MCA marks 4th anniversary
Millenium Challenge Account Namibia staff had a get together lunch to celebrate the completion of their fourth year.
This MCA N development programme in the fields of education, agriculture and tourism ends on 16 September 2014. The investment projects to the combined value of approximately N$ 3 billion (US$ 304.5 million) are funded by the United States Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
At a brief get together during lunch time at the organisation’s headquarters in Windhoek, MCA N’s CEO Penny Akwenye thanked all staff members and implementing partners such as the Ministries of Education, Environment & Tourism, Lands & Resettlement, Agriculture, Water & Forestry together with the two state owned enterprises Namibia Training Authority (NTA) and Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) for their continued cooperation and dedication to the cause.
MCC Country Director Steve Dobrilovic lauded the MCA N team for its extraordinary performance: “During all my years in the field, I have never experienced such a dedicated and professional MCA team, like here in Namibia. All the best for the final year!”
Since the start of Compact implementation, significant progress was made at renovating and upgrading 47 selected schools in the field of education. Regional Study and Resource Centres (RSRCs) in Oshakati, Helao Nafidi and Gobabis are completed and will soon be handed over to the Namibian Government.
In Agriculture, 1.6 million ear tags in support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water & Forestry’s Animal Identification and Traceability Information System (NamLITS) were procured for cattle in the Northern Communal Areas. Community based Rangeland and Livestock Management was widely introduced and five newly constructed State Veterinary Offices (SVOs) in Outapi, Omuthiya, Eenhana, Epukiro and Okakarara are near complete.
MCA N is also supporting the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in translocating wildlife to selected communal conservancies to restore and enhance biodiversity in support of sustainable eco tourism that benefits conservancy members. Infrastructure at Etosha National Park is being built and upgraded to the combined value of N$ 400 million, whereas NTB can enjoy funding for its efforts to market Namibia as a tourist destination abroad.
The MCA N Compact is a grant funding agreement between the Governments of the United States of America and Namibia. All projects are financed by the American taxpayer with the aim to reduce poverty through economic growth.
