President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called for Namibia’s natural resources and economic opportunities to translate into tangible improvements in household livelihoods, saying the country’s development will ultimately be judged by the benefits delivered to its people.
Speaking at the 60th commemoration of Heroes Day at Heroes Acre on Wednesday, Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia must ensure that its resource wealth supports jobs, businesses, public services and improved living standards as the country pursues economic emancipation.
“Above all, we must ensure that the resources and opportunities of this country translate into dignity and improved livelihoods for our people,” she said.
The President said political independence alone was insufficient while poverty, unemployment, inequality, hunger and homelessness continued to affect Namibians.
“Political freedom and sovereignty have been won. But every generation has its own struggle. Thirty-six years after independence, ours is the struggle for economic emancipation,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She said the government intends to use natural resource beneficiation and value addition to retain more economic benefits from Namibia’s resources, while expanding opportunities for young people and entrepreneurs.
“Through natural resource beneficiation, value addition, youth empowerment and the seven priority areas supported by our economic enablers, we must build an economy capable of improving the material conditions of the Namibian people,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said this would require Namibia to attract productive investment while strengthening domestic capacity to participate in economic activity.
She also called for greater support for farmers, entrepreneurship, research, technology and innovation, alongside improvements in public service delivery.
“We must deliver an efficient public service. We must support our farmers. We must create opportunities for entrepreneurs. We must attract productive investment. We must advance research, technology and innovation,” she said.
The President said unemployment, particularly among young people, remains one of the major threats to the country’s economic ambitions.
She also singled out corruption and institutional inefficiency as obstacles that must be addressed if Namibia is to deliver broader economic benefits from its resources and investment.
“The enemies before us may no longer wear military uniforms, but they are no less real. They are poverty. They are unemployment, particularly among our young people. They are inequality. They are corruption and institutional inefficiency,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She said the government’s economic programme under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) is intended to address these challenges and improve the material conditions of Namibians.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the current generation would ultimately be judged not simply on preserving political independence, but on whether it used that freedom to build a more prosperous economy.
“The question history will one day ask of us is simple: What did we do with it?” she said.
