Africa-Press – Namibia. PRIME Minister Dr Elijah Ngurare highlighted that Namibia, together with other African countries, is seeking Japan’s support to integrate the informal sector into the mainstream economy to boost value addition and create jobs.
“Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are vital to economic development in Africa. They form the backbone of most of our economies and are owned by women and youth. Hence, there is a need to assist them in capitalising on the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA Agreement. Integrating the informal sector into the mainstream economy will enhance value addition, create employment, and generate income for the majority of our people. Therefore, we must continue to connect them with their peers in Japan,” he said.
The Prime Minister made these remarks during a high-level thematic side event held on the margins of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Japan. The event aimed to bring together African leaders, Japanese officials, and international stakeholders to strengthen partnerships for sustainable development across the continent.
“Namibia is of the view that it is paramount, through TICAD, to place greater emphasis on strengthening continental value chains across all sectors, particularly the agricultural and mining sectors, which are strategically important to our continent. Through focused efforts, we can scale up our manufacturing and industrial development priorities if we are to develop and grow our local economies,” Dr Ngurare said.
He drew attention to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s frequent emphasis on increasing value addition to Namibia’s raw materials before export, stressing that this approach is essential to tackling poverty across Africa.
“Let me reiterate the clarion call of Her Excellency Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia: ‘We seek value addition to our critical raw materials before they are exported.’ Indeed, we are too few to be poor in Africa. We must ensure that in every African village there is an economic activity contributing to an improved standard of living for our people, especially young people. There must be a technological hub, a scientific laboratory, and a library in every school. There must be a community garden provided with adequate water and agricultural implements in every village,” Dr Ngurare added.
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