NNN, Ramaphosa in industrial push …Orange River dispute remains

Presidents Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and her South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, ordered officials to stop treating bilateral agreements as paperwork and start delivering projects that improve lives of ordinary people.

The directive came on Friday after the two leaders concluded the Fourth Namibia-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), where they adopted a new approach that places implementation, deadlines and accountability at the centre of future cooperation between the neighbouring countries.

“The keyword in my statement here is implementation. It is no longer business as usual for those responsible for implementing the decisions of our Bi-National Commission. We must deliver, account for, and address the needs of our people,” she said.

She added: “When we reconvene for the Fifth Session of the BNC, I expect tangible results that contribute to the core priorities of our peoples.” To ensure that happens, the two countries agreed to introduce a digital balance scorecard system that will track the implementation of every decision taken under the commission.

The system, already used by SADC, will allow both governments to monitor progress, identify delays and hold ministries accountable for delivering agreed projects.