Pohamba pushes anti-poverty plan

ERADICATING poverty and creating more jobs should demand more attention from Government, Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba said in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Speaking during the Budget debate, Pohamba said industrialisation and job creation had to be fast-tracked. From the time he took the floor, Pohamba as a Swapo Party presidential candidate, faced comments from the opposition benches that his remarks were part of his election campaign.Reminiscing about his time as Swapo Party Secretary General and then Vice President, Pohamba said he had travelled far and wide across Namibia.After many “painstaking hours” in meetings with party members – poverty and unemployment had emerged as members’ major concerns.”These people have high hopes and aspirations that [the] Swapo Party Government will attend to their plight and deliver to their expectations.We should therefore live up to these expectations,” said Pohamba.Pohamba said the means to reduce poverty lay in the creation of more business enterprises so that more citizens could be employed.But he said there was a lack of integrated planning between Government institutions and private enterprise – especially in the commercial and communal farming sector – to realise this vision.”There is a need to have a comprehensive overall economic plan for the country.What we have is the Government plan but not for the private sector,” said Pohamba.”Whilst not suggesting that Government direct control of the private enterprises… I am calling for co-ordination on planning especially when it comes to the employment of workers and other social issues.”Pohamba singled out agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing as sectors that needed to grow.”There are other equally important services such as health, security, etc, which are of a money-consuming nature, but not wealth creators.They consume the wealth that has been created by their fellow citizens working in mines, agriculture, tourism,” he said.The Lands Minister said the country needed to review existing policies to integrate economic planning into national priorities.Pohamba concluded by lamenting the “danger” gambling posed.He reminded the House that he had opposed introducing gambling legislation some years ago, and said many people were suffering because their dependent was gambling away their income.”While I agree that gambling is a business… I should say that I am not comfortable with this type of business.According to my understanding, gambling was meant for recreational activities for clients.But in actual fact, it is not the case,” said an upset Pohamba.He called on the House to devise ways to protect families from deprivation by those who were supposed to be dependable breadwinners.From the time he took the floor, Pohamba as a Swapo Party presidential candidate, faced comments from the opposition benches that his remarks were part of his election campaign.Reminiscing about his time as Swapo Party Secretary General and then Vice President, Pohamba said he had travelled far and wide across Namibia.After many “painstaking hours” in meetings with party members – poverty and unemployment had emerged as members’ major concerns.”These people have high hopes and aspirations that [the] Swapo Party Government will attend to their plight and deliver to their expectations.We should therefore live up to these expectations,” said Pohamba.Pohamba said the means to reduce poverty lay in the creation of more business enterprises so that more citizens could be employed.But he said there was a lack of integrated planning between Government institutions and private enterprise – especially in the commercial and communal farming sector – to realise this vision.”There is a need to have a comprehensive overall economic plan for the country.What we have is the Government plan but not for the private sector,” said Pohamba.”Whilst not suggesting that Government direct control of the private enterprises… I am calling for co-ordination on planning especially when it comes to the employment of workers and other social issues.”Pohamba singled out agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing as sectors that needed to grow.”There are other equally important services such as health, security, etc, which are of a money-consuming nature, but not wealth creators.They consume the wealth that has been created by their fellow citizens working in mines, agriculture, tourism,” he said.The Lands Minister said the country needed to review existing policies to integrate economic planning into national priorities.Pohamba concluded by lamenting the “danger” gambling posed.He reminded the House that he had opposed introducing gambling legislation some years ago, and said many people were suffering because their dependent was gambling away their income.”While I agree that gambling is a business… I should say that I am not comfortable with this type of business.According to my understanding, gambling was meant for recreational activities for clients.But in actual fact, it is not the case,” said an upset Pohamba.He called on the House to devise ways to protect families from deprivation by those who were supposed to be dependable breadwinners.