Maihapa Ndjavera
Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) president Bisey /Uirab yesterday said Namibia’s recent oil discoveries and its renewable energy ambitions can significantly boost economic growth. He further noted that the evolving opportunities cannot be ignored by the local business community.
“It is crucial that we participate in these industries and we should also ensure that as a business, we are around the table and become active participants in these ventures. We should not forget to take along our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in these ventures. We should not be blind as these opportunities unfold in front of our very own eyes,” said /Uirab during the opening of the chamber’s National Corporate Forum which took place under the theme ‘Harnessing the Power of Business to Advocate for Local Economic Growth’. The event brought together industry heads, CEOs, and association presidents from across numerous sectors.
The one-day forum was intended to provide an opportune platform for industry captains to interact and combine efforts towards economic development and to strategise on a business advocacy agenda that responds to the government’s clarion call for the private sector to take the lead in the country’s economic recovery.
/Uirab took the opportunity to urge policymakers and regulators in the country to also listen to the private sector. He added the chamber plans to present its state of the business address on 29 May 2023. The address is expected to communicate critical private sector challenges to policymakers with a strong focus on proposing tangible solutions that can improve the business environment, while also touching on successes on the business front among others. The president stated that an NCCI assessment revealed the private sector is facing serious challenges. Some of these challenges, he said are cross-cutting, while others are unique to specific sectors.
“However, due to ineffective public-private sector communication, the cry of the business community is barely attended to neither does it get attention from policymakers with urgency. The significance of this address is that it will assist in effectively communicating to the business community to ensure their current economic recovery is maintained and will spread to all sectors,” noted /Uirab.
He further stressed it is crucial for the private sector to come together to bring positive change and improvement in the domestic economy in order to make the business community efficient, effective, and profitable.
“We in Namibia, both public and private sector, need higher levels of competence and efficiency and must function according to a proactive strategy to deal with long-term sustainable development prospects. We must work on effectively capitalising on future opportunities and creating the necessary policy infrastructure to maximise our economic potential,” said /Uirab. He also called for public-private partnerships capable of building an inclusive economy that is able to protect the marginalised by offering decent jobs across the country.
/Uirab concluded that given Namibia’s small market, global connectivity is essential for business growth. This, he said, can be used to proactively strengthen regional economic integration by undertaking comprehensive reviews of existing trade agreements, improving trade facilitation, building strategies for digital commerce, and building strategies to promote regional commodities. /Uirab reiterated that innovation is key for business revival.
Earlier this year, mines minister Tom Alweendo said Namibians should not sit back and wait for the benefits of recent oil discoveries to come to them but should already exploit the opportunities presented by the budding petroleum
industry. Alweendo at the time said the immense economic benefits from these discoveries cannot be overemphasised. He made this comment after Namibia announced its third major oil discovery in a year. The minister urged business people to prepare themselves to deliver whatever services the new industry will demand.
“We sit quietly and after some years, you will hear people complaining that only foreigners are running the show. I know this is a complex task, but we can enter into joint ventures with the aim that Namibians acquire skills for the sector,” Alweendo stressed.