Pohamba stresses trust and partnership

NAMIBIAN citizens deserve effective and dedicated civil servants to implement Government policies in order to rid the country of poverty, President Hifikepunye Pohamba said yesterday.

This could only be achieved when leaders and civil servants embraced all citizens and valued their contributions, he added. Speaking at the opening of the first Cabinet meeting of the year, the Head of State set the tone by emphasising that Government aimed at more prudent fiscal discipline, improved co-ordination among ministries and State-owned entities, increased decentralisation and smart partnerships with the private sector and civil society.”We should be willing to listen to the views of our citizens,” Pohamba emphasised.”In so doing we will establish trust and promote all of our citizens in the process of development.That is what participatory democracy and nation building is all about,” he said.”Suspicion and distrust must make way for trust and partnership.”It is imperative that we recognise the need for smart partnerships by providing issue-based and action-oriented platforms for the citizens, Government, the private sector, labour, media and political parties to work together in a peaceful environment for the country’s success and win-win outcomes,” Pohamba told Cabinet Ministers.He made no mention of the current dispute between nurses and the Health Ministry, but noted that when grievances between civil servants and Government occurred, they should be addressed “through dialogue based on trust and partnership”.Effective and dedicated civil servants would enable Government to provide critical services such as health and education with a sense of purpose and team spirit.”Confrontation and acrimony between Government and civil servants can only serve to defeat our common purpose for an efficient and productive public service,” Pohamba cautioned.The President commended the Education Ministry for a much better start of the school year compared to 2006, when thousands of children were desperate to find a place in schools.There was, much room for improvement in the education sector, however, Pohamba pointed out.He called last year’s 50 per cent pass rate of Grade 10 and 12 “disappointing, poor and an embarrassing statistic”.”We cannot afford such a poor performance, but must act swiftly to arrest this disturbing trend immediately and aim for a pass rate of at least 90 per cent in the coming years,” Pohamba demanded.He called for ideas to improve the pass rate and announced that the Education Ministry would now develop an entrepreneurial orientation course starting at Grade 10.”From grades 11 to 12, students should already be able to make career choices,” he added.”We must prepare our children for the workplace in a competitive world.”He said Government would strive to improve fiscal discipline by allocating funds to identified priority areas such as the Green Scheme, rural roads and job creation.Wasteful expenditure and duplication would be avoided, while attracting more investors to stimulate economic growth was also seen as a priority this year.”We must adopt pro-growth measures by attracting private sector investments and implementing practical interventions to reverse the impact of social crises like HIV-AIDS, corruption and crime.”Pohamba called for an intensified, collective 2007 approach by Cabinet.”Let us adopt a can-do attitude and put in place dynamic systems and processes that can cope with the ever-changing realities of policy implementation – we should (also) move away from centralised decision-making towards greater decentralisation,” the President concluded.Speaking at the opening of the first Cabinet meeting of the year, the Head of State set the tone by emphasising that Government aimed at more prudent fiscal discipline, improved co-ordination among ministries and State-owned entities, increased decentralisation and smart partnerships with the private sector and civil society.”We should be willing to listen to the views of our citizens,” Pohamba emphasised.”In so doing we will establish trust and promote all of our citizens in the process of development.That is what participatory democracy and nation building is all about,” he said.”Suspicion and distrust must make way for trust and partnership.”It is imperative that we recognise the need for smart partnerships by providing issue-based and action-oriented platforms for the citizens, Government, the private sector, labour, media and political parties to work together in a peaceful environment for the country’s success and win-win outcomes,” Pohamba told Cabinet Ministers.He made no mention of the current dispute between nurses and the Health Ministry, but noted that when grievances between civil servants and Government occurred, they should be addressed “through dialogue based on trust and partnership”.Effective and dedicated civil servants would enable Government to provide critical services such as health and education with a sense of purpose and team spirit.”Confrontation and acrimony between Government and civil servants can only serve to defeat our common purpose for an efficient and productive public service,” Pohamba cautioned.The President commended the Education Ministry for a much better start of the school year compared to 2006, when thousands of children were desperate to find a place in schools.There was, much room for improvement in the education sector, however, Pohamba pointed out.He called last year’s 50 per cent pass rate of Grade 10 and 12 “disappointing, poor and an embarrassing statistic”.”We cannot afford such a poor performance, but must act swiftly to arrest this disturbing trend immediately and aim for a pass rate of at least 90 per cent in the coming years,” Pohamba demanded.He called for ideas to improve the pass rate and announced that the Education Ministry would now develop an entrepreneurial orientation course starting at Grade 10.”From grades 11 to 12, students should already be able to make career choices,” he added.”We must prepare our children for the workplace in a competitive world.”He said Government would strive to improve fiscal discipline by allocating funds to identified priority areas such as the Green Scheme, rural roads and job creation.Wasteful expenditure and duplication would be avoided, while attracting more investors to stimulate economic growth was also seen as a priority this year.”We must adopt pro-growth measures by attracting private sector investments and implementing practical interventions to reverse the impact of social crises like HIV-AIDS, corruption and crime.”Pohamba called for an intensified, collective 2007 approach by Cabinet.”Let us adopt a can-do attitude and put in place dynamic systems and processes that can cope with the ever-changing realities of policy implementation – we should (also) move away from centralised decision-making towards greater decentralisation,” the President concluded.