Joint Planning Meeting

There has been such keen ask for a joint planning meeting between the IRDNC Windhoek Office and the two regions, Kunene and Zambezi. This finally happened over the week of the 8th to 12th of May when staff members gathered near Otjiwarongo to make plans and set priorities for the coming financial year. IRDNC’s Executive Director, Mr John Kasaona, and our newly appointed Programme Director, Mr Willie Boonzaaier, both highlighted and thanked the staff’s evident passion for their work, exceptional team work and the openness to bring matters forward.

The two regions shared experiences and learned from each other across all departments of the organisation. This is particularly helpful with the newly adopted Clustering system based on geographical units, and therefore the Cluster Managers will need a broad set of skills in Enterprise Development, Natural Resource Management, Tourism, Conservancy Governance and Trans-boundary coordination. Also important, the joint planning meeting made it possible for the Windhoek-based Finance and Administration department to better understand the work plans and efforts that goes into field activities, while the field staff got clearance on procedures and management. Joint planning therefore gave better acumen and inclusivity during the budgeting and costing exercises by all staff members.

Under the theme “Do less better”, the meeting embraced the 80/20 rule and focused their attention on critical activities which bring greater impact to conservancies and rural communities. New goals and priorities were set well within the overarching IRDNC’s Strategic Plan 2015-2025. This includes the use of technology to improve productivity (especially the management of multiple donor funded projects), income diversification for conservancies, training and employee development, continued environmental education and awareness, IRDNC’s communication strategy and empowering conservancies to work independently.

Many thanks goes to B2Gold for hosting us at their Education Centre, not only providing accommodation and meals, but taking us on a fun game drive and a tour around the mining site. Their warm reception and kind support are highly appreciated.

It is easy to recognise B2Gold’s environmental consciousness and efforts towards conservation: the healthy-looking species of game managed on the farm come in numbers, the nature-friendly building material at the education centre fits in well with the landscape, de-bushing practices is observed in wide parts of the farm, the one-lane gravel roads shows no sign of off-road driving, the education centre hosts research students and school learners at no cost and impressively, the driver of the tour vehicle switched off the headlights when approaching animals on the road.

IRDNC appreciates the participation of its staff members and B2Gold for their support, and we hope to combine the annual planning meetings for years to come.