Public and private sector collaboration crucial

The power of unity cannot be overemphasised. Indeed, Namibia has experienced, and is still experiencing the effects of a people united towards a common goal during the Covid- 19 pandemic. Various organisations have held hands, reminding the nation that for us to thrive as a people and for our economy to recover and prosper in the wake of Covid-19 devastation, two are indeed better than one and a three stranded cord cannot be easily broken.

According to Margareth Gustavo, executive for strategy and branding at the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB, Namibia has witnessed the public and private sectors join forces in an extraordinary manner with the goal to see the nation survive these challenging times and rise from the proverbial ashes of the pandemic.

“As a nation, we have shown our resilience by coming together as one body with many parts, recognising that no one can ‘go it alone’ during what has been dubbed an unprecedented global season,” she added.

“Not only have we risen as a united front within our borders but we have also received assistance from the nations of the world, specifically our development partners, in the form of donations and aid, particularly, medical supplies, protective clothing, vaccines, food, test kits, budget support pledges, medical and technical expertise and laboratory equipment, among others,” she said.

As the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), “part of our mandate is to promote Namibia as a lucrative investment environment both domestically and internationally which includes facilitating collaborative roles between the government and the private sector to stimulate growth, expansion and development of the Namibian economy.”

Collaboration

“We have observed collaboration at its best during the pandemic and we would like to thank the public and private sectors as well as our development partners for their swift action when Covid-19 hit the world in 2020 and their collaboration during the peak of the pandemic this year. We would like to distinctively thank the following nations for their support during this time: Germany, Egypt, China, India, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, the European Union (EU), the United States of America, Finland, Belgium, Turkey, Malta, the Netherlands and Norway. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Jack Ma Foundations for their donation of medical supplies,” she pointed out

A firm believer in the power of working together, His Excellency, Dr. Hage Geingob in his recent state of the nation address said, “To mitigate the consequences of Covid-19, we deployed a stimulus package of N$8.1 billion and supplemented that amount with an additional N$500 million intervention, specifically targeted towards Small and Medium Enterprises. These efforts illustrate the responsive intent of the government in partnership with the private sector, and reinforces my belief that when we hold hands as a nation, we stand a greater chance of success.”

“Covid-19 has shown what we can accomplish together and at NIPDB we envision continued partnerships that will aid in the recovery and progression of Namibia’s economy as we continue to navigate these challenging times and plan for the future,” she said.

The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) is a non-profit Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) that was primarily created to promote Namibia as a lucrative investment environment both domestically and internationally. NIPDB was incorporated under Section 21 of the Companies Act (28 of 2004). It was established as an autonomous entity in the Presidency, and is declared a Public Enterprise in accordance with Section 2 of the Public Enterprises Governance Act (Act No. 1 of 2019).