CHRISTOF MALETSKY about some pertinent issues such as the controversy around the NBC board chairperson, perceptions of witch-hunts at parastatals, the future of the telecommunications industry and more.
CM: You have been in office for little more than six months now. How did you find the Ministry and what has changed since you took over? JK: The ministry I’m heading at the moment was formerly known as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting but with the new mandate entered it became the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which means new functions were entered that requires changes to its original structures to conform to the new mandate. As a result of the new structure we started compiling job profiles for new staff to be able to carry out ICT-related functions. That has been done. Job profiles have been completed and will be soon presented to the Public Service Commission for approval.CM: What are your major achievements over the past six months?JK: It was a period of consultation, a period of learning to understand the operations of the industry, which had never been familiar to me. But it was also a time which was characterised by the conflict among the mobile operators, you know, accusing each other of unfair competition in connection with the interconnection fee. So the Ministry intervened by appealing to the operators to desist from attacking each other in public and rather to sort out their differences behind closed doors. They definitely heeded our appeal and eventually we organised a workshop where all operators attended and made presentations on their connection fees and gave reasons why they set their tariffs at such fees. We had a facilitator who looked at all the presentations and also drew examples from different countries where successful benchmarking applied. The expert and the Namibia Communication Commissions worked out a benchmarking which will be circulated to the industry to look at it and eventually discuss for a decision to be taken for a benchmarking system on tariff setting. This is an achievement for us. The operators realised that it was not good for them to accuse each other in the public and decided to negotiate and achieve a consensus amicably.CM: What does that mean for the man on the street? Will it affect his pocket, for instance?JK: The benchmarking means the tariff setting will only consider the profit the company will be making but will also look at the affordability of service for the consumer. Consumers will be taken into account.CM: So it could mean that prices will stabilise or drop?JK: Exactly.CM: When the President appoints a Minister, there is obviously a briefing on expectations. What are your key tasks at the Ministry?JK: The key task that the President expects from you is to develop policies – information policies, telecommunication policies and broadcasting policies. With these policies in place, we will be able to leapfrog Namibia into the information society and guide the promotion of ICT in the country. To extend ICT to rural Namibia in order to breach the gap of digital divide between rural and urban societies. You can only do that if you have policies in place and that is what we have done. That is another achievement that we have scored. We have completed the policies on ICT, telecommunication and broadcasting and they were already approved by Cabinet. We are now finalising the consultations and eventually these policies will be printed and published.CM: There is a perception out there that you have come to “clean up” the NBC, and even New Era. Some say Swapo wants to make the parastatals its propaganda machines. Is that perception right?JK: That’s a very wrong perception. Wrong in the sense that my role as Minister is to ensure that those parastatals are performing as expected. They know their aims and objectives but I want to ensure that this is happening. The perception that I was sent to come and clean up is wrong. When I addressed both the staff at the Ministry and the NBC staff, I pointed out unequivocally that I will like to see the people doing their work and the staff should leave their politics outside the premises of the institutions. When they are on the premises of those institutions they should concentrate on their work in order to deliver as expected. So the perception is unfounded and devoid of any truth. It is also untrue to say that Swapo wants to make the parastatals its propaganda machines. You know, NBC and New Era are Government institutions set up with the purpose of promoting Government programmes. These institutions are funded by the Government and, therefore, should fulfil Government policies and regulations. Therefore it is wrong to say Swapo wants to make them its propaganda machines.CM: Does it mean that because they are getting Government funding, the Ministry can tell them what type of programmes to run?JK: Not necessarily. Regarding the programmes of NBC, we have been discussing how to improve them and add value. NBC had been losing customers because of poor programming to other radio stations and television stations like One Africa. So we feel that maybe some of the programmes can be improved by looking at the selection of panels and also the moderator. The quality of a programme depends on the competency of the moderator and likewise the knowledge of the subject by the panel. However, sometimes you find a panel that has no clue on the topic at hand. These are the issues of improvement we had been talking about. Not to take over programmes but advise how to improve programmes like ‘Tutaleni’, ‘Tupopyeni’ and ‘Talk of the Nation’. Topics which affect the daily lives of people, topics which are relevant.CM: An example cited about your interference at NBC, for instance, is the recent pulling of two programmes. One on a child who lost an arm because of the alleged incompetence of doctors and the ‘Talk of the Nation’ programme on the MCA account. How involved do you get at the NBC?JK: Yes, I don’t want to say that I intervened but I called the Director General after I had been requested. I did not know that there would be a programme on the child. Somebody called me and alerted me that the issue which NBC wanted to air is in the court. Normally, if something is in the court, it is sub judice and cannot be discussed on a public forum. Therefore, we feel that this programme should be postponed because of it being before the court. This cannot be called an intervention in the editorial independence of NBC.CM: What about the MCA discussion? Why was it cancelled at the last minute?JK: Equally with MCA it was felt that it was not proper to be discussed in the public domain.CM: Can you explain what the situation is with NBC chairman Ponhele ya France?JK: Well, he is still the chairman as he has been saying in the media. But my position remains that his chairmanship is irrelevant because he does not give guidance and leadership to the NBC. NBC is in a mess. It needs a man of honesty and integrity. He does not want to accept that NBC is in a mess.CM: What you are saying is then that his reports to you are all fine when it is the other way around?JK: Definitely. He argued on a number of occasions. He doesn’t agree that NBC is in a mess. Things are falling apart at the NBC.CM: So why not just remove him? Whose duty is it to remove him? Why is he still there, if you are not happy with his work? Is there any procedure that you need to follow?JK: Well, I think the procedure will be found.CM: So, he will go soon?JK: Well, I can’t comment on that at this stage. What I can say is that we have good intentions and want to see NBC improve in terms of performance. NBC finances are in a mess. Monies are missing left, right and centre. There is no control. There is no supervision. They don’t have structures. Things operate in ad hoc manner. That is the problem that made this Ministry unhappy with the performance of the management of NBC. They don’t have a General Manager for Finance. Apparently the Director General is acting as GM for Finance. They have admitted that they are unable to get a qualified GM d
ue to low salaries. Therefore we tried thorough consultations to get somebody who could assist. We approached the Bank of Namibia and they agreed to assist by getting KPMG to go to NBC to discuss and look at their structures and problems. Eventually they compiled a report for the bank. Upon receiving the report the bank went to the NBC to discuss the modalities of implementing it. Do you know what NBC said? “No thank you, we will implement it ourselves”. There is this tendency of trying to keep people away. They sort of hide something but I wonder how long they will continue to do that. We won’t allow that to continue indefinitely. Here you have people who came to assist you and now you are saying you can do it yourself. There is another report that exposed all the problems facing NBC finances but they are unable to implement it to improve the situation. Now people come to help and they say they can do it themselves. If we are doing something, the public should appreciate that we are doing it in good faith. There is a lot of wastage there. There are a lot of irregularities. Monies go missing and you don’t know whether it is stolen or just missing because of incompetence. But if we try to do something, people say it is a witch-hunt or we are doing that because the people belong to a certain political party. It is not true. People can belong to any political party but they should do their work. They should be honest. What will happen if a true Swapo steals money? Do you think Swapo will say ‘thank you’? Do people imply that if we take somebody from another party accountable then that is a witch-hunt? Does that mean that if that person was a Swapo member, no step would be taken? No, it is not true. Let us be just fair. Issue of performance is just issue of performance. It has nothing to do with politics. Any minister in a government will be preoccupied with the performance of his ministry. Not with who belongs to which political party. No.CM: So people are just politicising performance issues?JK: Exactly. Even the incompetent, when they are held accountable, say it is because of political affiliation. It is a lie. If somebody comes to you crying, I think you should really investigate before writing the story. Don’t take the story on face value, otherwise we confuse the public.CM: Why did the former Chairperson of New Era, Vilbard Uusiku, and acting Chairperson Katrina Sikeni resign?JK: I don’t want to discuss the issue of the Chairperson of New Era. When he resigned, he didn’t make any public statement. In his resignation letter he said he was leaving because of personal reasons and I respect that.CM: And what about the acting chairperson?JK: The acting chairperson resigned because she made a blunder. She made a blunder by extending the contract of the CEO of New Era without consulting the Office of the Minister or the Ministry. This is the first time in the Government that a board extends a contract of a paratatal’s CEO without consulting the Ministry.CM: Does it mean that the extension is now invalid? Can it be contested?JK: Whether it is valid or not, it is unprocedural and it is illegal.CM: So, will he serve the extended term?JK: She resigned before she could explain to us the validity of the contract that was extended unprocedurally.CM: So will Mr Black still keep the job?JK: I will consult on it.CM: There is a moratorium on the issuing of radio licences and also name changes. Why?JK: The moratorium has been imposed by the competent authority, namely the Namibia Communication Commission, with the simple reason that there is a need to investigate the availability of radio frequency spectrum. That can only be done by a competent expert. The bill talks about the proper management of spectrum. The spectrum is a scarce commodity and NCC need to, after the bill is passed, draw up a master plan of frequency spectrum around the country. So the dishing out of spectrum while not knowing how many frequencies are there, has been incorrect. Spectrum allocation is done internationally by the ITU. So to go on a rampage of dishing out frequencies without having a master plan in place is completely wrong. Therefore there is a need to put a moratorium until the bill is passed and the master plan of the whole country is drawn up so that we know exactly the availability of frequency spectrum in the country. Then we can start allocating licences for spectrums. Name change has to be assessed whether it will change the licence conditions. It cannot be changed arbitrarily. These things are enshrined in the bill. There are procedures that we follow and name change need to be reviewed to see whether it does not change the conditions of the licence. It’s not about refusing without any grounds.CM: How long will Government continue to subsidise NBC, Nampa and New Era?JK: I don’t know how long that will take until such parastatals become self-sufficient in terms of self-financing, but it’s our wish that they become self sufficient in terms of their financial capabilities. The Government will continue to support the institutions because they serve a good purpose, although we urge them to reach a stage of financing themselves.CM: You have said the draft Communications Bill would be an “inclusive” law. Can you share the main changes it will bring about in the telecommunication industry?JK: The bill will provide the governing of all the telecommunication sectors and companies. Currently Telecom Namibia is not governed by the Act that governs other mobile operators. Once the bill becomes operational, Telecom too will be required to be subjected to this bill. The bill will also ensure that services rendered will be affordable and effective competition and the protection of the consumer. It will also promote participation by local companies in the communication sector. The bill prohibits the controlling of shares in the sector by a foreign company more than 49 per cent. It can only own 49 per cent.CM: What is the status of the Namibia Film Commission? We understand that there are currently only three out of five members. When will it be fully constituted because we understand that, at times, it can’t even hold a meeting because of a lack of quorum?JK: With three board members it is still fully constituted and meets requirements of corporate governance. There is nothing wrong there. Three members constitute a quorum. However, a process has already started to solicit names of prospective board members from line ministries. As you might be aware, board members for the commission are drawn from certain ministries because of the role they will play. Normally the ministries nominate names of candidates. We have been pursuing them to find out how far they are and they promised to communicate the names to us. Even yesterday I requested one of the nominating ministries. I was told that they would come back to us today. Until now I have not received anything. Government bureaucracy can sometimes constrain the service delivery as expected.CM: There is a soapie called ‘Ties That Bind Us’. Although episodes produced already are very good, we are told that they are too few and too expensive. What is the Ministry’s stance regarding the soapie? Do you intend any kind of remedial action?JK: It’s true the soapie has come at a high cost but it is something we can be proud of. It’s a good soapie with local content, which we are trying to inculcate. We should produce own materials which are relevant to our conditions and culture. It cannot only demonstrate our capability but share with others our culture rather than continue to be fed by outsiders. So, even though the soapie is expensive I think we will always be inclined to support local efforts if our financial resources permit. It is important that we should promote the film industry in our country with the view to show case our local talent.CM: But there is a concern that too many people working as carpenters, drivers, handyman, and other labourers are allowed to come into the country when films come in. How is that being addressed?JK: Yes, you are right. The issue was discussed at our management meeting several times and a decision tak
en that we need to establish proper procedures that will be followed by anyone intending to come and shoot a film in Namibia. As a requirement one should know that certain positions which are not of technical nature should be filled by Namibians like drivers, general manual labour, cooks and so on. I believe that the process has already begun to compile all this requirements and a website of the Ministry will be developed where all this information will be posted to inform the prospective filmmakers about the requirements. I understand that the Film Commission has already contracted an expert to compile this.CM: What is the status of ‘Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation’? Is the search for international distributors still continuing and how do we intend to recover some of the money?JK: I was informed that a foreign distributor has been found and subsequently an agreement signed for that particular distributor to start promoting the film.CM: Meaning that soon it will be at Ster-Kinekor and other cinemas?JK: Let’s hope.CM: What are the main investment opportunities in your sector?JK: We have liberalised the telecommunication sector. That’s why MTC secured a strategic partner in the name of Telecom Portugal as well as entry into the market by CellOne. This market is open for investment -whether local or foreign. We have also investment opportunities in software development for export or the local market. The market is vibrant and conducive for investment. Recently new Internet companies entered the market because of that. Whoever wants to come to invest will be welcome.CM: On a lighter note, having spent some time in India, do you have any Indian recipes that you want to share with our readers?JK: Recipes I brought from India are of two types. One is cooking recipes. My wife collected a lot from different countries including India. We like Indian food. The other recipe is the love of the country because of its success especially in the IT sector. We want to emulate them. To address poverty and unemployment while introducing Namibians to ICT in terms of training to become computer literate as well as enhance potential in developing entrepreneurial skills in our country. Unemployment cannot be successfully address by Government alone. There are limits of doing that but there is a lot of potential in the ICT sector. We want to harness the potential that exists in ICT to create jobs. I want to invite the private sector to join hands with the Government to exploit ICT potential by looking at the needs of the country. They can use ICT to address all the challenges we face as a country.JK: The ministry I’m heading at the moment was formerly known as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting but with the new mandate entered it became the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which means new functions were entered that requires changes to its original structures to conform to the new mandate. As a result of the new structure we started compiling job profiles for new staff to be able to carry out ICT-related functions. That has been done. Job profiles have been completed and will be soon presented to the Public Service Commission for approval.CM: What are your major achievements over the past six months? JK: It was a period of consultation, a period of learning to understand the operations of the industry, which had never been familiar to me. But it was also a time which was characterised by the conflict among the mobile operators, you know, accusing each other of unfair competition in connection with the interconnection fee. So the Ministry intervened by appealing to the operators to desist from attacking each other in public and rather to sort out their differences behind closed doors. They definitely heeded our appeal and eventually we organised a workshop where all operators attended and made presentations on their connection fees and gave reasons why they set their tariffs at such fees. We had a facilitator who looked at all the presentations and also drew examples from different countries where successful benchmarking applied. The expert and the Namibia Communication Commissions worked out a benchmarking which will be circulated to the industry to look at it and eventually discuss for a decision to be taken for a benchmarking system on tariff setting. This is an achievement for us. The operators realised that it was not good for them to accuse each other in the public and decided to negotiate and achieve a consensus amicably.CM: What does that mean for the man on the street? Will it affect his pocket, for instance? JK: The benchmarking means the tariff setting will only consider the profit the company will be making but will also look at the affordability of service for the consumer. Consumers will be taken into account.CM: So it could mean that prices will stabilise or drop? JK: Exactly.CM: When the President appoints a Minister, there is obviously a briefing on expectations. What are your key tasks at the Ministry? JK: The key task that the President expects from you is to develop policies – information policies, telecommunication policies and broadcasting policies. With these policies in place, we will be able to leapfrog Namibia into the information society and guide the promotion of ICT in the country. To extend ICT to rural Namibia in order to breach the gap of digital divide between rural and urban societies. You can only do that if you have policies in place and that is what we have done. That is another achievement that we have scored. We have completed the policies on ICT, telecommunication and broadcasting and they were already approved by Cabinet. We are now finalising the consultations and eventually these policies will be printed and published.CM: There is a perception out there that you have come to “clean up” the NBC, and even New Era. Some say Swapo wants to make the parastatals its propaganda machines. Is that perception right? JK: That’s a very wrong perception. Wrong in the sense that my role as Minister is to ensure that those parastatals are performing as expected. They know their aims and objectives but I want to ensure that this is happening. The perception that I was sent to come and clean up is wrong. When I addressed both the staff at the Ministry and the NBC staff, I pointed out unequivocally that I will like to see the people doing their work and the staff should leave their politics outside the premises of the institutions. When they are on the premises of those institutions they should concentrate on their work in order to deliver as expected. So the perception is unfounded and devoid of any truth. It is also untrue to say that Swapo wants to make the parastatals its propaganda machines. You know, NBC and New Era are Government institutions set up with the purpose of promoting Government programmes. These institutions are funded by the Government and, therefore, should fulfil Government policies and regulations. Therefore it is wrong to say Swapo wants to make them its propaganda machines.CM: Does it mean that because they are getting Government funding, the Ministry can tell them what type of programmes to run? JK: Not necessarily. Regarding the programmes of NBC, we have been discussing how to improve them and add value. NBC had been losing customers because of poor programming to other radio stations and television stations like One Africa. So we feel that maybe some of the programmes can be improved by looking at the selection of panels and also the moderator. The quality of a programme depends on the competency of the moderator and likewise the knowledge of the subject by the panel. However, sometimes you find a panel that has no clue on the topic at hand. These are the issues of improvement we had been talking about. Not to take over programmes but advise how to improve programmes like ‘Tutaleni’, ‘Tupopyeni’ and ‘Talk of the Nation’. Topics which affect the daily lives of people, topics which are relevant.CM: An example cited about your interference at NBC, for instance, is the recent pulling of two programmes. One on a child who lost an arm because of the alleged incompetence of
doctors and the ‘Talk of the Nation’ programme on the MCA account. How involved do you get at the NBC? JK: Yes, I don’t want to say that I intervened but I called the Director General after I had been requested. I did not know that there would be a programme on the child. Somebody called me and alerted me that the issue which NBC wanted to air is in the court. Normally, if something is in the court, it is sub judice and cannot be discussed on a public forum. Therefore, we feel that this programme should be postponed because of it being before the court. This cannot be called an intervention in the editorial independence of NBC.CM: What about the MCA discussion? Why was it cancelled at the last minute? JK: Equally with MCA it was felt that it was not proper to be discussed in the public domain.CM: Can you explain what the situation is with NBC chairman Ponhele ya France? JK: Well, he is still the chairman as he has been saying in the media. But my position remains that his chairmanship is irrelevant because he does not give guidance and leadership to the NBC. NBC is in a mess. It needs a man of honesty and integrity. He does not want to accept that NBC is in a mess.CM: What you are saying is then that his reports to you are all fine when it is the other way around? JK: Definitely. He argued on a number of occasions. He doesn’t agree that NBC is in a mess. Things are falling apart at the NBC.CM: So why not just remove him? Whose duty is it to remove him? Why is he still there, if you are not happy with his work? Is there any procedure that you need to follow? JK: Well, I think the procedure will be found.CM: So, he will go soon? JK: Well, I can’t comment on that at this stage. What I can say is that we have good intentions and want to see NBC improve in terms of performance. NBC finances are in a mess. Monies are missing left, right and centre. There is no control. There is no supervision. They don’t have structures. Things operate in ad hoc manner. That is the problem that made this Ministry unhappy with the performance of the management of NBC. They don’t have a General Manager for Finance. Apparently the Director General is acting as GM for Finance. They have admitted that they are unable to get a qualified GM due to low salaries. Therefore we tried thorough consultations to get somebody who could assist. We approached the Bank of Namibia and they agreed to assist by getting KPMG to go to NBC to discuss and look at their structures and problems. Eventually they compiled a report for the bank. Upon receiving the report the bank went to the NBC to discuss the modalities of implementing it. Do you know what NBC said? “No thank you, we will implement it ourselves”. There is this tendency of trying to keep people away. They sort of hide something but I wonder how long they will continue to do that. We won’t allow that to continue indefinitely. Here you have people who came to assist you and now you are saying you can do it yourself. There is another report that exposed all the problems facing NBC finances but they are unable to implement it to improve the situation. Now people come to help and they say they can do it themselves. If we are doing something, the public should appreciate that we are doing it in good faith. There is a lot of wastage there. There are a lot of irregularities. Monies go missing and you don’t know whether it is stolen or just missing because of incompetence. But if we try to do something, people say it is a witch-hunt or we are doing that because the people belong to a certain political party. It is not true. People can belong to any political party but they should do their work. They should be honest. What will happen if a true Swapo steals money? Do you think Swapo will say ‘thank you’? Do people imply that if we take somebody from another party accountable then that is a witch-hunt? Does that mean that if that person was a Swapo member, no step would be taken? No, it is not true. Let us be just fair. Issue of performance is just issue of performance. It has nothing to do with politics. Any minister in a government will be preoccupied with the performance of his ministry. Not with who belongs to which political party. No.CM: So people are just politicising performance issues? JK: Exactly. Even the incompetent, when they are held accountable, say it is because of political affiliation. It is a lie. If somebody comes to you crying, I think you should really investigate before writing the story. Don’t take the story on face value, otherwise we confuse the public.CM: Why did the former Chairperson of New Era, Vilbard Uusiku, and acting Chairperson Katrina Sikeni resign? JK: I don’t want to discuss the issue of the Chairperson of New Era. When he resigned, he didn’t make any public statement. In his resignation letter he said he was leaving because of personal reasons and I respect that.CM: And what about the acting chairperson? JK: The acting chairperson resigned because she made a blunder. She made a blunder by extending the contract of the CEO of New Era without consulting the Office of the Minister or the Ministry. This is the first time in the Government that a board extends a contract of a paratatal’s CEO without consulting the Ministry.CM: Does it mean that the extension is now invalid? Can it be contested? JK: Whether it is valid or not, it is unprocedural and it is illegal.CM: So, will he serve the extended term? JK: She resigned before she could explain to us the validity of the contract that was extended unprocedurally.CM: So will Mr Black still keep the job? JK: I will consult on it.CM: There is a moratorium on the issuing of radio licences and also name changes. Why? JK: The moratorium has been imposed by the competent authority, namely the Namibia Communication Commission, with the simple reason that there is a need to investigate the availability of radio frequency spectrum. That can only be done by a competent expert. The bill talks about the proper management of spectrum. The spectrum is a scarce commodity and NCC need to, after the bill is passed, draw up a master plan of frequency spectrum around the country. So the dishing out of spectrum while not knowing how many frequencies are there, has been incorrect. Spectrum allocation is done internationally by the ITU. So to go on a rampage of dishing out frequencies without having a master plan in place is completely wrong. Therefore there is a need to put a moratorium until the bill is passed and the master plan of the whole country is drawn up so that we know exactly the availability of frequency spectrum in the country. Then we can start allocating licences for spectrums. Name change has to be assessed whether it will change the licence conditions. It cannot be changed arbitrarily. These things are enshrined in the bill. There are procedures that we follow and name change need to be reviewed to see whether it does not change the conditions of the licence. It’s not about refusing without any grounds.CM: How long will Government continue to subsidise NBC, Nampa and New Era? JK: I don’t know how long that will take until such parastatals become self-sufficient in terms of self-financing, but it’s our wish that they become self sufficient in terms of their financial capabilities. The Government will continue to support the institutions because they serve a good purpose, although we urge them to reach a stage of financing themselves.CM: You have said the draft Communications Bill would be an “inclusive” law. Can you share the main changes it will bring about in the telecommunication industry? JK: The bill will provide the governing of all the telecommunication sectors and companies. Currently Telecom Namibia is not governed by the Act that governs other mobile operators. Once the bill becomes operational, Telecom too will be required to be subjected to this bill. The bill will also ensure that services rendered will be affordable and effective competition and the protection of the consumer. It will also promote participation by local companies in the communication sector. The bill prohibits the controlling of shares in the sector by a foreign company more
than 49 per cent. It can only own 49 per cent.CM: What is the status of the Namibia Film Commission? We understand that there are currently only three out of five members. When will it be fully constituted because we understand that, at times, it can’t even hold a meeting because of a lack of quorum? JK: With three board members it is still fully constituted and meets requirements of corporate governance. There is nothing wrong there. Three members constitute a quorum. However, a process has already started to solicit names of prospective board members from line ministries. As you might be aware, board members for the commission are drawn from certain ministries because of the role they will play. Normally the ministries nominate names of candidates. We have been pursuing them to find out how far they are and they promised to communicate the names to us. Even yesterday I requested one of the nominating ministries. I was told that they would come back to us today. Until now I have not received anything. Government bureaucracy can sometimes constrain the service delivery as expected.CM: There is a soapie called ‘Ties That Bind Us’. Although episodes produced already are very good, we are told that they are too few and too expensive. What is the Ministry’s stance regarding the soapie? Do you intend any kind of remedial action? JK: It’s true the soapie has come at a high cost but it is something we can be proud of. It’s a good soapie with local content, which we are trying to inculcate. We should produce own materials which are relevant to our conditions and culture. It cannot only demonstrate our capability but share with others our culture rather than continue to be fed by outsiders. So, even though the soapie is expensive I think we will always be inclined to support local efforts if our financial resources permit. It is important that we should promote the film industry in our country with the view to show case our local talent.CM: But there is a concern that too many people working as carpenters, drivers, handyman, and other labourers are allowed to come into the country when films come in. How is that being addressed? JK: Yes, you are right. The issue was discussed at our management meeting several times and a decision taken that we need to establish proper procedures that will be followed by anyone intending to come and shoot a film in Namibia. As a requirement one should know that certain positions which are not of technical nature should be filled by Namibians like drivers, general manual labour, cooks and so on. I believe that the process has already begun to compile all this requirements and a website of the Ministry will be developed where all this information will be posted to inform the prospective filmmakers about the requirements. I understand that the Film Commission has already contracted an expert to compile this.CM: What is the status of ‘Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation’? Is the search for international distributors still continuing and how do we intend to recover some of the money? JK: I was informed that a foreign distributor has been found and subsequently an agreement signed for that particular distributor to start promoting the film.CM: Meaning that soon it will be at Ster-Kinekor and other cinemas? JK: Let’s hope.CM: What are the main investment opportunities in your sector? JK: We have liberalised the telecommunication sector. That’s why MTC secured a strategic partner in the name of Telecom Portugal as well as entry into the market by CellOne. This market is open for investment -whether local or foreign. We have also investment opportunities in software development for export or the local market. The market is vibrant and conducive for investment. Recently new Internet companies entered the market because of that. Whoever wants to come to invest will be welcome.CM: On a lighter note, having spent some time in India, do you have any Indian recipes that you want to share with our readers? JK: Recipes I brought from India are of two types. One is cooking recipes. My wife collected a lot from different countries including India. We like Indian food. The other recipe is the love of the country because of its success especially in the IT sector. We want to emulate them. To address poverty and unemployment while introducing Namibians to ICT in terms of training to become computer literate as well as enhance potential in developing entrepreneurial skills in our country. Unemployment cannot be successfully address by Government alone. There are limits of doing that but there is a lot of potential in the ICT sector. We want to harness the potential that exists in ICT to create jobs. I want to invite the private sector to join hands with the Government to exploit ICT potential by looking at the needs of the country. They can use ICT to address all the challenges we face as a country.
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