Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Former chief executive of the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), Tara Shaanika, said Founding President Sam Nujoma believed Namibia’s economy could thrive by manufacturing and producing its own products rather than relying on imports.
Nujoma, who led Namibia from 1990 to 2005, passed away on Sunday at the age of 95.
Speaking to Windhoek Observer on Sunday, Shaanika said Nujoma’s economic policies were centred on export-driven growth, as he believed the country had enough resources to produce and export goods rather than import them.
“President Nujoam believed in an economy that is importless, which is dependent on manufacturing. He wanted an industrialised economy, and that is why industrialism became a vital theme in his Vision 2030 that he crafted. He came up with Vision 2030, particularly focusing on industrialisation for Namibia to become an industrialised country by the year 2030,” said Shaanika.
According to Shaanika, the founding president was also big on infrastructure development.
“For example when we got independence, there was no tarred road between Rundu and Katima Mulilo but he mobilized resources to get the road done and connect Katima to the rest of the country,” he said.
Shaaninka added that Nujoma’s vision for railway expansion included constructing a line from Tsumeb to Ondangwa, which was intended to extend to Oshikango and then into Angola.
However, the project was discontinued after he stepped down in 2005, despite an agreement with former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.
“He envisioned goods being transported between Namibia and Angola on rail to link the two economies, including the economy of South Africa by transporting goods from South Africa through Namibia and visa-versa. He believed that the economy should be built up with good and well-maintained transport infrastructure,” stated Shaanika.
Some of Nujoma’s projects that did not materialise were to pump water from the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Namibia to address water shortage in the country, especially during the dry seasons as well as the establishment of the Cape Fria port in the Kunene region.
Shaanika is of the view that all these projects are still doable even though they require extensive feasibility studies.
“The other one was also getting electricity from the Congo through the hydroelectric project, which President Nujoma also wanted to collaborate with other SADC countries such Angola, Botswana and South Africa. A company was even created, which was owned by this government with the idea to guarantee energy security to the SADC region, but unfortunately, this project was sabotaged somewhere and it never materialised,” revealed Shaanika.
On the Cape Fria port, Shaanika said it had the potential to develop the Kunene region and create much-needed jobs for the region’s inhabitants.
“This was going to be massive for the region, especially with our iron ore processing in the Kunene region, in terms of infrastructures of roads and the port. At the moment, we cannot export those resources because we don’t have the necessary infrastructure, especially the port. I think that port is doable, and Namibia must see through the development of that port,” said Shaanika.
Nujoma always emphasized that achieving Vision 2030 required hard work and dedication.
“As leaders, we must continue to listen to our people and mobilize them to plan together and work hard in order to overcome any challenge that comes our way,” he said.
