Jo-MarÉ Duddy
30 June 2009
NCCI President John Endjala kicked off his second term in office Saturday night by continuing his fight for the rights of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Namibian economy and calling for a practical policy of broad-based black economic empowerment (BBEE).
"Sometimes it is more important to change perceptions when it should be more important to change reality," Endjala told the business community at the annual gala dinner of the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI).
Referring to Namibia's improvement on the recently released Africa Competitiveness Index, he said the reality is that the country is still plagued by unacceptably high unemployment, an income gap and inequality.
"Namibia is like a postcard. What you see, doesn't necessarily reflect the reality," the NCCI leader said.
"Two million people are too little for Namibia to be faced with unemployment," Endjala said, calling for deliberate and drastic measures to handle the crisis of the "jobless majority".
Although it is not always easy, the interests of business need to be balanced with the interests of the country, he said.
Namibia desperately needs a diversified SME sector.
"We consume what we don't produce, and we produce what we don't consume."
The NCCI President is known for his blatant attacks on especially the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), which he has accused of favouring foreign investors above local SME entrepreneurs.
Namibia suffers from "severe capital deprivation", Endjala said.
A successful SME sector is like soccer - thousands must play the game to be able to pick a winning team, he said. In Namibia, however, the ground is uneven and the players have inadequate instruments.
"I sometimes wonder when the second half will ever come so that the teams can change sides," Endjala said.
Where is Namibia's business community - in the central business district (CBD) of Windhoek or in the informal settlements, he asked.
Endjala called for the implementation of Namibia's various development policies.
"They are stored on the hard drives of our computers or in books on shelves, and we worship them like deities," he said.
Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob at the same event promised that the envisaged SME Bank will be the "people's bank".
Reluctant to elaborate, he said: "I won't disclose all my tactics, I'm a fighter."
However, the SME Bank will focus on the youth and women in Namibia, he hinted.
jo-mare@namibian.com.na
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