Strong partners essential to bring development targets in line with funding
Strong partnerships between the government and Namibia’s development partners is a key aspect of sustainable economic growth, according to the Minister of Economic Planning, Hon Tom Alweendo.
Speaking at a forum arranged by the National Planning Commission earlier this week, the minister encourages all development partners across the broad spectrum of functionalities, to coordinate their input wherever possible, to achieve priority development outcomes and targets as encapsulated and defined in the 5th National Development Plan (NDP5).
The 2017 Development Partners Forum was co-hosted by the United Nations system in Namibia, attracting around seventy representatives who are all working activitely in or with various aspects pertaining to development and the effectiveness of development spend.
The event, which took place at the UN House in Klein Windhoek, was attended by people representing bilateral and multilateral institutions, the private sector, academia, research institutions and civil society organizations.
The forum constituted the official platform for the Namibian Government to brief development partners on the implementation of NDP5, and to get their feedback on areas of support. It also discussed strategies to coordinate development assistance at sectoral level.
Coordinating the activities and contributions from development partners is one of the mechanisms for implementing the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which Namibia signed in 2007. The intended outcome is to improve development contributions for long-lasting results, helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
A groundshift in the broader development approach occurred when Namibia moved away from the strict and confined concept of aid effectiveness to the wider, more flexible interpretation of development effectiveness. While the former focussed on control and auditing of development funds, the latter recognises existential outcomes as far more important.
The UN Resident Coordinator to Namibia, Kiki Gbeho said, “This year’s event is even more important for Namibia and its War on Poverty, as we have moved from planning to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Harambee Prosperity Plan, the Poverty Blue Print and now NDP 5.”
“It is our hope that this development forum will capitalize on strengthened coordination to help move Namibia closer to realizing Vision 2030” she said.
