On Tuesday, 30 April 2024, the staff members of the National Planning Commission (NPC) gathered to bid farewell to three colleagues of which one was the Executive Director (ED) of the commission, Mrs. Wilhencia /Uiras. Joining her in retirement were Mrs. Martha Tsheehama (Chief National Development Advisor) and Mrs. Selma Joseph (National Development Advisor).
In his welcoming remarks, Amb Lineekela Mboti, Focal Point and Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism Secretariat in Namibia, and a leader in the NPC indicated that the colleagues are now embarking on a new journey as senior citizens and they should be honoured for having dedicated their lives to the work of the commission and the Public Service at large. “This is the beginning of free time to do things that you wished to do” Amb Mboti expressed. He further expressed his gratitude towards his colleagues’ achievements at different levels of government. The ED was praised for having been firm and treating everyone fairly, adding that the ED worked tirelessly, and that no misappropriation of funds was encountered during her tenure. On behalf of the Director-General and the management of the NPC, Amb Mboti wished the colleagues a very happy retirement and appealed for them to open their hearts to the NPC whenever knocking to tap into their wisdom and collectively continue making Namibia a better place for the Namibian child.
Having joined Public Service Commission in 1994 and NPC on 01 August 2020, Mrs. /Uiras has made a phenomenal contribution to the commission through her extraordinary mentorship and guidance. One of the milestones achieved under her leadership as the ED was the successful completion of the Vision 2030 review process which was eventually approved by Cabinet. She also successfully guided the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process, especially in directing the priority projects that were to be accommodated in the MTEF. Moreover, she was praised for being punctual ever since she stepped foot on the commission. Ms. /Uiras pledged that she would continue serving, not as ED but in a different way. She encouraged the colleagues to continue serving the underserved in the spirit of ‘No One Should Be Left Behind’. It has been her wish for the NPC team to go out and talk to all the 121 constituencies of Namibia’s 14 regions and hear what people wanted. Hence it was a delight for her to see the NDP6 regional consultative process being successfully carried out. She encouraged the team to continue working hard in all circumstances and left them with great words from the song titled “Work for the night is coming”, which translates that a human being should work while he/she has the time, before night comes when they will be unable to work.
Mrs. Martha Tsheehama served the commission under the Department of Macroeconomic Planning. She has been passionate about Macroeconomic Modeling ever since she joined the commission in 1995, and has been resourceful in among others, developing macroeconomic models necessary for analysing the different macroeconomic and socioeconomic issues in the country. She has been part of all the national development plans (NDPs) – from the Transitional NDP to the NDP6 as well as the development and review of Vision 2030. Ms. Tsheehama advised colleagues to master the concept of respect to be able to earn respect from others.
Mrs. Selma Joseph was praised for her technical expertise on economic planning and development which contributed positively to guiding policy development and execution of national projects in the country. Furthermore, she was praised for her humble spirit which she’s been carrying ever since she joined the commission in November 1997.
In the same vein, NPC celebrated the achievements made by the European Union to Namibia over the years and congratulated the EU team that has been responsible for providing technical support to the National Planning Commission as the National Authorising Officer and for facilitating the capacity development support programme and Tender Documentation in Namibia under the leadership of Hon. Obeth Kandjoze, the Director General of the NPC. The project was managed under the auspices of Dr. Tom Williams, who has been the Programme Team Leader for the period January 2019 to 30 April 2024, in the NPC.
The retirement farewell was meticulously coordinated by the NPC’s Health and Wellness Committee.
