ETOSHA – The Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) collected N$236 million in environmental levies over the past three years.
EIF CEO Benedict Libanda revealed the figures during the inauguration of N$4.9 million new light infrastructure, a solid waste management facility and Wildlife Protection Service duty stations at Etosha National Park over the weekend.
“The Fund has received N$236 million in total revenue in the form of environmental levies over the last three years, corresponding with the expenditure framework for the 2021/22 to 2023/24 financial years,” he said.
The environmental levies have become the main source of funding for the fund, especially after the government stopped direct budget allocations.
“There was no government contribution received during the aforementioned financial years, meaning environmental levies have become a crucial source of funding to support the objectives and initiatives of the Fund,” Libanda noted.
The levies are charged on specific products gazetted under the law, including lubricating oils, batteries, tyres, vehicles and plastic bags, which are collected through the customs system administered by the Ministry of Finance.
The revenue is used to finance projects that promote environmental protection and sustainable development across Namibia.
“These levies play a vital role in resource mobilisation, financing projects and programmes aimed at environmental conservation, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation,” he said.
Additionally, funds generated from the levies are directed towards waste management, renewable energy, biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience initiatives, particularly in vulnerable communities.
Libanda further said the EIF board has allocated N$20 million for waste management projects in Namibia for the 2024/25 financial year, with part of the funding supporting the waste management facility inaugurated at Ombika in Etosha at the weekend.
Speaking at the same event, environment minister Indileni Daniel said the new infrastructure forms part of efforts to improve environmental management and tourism facilities in the country’s protected areas.
“This facility is an important step in strengthening waste management in our national parks and ensuring that we protect the biodiversity that makes Namibia a unique tourism destination,” she said.
Daniel urged visitors and the public to take responsibility for protecting public infrastructure in national parks.
“We must all take responsibility for these facilities. If we damage them, it is the government that must spend money again to replace them. That is why we say the principle should be ‘you break it, you fix it’,” the minister stressed.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Rent-a-Truck recycling project, Gys Louw, said the recycling initiative has its roots in a campaign launched several years ago.
“This moment reflects a journey that began in 2018 during the National Clean-Up Campaign when Rent-A-Drum, together with Plastic Packaging, donated a mobile recycling container to the late former president, Hage Geingob,” he said.