Private Public Partnerships vital in poverty eradication

At a drought relief handover early this week, Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Hon. Dr Zephania Kameeta called on the collaboration between private business and the government in so-called Private Public Partnerships as a means of fighting poverty.

The minister said this during the ceremony where Namsov donated canned goods worth N$500,000 for drought relief. Namsov also made a presentation to the ministry and acquainted themselves with the objectives of the new ministry. Kameeta noted that the response from the private sector is currently overwhelming in the quest to eradicate poverty. Namsov board chairperson, Foibe Namene said that Namsov has had discussions pertaining to the establishment of a food bank, adding that a budget has been put aside by the Trust as a contribution from the private sector. According to Kameeta the construction of the food bank could start in October and be completed before the end of the year, if all goes well with the planning. Kameeta noted that with the issue of poverty, people often have a misconception of what poverty is and said that people should have a different approach to it. The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Iben Nashandi said that currently the level of poverty correlated with that of unemployment at around 26% according to the latest National Planning Commission’s poverty mapping report. Meanwhile in Namsov’s presentation it was noted that since their establishment, they have assisted in welfare solutions to over 600 projects in Namibia.