President Nangolo Mbumba says Namibians should step up their game and acquire the essential skills to contribute to the development of the oil and gas sector.
He believes that in the absence of local participation, the population will struggle to get a fair share of resources.
“You are holding the value and wealth of the nation; your behaviour will determine the development of the country. People must learn difficult topics, since the sector requires it. We desire a larger portion of our resource, but you can only benefit once it is extracted from the earth, which involves hard work. Unless your own personnel are involved in those projects, we’re talking about owning our resources. Let us ponder before we demand. It is our resource; therefore, let us develop to meet all needs,” Mbumba said.
He made these remarks during a visit to the Ministry of Mines and Energy yesterday.
Mines minister Tom Alweendo said the ministry is hard at work to accelerate the exploration of minerals.
Another important aspect he noted is values-addition in the sector.
Cabinet last year resolved to prohibit the exportation of critical minerals in raw form to create more local jobs and more local value.
Cabinet nonetheless approved that smaller quantities of these minerals may be exported at the direction of the ministry.
Local value-addition remains a challenge for Namibia, where the majority of its natural resources are still being exported in raw or minimally processed forms. This, pundits argue, continues to create valuable jobs in other countries.
Recognising the importance of mining as the bedrock of Namibia’s growth, the mining industry recorded a strong growth of 18.9% in 2023, increasing its GDP contribution from 11.9% in 2022 to 14.4%.
Additionally, the expanding industry contributed a 12.6% rise in direct employment, compared to 2022. In 2023, the total taxes paid by the mining sector amounted to N$6.861 billion, marking a significant increase of 55.9% from N$4.401 billion in 2022.
The Gross Fixed Capital Formation also saw substantial growth, rising from N$3.480 billion in 2022 to N$5.908 billion in 2023. The sector’s revenue reached N$51.572 billion in 2023, reflecting a 36% increase from N$37.961 billion in 2022.