Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab Lecture Series event at Ongwediva well attended

ONGWEDIVA, 17 MAY – Namibia is lauded for it conservation efforts and for involving local communities in the management of natural resources through the Community Based Natural Resources Management programme.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said this at the second lecture in the Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab Lecture Series held at the University of Namibia’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos Campus at Ongwediva on Wednesday.

The lectures are held around the country to engage the public on the development of Namibia’s foreign policy named after Theo-Ben Gurirab, who was the country’s first minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 2002.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the Community Based Natural Resources Management programme has improved the livelihoods of rural communities who were deprived of benefits and management of their natural resources by the colonial administration.

“I am referring here to conservancies in all 14 regions of the country,” Nandi-Ndaitwah stated.
She noted that other local initiatives include the promotion of mixed renewable energy and value addition to natural resources such as diamonds.

The Deputy Prime Minister encouraged Namibians to think out of the box to come up with unique Namibian ways to optimally use natural resources without necessarily reinventing the wheel.

Nandi-Ndaitwah told the audience the Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab Lecture Series is “not just a talk show”, but is fertile ground for the cultivation of home-grown ideas that will serve as a vehicle to transport the nation to its Vision 2030 and the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063.

Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of Africa.
The panellists at Wednesday’s lecture were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr Moses Maurihungirire; Agriculture, Water and Forestry Permanent Secretary Percey Misika; Mining Commissioner Erasmus Shivolo and Head of Environment, Climate Change, Water and Land Management of the AU Commission, Harsen Nyambe.

All four panellists encouraged Namibians to support the government in strategising on the optimal use of the country’s natural resources for the benefit of the entire nation.

Wednesday’s lecture took place under the theme: ‘Optimisation of Namibia’s natural resources for sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty’.
NAMPA