Windhoek: Ben Nangombe, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations, highlighted that Namibia's national development agenda mirrors the African Union's vision for an inclusive and resilient continent.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Nangombe made the remarks during the Sixth African Union (AU) Specialised Technical Committee Summit on Social Development, Labour and Employment attended by international delegates, technical experts, and social partners in Windhoek on Monday. In his address, Nangombe emphasised that the summit's focus on social justice, inclusion, and resilience is timely, as Namibia aligns its national strategies with Vision 2030 and the sixth National Development Plan (NDP6).
The summit, themed 'Investing, Strengthening and Expanding Social Protection Systems in Africa: A Critical Enabler for Inclusion, Resilience and Social Justice', tackles urgent challenges faced by African governments, including high youth unemployment, rising informality in the labour market, and increasing risks from climate and economic disruptions.
Nangombe stated, 'For us in Namibia, we believe that this theme aligns closely with our national priorities as articulated in our Vision 2030 and NDP6,' noting that under NDP6, Namibia has adopted a human-centred approach to development, focusing on strengthening social protection, improving labour market inclusion, and building systems that safeguard the well-being and security of all Namibians.
He highlighted that the policy innovations in NDP6 aim to create strong, future-ready mechanisms that can endure regional and global shocks, ultimately seeking to eradicate poverty across the continent. 'We are working as a country to build robust systems that are future-ready, that are better coordinated, and responsive to shocks in support of a greater national vision to defeat poverty, to uplift all sections of our society, and to dream about prosperity that we as Namibians yearn, that we as Africans also desire,' he said.
Nangombe asserted that the initiative aligns with the collective direction of Africa at the continental level, emphasising that the work over the next three days is crucial for enhancing integrated, inclusive, and resilient social protection systems. The three-day technical meeting convenes representatives from the traditional tripartite sectors: governments, organised labour, and employers, to review draft policy frameworks ahead of the high-level ministerial segment scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
To facilitate comprehensive discussion, the technical sessions are divided into two parallel tracks focusing on social development and labour and employment.