Martin Endjala
The government has decided to step in to establish a microfinancing fund tailor-made to assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a result of limited funding for SME loan schemes by the Development Bank of Namibia and other challenges.
The new plan was announced by Prime Minister Saara Kuukongelwa-Amadhila in Parliament earlier today.
The Prime Minister was responding to a motion tabled by a member of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), Maximillian Katjimune.
The motion is calling for an investigation into the bottlenecks around financing for SMEs in Namibia to unleash greater access and economic potential for the sector to benefit the economy.
The PDM’s President McHenry Venaani, said that more impetus is needed to improve SMEs which are paramount to the economy of the country
Venaani stated that for far too long, the military uniforms of the Namibian Defence Force have been produced in Brazil while Namibia has tailors who have the skills to render such services.
He said that the government should leave the manufacturing of uniforms to SMEs.
He lauded the Safety and Security Minister, Albert Kawana who revealed that the Namibia Correctional Service uniforms are manufactured locally by Dinapama Manufacturing Supplies, and called for more local SMEs to follow suit.
Kuukongelwa-Amadhila said it is good to see the opposition party aligning their thinking with that of the ruling party.
She stated that the train had already left the station following Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting where the government has outlined various interventions to assist SMEs.
“We have agreed to establish a microfinancing fund that will be a budgetary allocation every year. The second thing that we agreed on is to establish a community development fund, and also make budgetary allocations to that programme each year,” she said.
The Prime Minister elaborated that these interventions are intended to bring life into the economy of localities on the ground so that developmental and economic activities are not concentrated around the large towns.
Furthermore, the government is further looking to strengthen its food programmes while setting the record straight, that many of these programmes have been in existence, they were just not fully utilised and the government is not doing it because it is election time, but there has been planning going on behind the scenes.
Another intervention the government agreed to, is to create an employment creation fund and to establish a coordinating body for employment creation, which will be under the line ministry in charge of employment creation.
The Prime Minister also touched on the cost of doing business in Namibia, emphasising that some of the many interventions being implemented by the government, will reduce the cost of doing business in Namibia, to allow for local business competitiveness both nationally and globally.
Moreover, she informed that the cabinet also agreed to review the interest loans for macro and small and medium enterprises to be reviewed to make them more affordable.
“We should also operationalise the extension of contract income in all cases as an alternative to collateral because many of these young people do not have collateral,” said the PM.
