nation.We need an educated nation, we need skilful and productive citizens who possess the knowledge, know-how and competencies to operate in the modern economy.”The President said no stone should be left unturned in efforts to provide the country’s youth with training opportunities “thereby addressing the skills deficit currently hampering the growth of our economy”.The President also briefly touched on the new Electricity Bill, which is to be tabled in Parliament soon.Namibians were aware of the impending crisis in the supply of power, not only in Namibia, but also in the wider SADC Region, he said.”Given this dire situation, we must act swiftly to ameliorate and cushion the effects of the reduced power generation capacity in our region.”Power shortages could have a detrimental effect on the performance of the country’s economy and the livelihood of people.”It is our duty to consider long-term and sustainable alternative modes of power sourcing and power generation in order to prevent these kinds of vulnerabilities.It has become necessary for Namibia to accelerate our efforts to harness the power of our renewable energy resources such as solar power, wind energy and other clean modes of power generation,” Pohamba said.”The issues of tense labour relations anywhere in the country are a source of concern for our Government, and for the entire country,” Pohamba said.”Industrial disputes hinder productivity and without productivity the economy cannot grow.If the economy cannot grow, there is no employment creation or generation of wealth.”Worse still, Government revenue is reduced, with the result that the implementation of projects for the socio-economic upliftment of our people will be negatively affected,” Pohamba outlined.Referring to the new Value Added Tax Amendment Bill, which is also scheduled to be debated in the National Assembly, Pohamba noted that taxes were an important source of Government revenue.”It is therefore important to ensure that our tax revenue collection mechanisms are efficient and watertight.No room should be left for tax evasion by individuals or corporations,” he emphasised.”A weak tax collection system translates into a lack of funds for the Government to fulfil its obligations and to achieve its development goals.We must try as much as we can to finance Government programmes from our own sources and taxes are an important component of this.”Unemployment in Namibia was high, especially among the youth, hampering economic progress, the President noted.”The education and training of our children and the youth is an issue very close to my heart.I urge all our people to follow keenly the debate on the Vocational Education and Training Bill,” he said.”We must put appropriate mechanisms in place in order to impart practical and marketable skills to our youth so that they can fully participate in the social and economic development of our nation.We need an educated nation, we need skilful and productive citizens who possess the knowledge, know-how and competencies to operate in the modern economy.”The President said no stone should be left unturned in efforts to provide the country’s youth with training opportunities “thereby addressing the skills deficit currently hampering the growth of our economy”.The President also briefly touched on the new Electricity Bill, which is to be tabled in Parliament soon.Namibians were aware of the impending crisis in the supply of power, not only in Namibia, but also in the wider SADC Region, he said.”Given this dire situation, we must act swiftly to ameliorate and cushion the effects of the reduced power generation capacity in our region.”Power shortages could have a detrimental effect on the performance of the country’s economy and the livelihood of people.”It is our duty to consider long-term and sustainable alternative modes of power sourcing and power generation in order to prevent these kinds of vulnerabilities.It has become necessary for Namibia to accelerate our efforts to harness the power of our renewable energy resources such as solar power, wind energy and other clean modes of power generation,” Pohamba said.