Namibia’s aviation safety record should revive discussion on national airline

Namibia’s solid safety record enables the discussions to allow for the revival of a national airline.
Civil aviation managing director Tosca Sem says the country performed well last year after undergoing an international civil aviation safety audit.

Sem made the remarks in her congratulatory message to the country’s incoming first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

She noted that Namibia’s election of a female president raises the bar, and other countries may draw inspiration from this.

Sem said the government under Nandi-Ndaitwah’s leadership should pay attention to government development initiatives.

“And this certainly paves the way to ensure that we attract enough tourists as well as also strengthen trade facilitation amongst ourselves. And this is going to speak to the agenda of reviving the national airline for us to learn from pitfalls in terms of what happened to Namibia.

“And given that our safety record is quite solid, it really becomes an enabling process for us to bring up the discussions on what is the roadmap and what are those key interventions that we can put forth to allow Namibia as a country to revive a national airline,” Sem remarked.

Sem further called on stakeholders in the housing sector to collaborate for affordable housing for the vulnerable.

“With respect to housing and sanitation, this is really a very vulnerable key area in terms of providing adequate shelter to the many Namibians out there. And at this point in time with the national housing policy that has been implemented by the National Government, I would really call upon all key stakeholders in the housing sector, including the National Housing Enterprise, both together, and the Shack Dwellers Association, just to name the least, for us to collaborate and to come up with affordable housing that will really have an impact on the vulnerable people out there,” she said.

Sem further stressed that the new government should consider youth empowerment, sustainable development, housing and sanitation, infrastructure, and logistics.