BoN symposium discussions to benefit other countries as well: Uutoni

Discussions at the Bank of Namibia symposium to discuss the transformation of the rural economy in Namibia, will be fruitful and will benefit not only Namibia, but other countries as well.

This was said by Urban and Rural Development Minister, Erastus Uutoni while commending the bank for its 24th annual symposium which took place in the capital on Thursday.

The minister in a speech availed to Nampa said the seminar was timely as the ministry is in the final stage of commencing a review of the National Rural Development Policy and Strategy.

He said the rural economy plays a crucial role in the growth of Namibia’s overall economy and the government recognises the importance of transforming rural economies, leading to accelerated and diversified economic growth, reduced poverty and inequalities, and greater environmental sustainability.

Namibia has a young population, which represents an opportunity for a demographic dividend, the minister said.

‘Despite Namibia’s great strides in improving the rural are
as through a number of cross-cutting policies and strategies and also given the positive economic growth realised over the last decades, the country continues to face challenges such as extreme poverty and inequalities, with 17.4 per cent of the population remaining poor, and unemployment rate at 33.4 per cent, with youth unemployment at 46.1 per cent across all regions,’ Uutoni said.

The minister noted that over 650 000 people are regarded as food insecure and about 70 per cent of the population depends on agriculture and are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

He said the situation has been exacerbated by the post-Covid-19 effects and the slow economic recovery.

‘Our government continues to set ambitious plans to transform the rural economy and address vexing challenges, including limited financial resources,’ he said.

Uutoni encouraged Namibians to be creative and to use all their resources to leverage much-needed private-sector investment to alleviate poverty and create jobs.

Participants at
the half-day seminar looked at an overview of rural economic development in Namibia and learned lessons from other countries on improving the economy of rural communities through skills development, job creation and income-generating activities.

They also discussed topics such as strengthening coordination for rural economic development in Namibia, jobs for rural youth and the role of local food economies, among other topics.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency