There is a lot of hype around the developing oil and gas sector in Namibia. While development is taking place and there are many benefits to reap in the long- term, there are decisions we need to make concerning this industry which will have long-term effects on our nation.

The investments being made by global oil and gas giants are so vast that there can be no emphasis on short-term decisions and/or the medium-term consequences of a society not living, or, even wanting to live, in harmony.

Society must honour social contracts between the government, private sector and people.

Since independence, Namibia has lived in peace, unlike other African nations. Namibia has had her war, and has no interest in another conflict. Due to the dire state of our society with the lack of jobs and individuals promoting cultural conflict, Namibia can see a shift once we have resolved unemployment. With this in place, we will see harmony flourishing between different cultures, and thus succeed in creating a better environment for multinationals to invest long-term into local industries. But it truly is a chicken-egg scenario.

The positive news for Namibia is that we can create a social utopia in sub-Saharan Africa, which everyone, globally too, has been rooting for. To create this utopia, we need jobs, which is the basis of a society working and living together in harmony.

Job-creation through industrialisation resolves not only hopelessness, but also unlawfulness.

Job-creation has been long recognised as one of the most critical drivers of economic growth and development. Not only does it help boost the economy by generating income and tax revenues, but it also has a significant positive impact on society. Job-creation leads to numerous benefits, such as reduced poverty, increased social mobilityand improved public health.

One of the most significant impacts of job- creation on society is the reduction of poverty. When people are employed, they have a stable income, which enables them to meet their basic needs and improve their standard of living. This reduces their reliance on government support programmes, and allows them to contribute to the economy through increased consumer spending. Furthermore, job-creation also reduces the burden on social welfare programmes, freeing up resources for other societal needs.

The creation of jobs benefits society by promoting social cohesion and reducing the crime rate. When people have jobs and are financially stable, they are less likely to engage in criminal activities or resort to violence. Employment also provides individuals with a sense of belonging and social connection, which helps to build strong communities.

All Namibians should focus on being a solution for services in the mining, oil and gas industries; we can create these much-needed jobs by doing work we know (electricians, housing, tourism, cleaning, cooking, engineering, etc.). We have the opportunity to create a special society for our children.

We should ask ourselves what we need to do to assist this industrialisation process. For example, sufficient power-generation and water resources are a very big risk. But, could these challenges not be resolved by working with the oil and gas multinationals? How about asking them to assist with addressing some of these infrastructure shortcomings, which would benefit them as well as our society?

*Pieter van Niekerk is a local entrepreneur active in various sectors.