By Wezi Tjaronda WINDHOEK Ahead of the Namibia International Investment Conference to be co-hosted by South Africa later in the year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has warned regional and local authorities against practices that will cause investment flight. The aim of the conference, to be co chaired by President Hifikepunye Pohamba and his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki, is to accelerate investment in strategic sectors and projects in a bid to grow the economy and create employment opportunities. Expected at the conference are regional and international investors, development finance institutions as well as local project promoters. The conference is a direct result of the Walvis Bay Spatial Development Initiative, which was started by the two countries in 2000 to unleash the economic potential along the Trans-Kalahari, Trans-Caprivi and Trans-Kunene highways, which converge into the Coast2Coast corridors from Walvis Bay to Maputo. So far, the ministry has identified 48 projects covering manufacturing, hospitality, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, fisheries and mining, while projects will be identified by regional councils to take development to rural settings. Minister of Trade and Industry Immanuel Ngatjizeko said these efforts could attract investment if the authorities create a conducive environment, which comprises good road infrastructure, availability of utility services, urban planning for residential and industrial land, incentives for industries and security. He was speaking at an information meeting for governors, regional councillors, chief regional officers and city and town clerks on Friday, He warned that high water and electricity tariffs, unnecessary bureaucratic tendencies and unavailability of land would restrict and scare away potential investors. “Let us identify and remove unnecessary bureaucratic layers blocking much needed investment and jobs for our people,” he urged. Instead of complaining about poverty while sitting on resources, Ngatjizeko said, the country should come up with ideas such as private-public partnerships that will address the development challenges facing Namibia. Some of these could include servicing land through partnerships with the private sector and the reduction of exorbitant prices of urban land, services such as rates and taxes, utilities, transport, and labour costs that are not exorbitant and expensive beyond their real market value. “Namibia is strongly competing for investment with her neighbours and others at similar levels of development and cannot afford to price herself out of the global market due to expensive services and high costs of doing business,” he said. The ministry’s permanent secretary, Andrew Ndishishi, said regional and local authorities should prepare themselves to zone and avail land and also to create incentives for investors that want to locate to certain towns. He said authorities could for example offer free land to certain investors who create many jobs. “You can do something,” he said. The minister added his voice to the growing concern about unrest in the labour movement, which at the moment is characterized by strikes and industrial action. He appealed to labour unions to be cautious of the consequences as they pursue their labour rights, because “unbridled and excessive militancy of labour has caused the total breakdown of industries and employment in some developed countries because capital investors seek refuge in countries with industrial calm”. The Namibia Investment Center’s Deputy Director: Projects and evaluations, Freddie !Gaoseb, said the envisaged Namibia International Investment Conference would serve as a forum for project promoters, potential partners, would-be financiers and government agencies to interact regarding investment. Since not all regions are covered by WBSDI and do not have the capacity and resources to undertake their own investor conferences, the national conference is an opportunity for the whole country to pool its resources under one umbrella, said !Gaoseb. The conference is expected to have a positive impact on Namibia’s development objectives regarding employment creation, developing local skills, creating investment opportunities for small and medium enterprises and food security, and also in diversifying the local economy and making it more competitive. There are 20 SDIs in the sub-region and among them are the Namibe corridor, Maputo Development Corridor, Limpopo Valley, Beira Development Corridor and Coast2Coast Corridor.