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Come do business here!

Come do business here!

Pre-empting the outcomes of Vision 2030 by a decade, the newly re-elected President of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sven Thieme believes that the adoption of the Competiveness Agenda for 2020 holds great promise.
“We have a dream to make all necessary improvements in our policies, legislation and processes so that Namibia becomes the best and easiest country on the African continent to do business in.”
Thieme said this at the Annual General Meeting of the NCCI in Windhoek last week Friday. It was also the first time that a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Finance, the Deputy Minister, Hon Natangwe Ithete, attended.
“For 26 years the NCCI is involved in making the voice of businesses audible and is persistent in receiving comment from their membership to add to the agenda that is being developed with a clear purpose of making intense engagements with all relevant stakeholder to improve the business environment and make it the most competitive in Africa” stated Thieme in support of his hopes for opening up the Namibian economy. He also alluded to the growing sophistication of the local economy, saying the potential is there to build a very strong economy if more conscious attention is paid on creating a competitive environment for local businesses.
Other serious engagements on the NCCI agenda include adding comments to the Harambee Prosperity Plan and the review of pending legislation such as the Local Authorities Amendment Bill, the Marine Resources Amendment Bill, the Appropriaton Bill and ongoing consultaions on the National Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill (NEEEF).
Thieme said the chamber supports the intention of NEEEF but continues to provide inputs into what he described as a set of remedies against inequality and widespread poverty that are not only inhumane but poses serious social and political risks.
“To us NEEEF should bring about genuine transformation and restructuring of the economy in a manner that will ensure that the majority do not only benefit from it but also participate in it.”
“The NCCI continues to engage government to craft legislation that ensures mistakes are avoided in similar schemes elsewhere while taking advantage of the major opportunities” he stated adding that significant progress has been made in the implementation of the Competiveness Agenda 2020.
“The first of such progess being the the implementation of the Competiveness Agenda 2020 and the wholesale adoption of the agenda with undue support by President Hage Geingob to do away with issues that hamper economic competiveness.”
“The concept of competiveness which forms the basis for our Agenda 2020 is now a central theme within the Harambee Prosperity Plan.” Thime said pointing out that public and private sector talks on the prosperity plan will be driven by the NCCI and the Office of the President.
These discussions are planned for before the end of the year.

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