Namibia may find it difficult to realise the goals of Vision 2030 if it lost focus on growing the economy from an average of 3.5% to at least 9% per annum until year 2030 and the government, private sector, labour and other stakeholders did not work as a team. Speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry last weekend, its president Inge Zaamwani said many challenges lay ahead like AIDS, high unemployment, acute poverty, shortage of skills in the economy and low economic growth. Last weekend the NCCI celebrated its 15th anniversary as a unified chamber. Before, each larger town had its own independent chamber of commerce. Output of the diamond industry increased by 34.7% in 2004 compared to a decrease of 4.6 percent in 2003. During 2004, the output of the fishing sector dropped remarkably by a negative 9.6%, Zaamwani said, compared to a growth of 3.8% in 2003. This was mainly due to the strong Namibia Dollar, low fish catches, high fuel prices and operating costs. At the gala dinner the same night, President Hifikepunye Pohamba urged the private sector to create more jobs. "Our managers and our workers in all sectors of the economy should place more emphasis on productivity in order to create wealth for our people and thereby address the challenges of poverty and unemployment", Pohamba said. Other challenges were the need for better communication between employers and employees as a way of creating harmonious labour relations in the country, he added.