Statistics Agency introduces geographic portal to the public
The Minister of Economic Planning and the National Planning Commission, Hon. Tom Alweendo launched the National Geographic Portal for the national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) late last month and its development will be coordinated by the National Statistic Agency (NSA) for Namibia as mandated by the Statistic Act, No. 9 of 2011.
NSA said the Geographic portal is developed as a type of web portal for accessing, viewing and analysing geographically referenced or locational data and information on the internet. Therefore in the case of Namibia it is a critical component of the Namibian Spatial Data Infrastructure adding to the many online government services in the country.
NSA have confirmed that the main aim of the geoportal is to facilitate public and national wide access to government information produced and held by different government bodies, both locational and statistical.
They have emphasized that it is important because it will enables the public to see and evaluate government investment in its people and that it is also important for national security and heritage.
“We need to safeguard our territorial integrity and our heritage include our national boundary and natural resources which all need to be safeguarded,” NSA added.
According to the agency, the portal system is developed in such a way that it accommodates both novice and advanced users, therefore all people who have access to internet whether on their mobile devices or office PCs can access and use the portal.
Furthermore they also stated that the portal brings not only economic benefits, but also environmental, social and economical benefits to the country.
The agency said the portal also enables the user to view and perform basic spatial analysis on fundamental datasets held by different government bodies online. Which include map overlay with other datasets, geometry calculations, map printing, online sharing via social media, superimposition of own datasets.
