In Namibia it is too early to say if the poor have benefited directly or indirectly because the phase of implementation on the ground has just started. The benefits for the poor do not seem to have materialized yet. Opportunities for improving the delivery of basic services and the creation of jobs constitute the envisaged outcomes expected from the completion of the pilot projects. At the same time, the pro-poor dimension has been interpreted in a broad sense as meaning not just job creation but also creating opportunities to use partnership processes to narrow the gap between local communities and authorities. In this regard, some positive results have been achieved.
The PPPUE Programme in Namibia has clearly attempted to link the pro-poor dimension with private sector involvement. This is of great relevance as the risk is to emphasize either one or the other and see them as irreconcilable. The right approach seems to be based on the assumption that only by showing the linkages between the two aspects it is possible to promote tripartite arrangements that are beneficial for all partners involved.
Training for micro and small-sized enterprises provides a concrete example of the linkage between pro-poor and pro-business. By providing services, micro entrepreneurs empower themselves and the local community. In the pilot towns the momentum for micro enterprises to get involved has been created. Services identified to be provided by micro entrepreneurs include refuse collection and disposal, street cleaning, and maintenance of parks. Action plans have been developed by some of the local authorities to guide the development and implementation of processes that would ultimately lead to tendering and contracting out of these services.
Local authorities have also been encouraged to categorize services and service providers so that it is possible to identify which services and providers are pro-poor. The design of tender documents so to persuade service providers who have a pro-poor awareness to come forward is seen in itself as a valuable instrument to address the pro-poor agenda.