The Prime Minister has called on public servants to be at the forefront of advancing the national interest and safeguarding national security.
Dr. Elijah Ngurare made the remarks while addressing staff during a meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).
Dr. Ngurare emphasised that with more than 118 thousand employees, the state has a constitutional obligation to create opportunities for Namibians, particularly unemployed young professionals across the country.
With NDP 6 serving as the road map for service delivery, the Prime Minister called for greater accountability and improved performance in the public service, with monitoring and evaluation.
“We must continue to create hope, employment opportunities, and confidence in our ability as Namibians to be at the forefront of economic opportunities. We might not have sufficient skills to go to the moon, but surely we have the sufficient and requisite skills to ensure that every Namibian, in the words of the president, "We are too few to be poor."
OPM coordinates the work of all offices, ministries, and agencies (OMAs); regional councils and local authorities and state-owned enterprises.
Therefore, Dr. Ngurare warned against working in silos and encouraged working towards a common objective to better the lives of all Namibians.
“In delivering efficient public services, the OPM remains the main conduit through which all OMAs function. It has the overall mandate to ensure effective coordination and implementation of public service legal and policy frameworks programmes and projects. It also plays a significant oversight role. If the OPM does not function at the desired level and yield the desired output, then we should not expect anything better from other OMAs.”
The Office of the Prime Minister has undertaken several projects, including the establishment of a One Stop Service Centre in collaboration with the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) and other OMAs, modernisation of IT systems and expertise, and the compilation of a Public Service Culture Change Programme with the Namibian Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM), among others.
Dr. Ngurare also announced the return of the Prime Minister's Question Time, a programme run by the NBC, which gives answers to pertinent questions from the public.