IUM, Nust not offering the right courses – Simataa

The secretary to the Cabinet, George Simataa, has urged the National Council for Higher Education to ensure tertiary institutions offer courses in line with their mandates.

Simataa said the International University of Management (IUM) is registered to offer management courses, but currently offers science and technology courses.

He said this during the state-owned enterprises annual general meeting at Oshakati on Wednesday.

“Similarly, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust), given its mandate, cannot be offering management courses . . . These are serious public service delivery challenges that need attention,” he said.

Simataa said the government has made significant progress in extending access to water across the country, reaching above 90% nationally and 80% in rural areas.

“However, challenges remain and we must be resolute to ensure that every Namibian is provided with
water of adequate quantity and acceptable quality. I therefore appeal to NamWater and local authorities to ensure we regard water as a fundamental human right and that it is available to citizens at an
affordable price,” he said.

Simataa said access to safe, affordable, and suitable housing, including land, is a
fundamental human need and a cornerstone of a thriving society.

“Therefore, the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) should find alternative ways to finance and construct affordable housing for citizens in this country to significantly reduce the housing backlog. It is unheard of that the NHE stay over two months without constructing a single dwelling.

“We have seen the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia making inroads on the provision of cheap accommodation, using alternative building construction materials,” he said.

Louise Shixwameni, the deputy executive director of finance and public enterprises said many state-owned enterprises have improved.

“Many of the state-owned enterprises were not able to produce their annual audits, but today many of them are complying and their audit books are in order,” she said.