Vision 2030

2. Why Vision 2030

2.1 In his statement to the Cabinet in January 1998, His Excellency, the President, Dr. Sam Nujoma, emphasized the need for members for the Cabinet, in the interest of the Government and the people, to be clear “about where we are, where we want to go from here, and over what time frame”.

2.2 He then called on the Cabinet to deliberate on a vision that will take Namibia from the present into the future. “A vision that will guide us to make deliberate efforts to improve the quality of life of our people to the level of their counterparts in developed world by the year 2030”.

3. The rationale

3.1 A national Vision provides long term alternative policy scenarios on the future course of development in a country at different points in time up until the target year 2030.

3.2 The dynamic process in the long-term future is more important for planning than the end point of the process. Perspective thinking is particularly relevant for the short and medium term implementation of long term planning targets.

3.3 Long-term perspective plans are also useful for anticipating changes and for understanding events that are likely to happen.

4. Management

4.1 The challenge of coordinating the activities that was lead to the development of a shared national vision for Namibia was given to the National Planning Commission.

4.2 The process started late in 2000 and it is planned to be concluded early in 2003; thereafter, Namibia Vision 2030 will be published and disseminated widely.

4.3 At the apex of the organizational structure for visionary management was the National Core Team, made up of experts in various fields, and supported by the National Committee, the Steering Committee and the National Planning Commission.

5. Creating Vision Awareness

5.1 People must be made aware of the Vision and be part of the formulation process; otherwise they are likely to regard it as another official Government paper.

5.2 It was to this end that Vision management team called a Media Conference in May 2001 at which all and sundry were invited to be part of the process.

5.3 In August 2001, the project management undertook a sensitization mission to all the 13 regions of the country and, through workshops organized for representatives of communities and organizations collected information on people’s aspirations for the future of themselves, their families and the country.

5.4 To further assure people’s participation, a National Aspirations Conference was scheduled for one week, in Windhoek, from 20 to 24 May 2002. This conference attracted a broad spectrum of the Namibian society (private and public bodies, organisations and agencies representing the various interest groups in the country).

5.5 The vision team designed and implemented a ‘Media Programme’, meant to publicize aspects of the visioning process (through radio, television and print media) and encouraged public participation; these promotional activities continued through the stage of development planning, that is, the vision implementation phase.

6. Vision Formulation Process

6.1 The vision is based on careful analyses and reviews of Namibia’s past and current experience in development, given its natural, material and financial resources, and its cultural, regional and international context.

6.2 In this context, by mid-May 2001, the Steering Committee for Vision 2030 was able to put together 8 Multidisciplinary groups of researchers to undertake the scientific research work that visioning entails.

6.3 In support of the research process, the National Planning Commission conducted a survey of ‘opinion leaders’ in the country in April 2000, asking for their views on the future of Namibia. Based on analysis of data collected from this study, a report titled: Views of Opinion Leaders has been prepared to serve as input into the vision formulation.

6.4 Following extensive consultations, the Vision management identified the eight themes as the major issues around which the Vision will be formulated. These themes were Inequalities and social welfare; Political stability, peace and sustainable development; Human resources, institutional and capacity building; Macro-economic issues; Population, health and development; Natural resources and environment; Knowledge, information and technology; and Factors of the external environment.

Printed documents of the Vision 2030 are available at the offices of the National Planning Commission Secretariat.

President's Forword
Preface by the Director-General of NPC
Acronyms and Abbreviations

Executive Summary

Chapter 1	Background to Vision 2030
Chapter 2	Namibia - An Overview
Chapter 3	Namibia Vision 2030
Chapter 4	People's Quality of Life
Chapter 5	Sustainable Resource Base
Chapter 6	Creating the Enabling Environment