Swakopmund
President Hage Geingob has urged Namibians not to insult foreigners or foreign investors, but rather to get them involved in the ‘Growth at Home’ policy.
President Geingob was addressing more than a 1000 people at the Tamariskia town hall in Swakopmund and took questions from residents, civil servants and the business community during his familiarisation tour of Erongo Region.
“When I was the minister of trade and industry I went around and asked foreign investors to invest in our country, as we need foreign investment,” he told the gathering, adding that government cannot use or invest taxpayers’ money to develop, for instance, uranium mines.
“However, some people are just referring to ‘our resources, our resources’, while they don’t have the capacity to add value to these resources. Do you eat uranium or diamonds? We need investors, be it a person or company, that can assist us to add value to our resources,” the president said.
He referred to the large uranium mines, Rössing, Langer Heinrich and Husab, as examples of major industrial developments that would not have got off the ground if it were not for investment by foreigners, saying Namibians do not possess the capacity to develop projects of that magnitude.
“Do we have the capacity to invest N$200 million to develop them? I visited Husab on Thursday and they have built accommodation quarters and a road in the desert, and they have created jobs,” Geingob said. “Women are even driving haul trucks.”
“This is the kind of investments brought by foreigners, yet we are shouting ‘foreigners should go back’. How would we get that money that they have invested?” asked the president.
Dr Geingob said that Namibians should rather engage in smart partnerships with foreign investors, instead of insulting them or demanding that they should be chucked out of the country.
He added that some Namibians, who received exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs), are just sitting on them, as they do not have the finances to start any explorations.
“That is why partnerships, instead of insults, are encouraged. Let us not subject investors to insults, but lets rather see how we can get them involved in our ‘Growth at Home’ initiatives.”
“Let us hold hands. Forget tribalism and racism. That is how wars are started. Don’t try it. It’s not a joke. Watch television and see how the Palestinians and Iraqis are suffering,” Geingob said and advised his audience to work to sustain the peace and stability for which the country has become world-renowned.