Namibia Tourism Board Receives Prestigious Awards and Recognition

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Oliver Pierson, Resident Country Director,Namibia

The $304.5 million MCC Compact in Namibia is focused on improving the quality of education and training for underserved populations and use Namibia’s comparative advantages to increase the incomes of Namibians in the northern areas of the country. As Resident Country Director for MCC in Namibia, I provide support and oversight for all aspects of compact implementation. I am also the MCC sector lead on the Tourism Project, one of the key components of our efforts to capitalize on Namibia’s assets -- like its diverse wildlife and landscapes -- to raise incomes and create employment.

In this regard, I am pleased to report that May 6, 2011 was a big day for the Namibia Tourism Board—they won two prestigious awards. The first, an award for Best Tourism Board, was received at INDABA, Africa’s largest tourism fair. The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) competed against over 315 nominees in 18 different categories; over 300 safari tour operators and product owners, along with about 50 media and press personalities, attended this event. Also on May 6, the NTB won the award for Best Website at the Travel Mole African Web Awards, sponsored by Tourism KwaZulu Natal.http://www.namibiatourism.com.na/

Formally established by an Act of Parliament in 2000, the NTB was formed to regulate the tourism industry and market Namibia as a tourist destination. The NTB is an implementing partner to MCC under the Namibia Compact, and MCC funds are being used to support the development of the award-winning and new NTB website in an effort to promote Namibia as a global destination. The NTB’s new slogan, “Namibia – Endless Horizons,” is setting the stage for this strategic push. The new website also gives consumers the opportunity to thoroughly explore what Namibia has to offer, including the Etosha National park, the Skeleton Coast, and the Fish River Canyon. MCC funds will also help NTB promote Namibian tourism by conducting destination marketing campaigns in strategic target markets and develop and advertise new tourism routes featuring community-based tourism products.

In addition to this marketing support, the MCC-funded Tourism Project aims to improve the management and infrastructure of Etosha National Park and develop the capacity of communal con¬servancies to attract investments in ecotourism and capture a greater share of the revenue generated by tourism. Through these efforts MCC also hopes to promote increased private sector investment in tourism enterprises in and around national parks and conservancies, increase tourist visitation to these sites, and also increase national tourism revenue to the Government of Namibia. Together, these activities will increase incomes and create employment opportunities for some of the poorest populations in Namibia, while conserving the natural resources that serve as the basis for the tourism industry. I’m proud to be a part of this effort, and I look forward to working with the government and the people of Namibia to make it happen.

Book by Book: Namibia’s MCC Compact Begins to Show Results

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Oliver Pierson, Deputy Resident Country Director, Namibia

Namibia’s MCC compact, signed in July 2008, includes MCC’s largest education project, which is designed to improve the quality of Namibia’s education system.  One of the substantial challenges Namibia is trying to address is a lack of textbooks for many of its students, particularly those in rural areas, where as many as five students share one textbook.  It was with much pleasure and pride that the first textbooks were transferred to the Namibian Ministry of Education this past Saturday, April 24th.  The event was even more significant as the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns was present to hand the books over on behalf of the U.S. Government.

In a ceremony marked by a great turnout from the Namibian government and people, Undersecretary Burns described how the books will improve the textbook ratio for Namibian students in grades 5 to 12 to one book per student in English, Math, and Science.  To make this possible, MCC funds were used to conduct a textbook inventory of elementary schools and to identify all the gaps.  This tranche of textbooks will fill the identified gaps, and in the later years of the compact, an entire new set of textbooks will be purchased with MCC funds for all students in Namibia in grades 5 to 12.

The delivery of textbooks is just one small aspect of the MCC-funded Education Project in Namibia.  The delivery of these books is part of a much broader project that also includes expanding and renovating 47 schools, constructing regional libraries and vocational training centers, and training teachers.  Undersecretary Burns referred to some of the upcoming challenges in his remarks, “Now comes the hard part. It will be up to teachers and students to make good use of these materials.”  MCC will help address those challenges as well by providing training for teachers on how to use the textbooks to improve the quality of their lesson plans.  They will also be trained on ways to improve the textbook ordering and distribution systems. 

On that sunny Saturday morning in Windhoek, MCC, MCA-Namibia, the local entity in change of implementing the MCC compact, and Namibian government officials were pleased to recognize that an initial milestone had been reached and that the compact was beginning to show tangible results.  But no one was happier than the 30 to 40 students present, who got a first glimpse of what students across Namibia will be seeing in their classroom on a daily basis.  Almost 700,000 textbooks will be delivered to 1,000 Namibian elementary schools starting in May, and by the end of June, all these books should be in the hands of Namibia’s next generation.

Namibia’s Minister of Education Abraham Iyambo best described the impact of the MCC Education Project when he said, “In the long-term, this support will contribute to the aspiration of our country’s national development plans for productive and competitive human resources and institutions.”  While he is setting the bar very high, the MCA Namibia team and our partners are ready to meet the challenge.  Already, we are eagerly awaiting the next milestone in the Education Project, which will be the start of renovation, expansion, and construction work at some elementary schools with the greatest need.

Seeing Sustainable Results in Nicaragua

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Stephen Marma, Resident Country Director, Nicaragua

 

As the Resident Country Director in Nicaragua, I have seen firsthand how the quality of life of the poor has improved because of MCC development assistance that emphasizes country-led and country-implemented solutions. This type of country ownership makes programs stronger, empowers partners, and ensures sustainable results. The Nicaraguan compact is an example of a homegrown program that helps to reduce poverty and generate economic growth.

MCC is investing to increase the incomes of rural farmers and entrepreneurs living in the departments of León and Chinandega. MCC investments in strategic projects are helping to reduce transportation costs, improve access to markets, strengthen property rights, increase business investments, and raise incomes for farms and rural businesses. Road rehabilitation works have been completed, and a road maintenance fund has been established by law to ensure that all roads in Nicaragua are maintained. In addition, farmers have received technical assistance, business development services, and grants to help develop higher-profit agriculture, agribusiness, and artisan enterprises. To ensure sustainability, farmers and cooperatives have increased and improved production and have better access to markets, including contracts to provide products to local and international companies.

Clear results can already be seen in Nicaragua as documented in two recent productions.

Check out the video produced by Millennium Challenge Account-Nicaragua, the local entity responsible for implementing Nicaraguas MCC compact:

Together, MCC and MCA-Nicaragua are paving a way to a better life for thousands of Nicaraguans.

The Clock Starts Ticking in Namibia

Posted on September 22, 2009 by John Wingle, Resident Country Director, Namibia

Last week, I had the pleasure of witnessing the five-year $304.5 million Namibia compact enter into force. Reaching entry into force (EIF) is a fancy way of saying that the five-year clock to implement the compact has now started ticking. There was a great sense of excitement on both sides, along with a sense of shared responsibility to deliver on the promise of the compact. The Namibian Prime Minister gave the keynote address, which he opened in quite a non-conventional way. After asking the staff of MCA Namibia to stand, he challenged, How many days are there in five years? You must achieve something every day. He then, in turn, asked each minister or senior official from the ministries involved in the compact program to stand; he read them their budget and defined their principal responsibilities under the compact. He did the same to me—quite an effective way to instill a sense of urgency and responsibility in us all!

Namibia’s $304 million compact will reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth by:

• improving the skills and productivity of the Namibian workforce,
• growing Namibia’s tourism industry, and
• increasing the total value-added from livestock in the Northern Communal Areas.

The Namibia compact breaks new ground for MCC, as it is the first time MCC funds a project in the tourism sector. The tourism-related component of Namibia’s compact will

1. improve management and infrastructure of Etosha National Park,
2. enhance the marketing of Namibia tourism and
3. develop the capacity of communal conservancies to attract investments in ecotourism and capture a greater share of the revenue generated by tourism in Namibia.

Together, these activities are aimed at generating income and creating employment opportunities for communities in the Northern Communal Areas, while conserving the natural resources that serve as the foundation of the tourism industry.

Five years is a relatively short period of time to accomplish these compact goals, so it is very important that a country use the time following compact signing and before EIF to fully prepare for program implementation. MCA Namibia—the local independent entity in charge of implementing the compact—completed a number of important steps leading up to EIF so that the full implementation of the compact could proceed effectively and expeditiously. They have already:

• hired a team of 29 professionals to staff MCA Namibia through an open and competitive process;
• drafted a detailed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan that will allow MCC, MCA Namibia, and stakeholders to monitor the implementation of the three projects, assess results, and evaluate their impact;
• contracted a consortium of Namibian firms to design and supervise the rehabilitation and expansion of 47 schools; and
• contracted a firm to work with the Ministry of Education to accurately count textbooks in schools as a first step to purchasing sufficient English, science, and math books.

Namibia is the second country in which I have the privilege of serving as an MCC Resident Country Director. An obvious improvement in the MCC implementation process that resulted from lessons learned in earlier programs has been to lengthen the period between compact signing and entry into force. In Namibia, this strategic time proved to be essential to properly staff the MCA Namibia program management unit, prepare bidding documents, train staff, and establish the supplementary legal framework all vital things that need to be done before implementation begins. Clearly, Namibia used this time wisely.

During the EIF ceremony, there was no doubt that this is a Namibian-led program. The Prime Minister ended his speech with the declaration, Get ready Namibia, because MCA is coming to you. This pronouncement seemed to capture both the optimism in the room about the compacts potential and the shared eagerness to now move forward with implementation.

Eyewitness to progress: the signing of Namibia’s MCC compact

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Rodney Bent, Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Namibia is celebrating its 18th year of independence and, as coincidence would have it, MCC today signed its 18th compact with Namibia, a $304.5 million partnership for education, ecotourism, and agriculture.

This morning, I met with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba to congratulate him and his government on the compact. The government is intent upon development of its poorest areas, as Namibia has the second highest disparity of household income in the world. The compact has three main projects.

The education project will focus on school textbooks, primary and secondary school infrastructure improvements, vocational training, and a sustainable system of scholarships for post-secondary school students. We estimate that about a million students will benefit over the years from this project.

The ecotourism project, largely in the poor northern part of the country, will focus on communal conservancies, protecting Namibia’s astonishingly beautiful natural resources, including wildlife for future generations. In addition, this project will attract more tourists to Namibia and improve the jewel of the country’s tourism industry, Etosha National Park.

The agriculture project is focused on livestock, as a substantial number of households graze cattle on communal lands in northern Namibia. The project will provide veterinary centers and training for farmers in rangeland management, improved livestock productivity, and land access. A small part of the project is focused on helping poor families harvest high-value indigenous natural products like devils claw, marula oil, Kalahari melon seed, hoodia, and ximenia.

The signing ceremony was held at the office of the Prime Minister, with the Right Honorable Prime Minister Nahas Angula presiding over the event. A number of ministers, including the Director General of the National Planning Commission (NPC), board members of the NPC, and a U.S. trade mission organized by the Corporate Council on Africa were among the dignitaries who attended the event. Tonight, our Namibian counterparts will host us at a celebration to mark the compacts signing at the base of the Auas Mountains, featuring a local choir and traditional dancers.