Q How important do you think regional integration is to attracting investment into Namibia and the general economic development of southern Africa?

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A Regional integration is important, since individually our economies are very small, just barely viable as economic units. To go forward, we need to fast track integration and create a bigger economic space.

 

Q How are you trying to fast track regional integration?

A We are doing it on two levels. We started with the South African Customs Union, which is already fairly developed. Countries included in this are South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. We have common internal tariffs. I think we are the only customs union on the African continent.We have worked hard on it and it is working well.

We had some problems that were ironed out last year. South Africa used to set the tariffs and gain most from the union, but we have changed the structure and the headquarters are now in Windhoek. We are building on that to continue integration.

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Q What do you think Namibia offers the rest of the countries in the union?

A We offer a few things. South Africa and Namibia are the only two countries out of the five that are not landlocked. Botswana can use us for imports and exports. Even Gauteng, the industrial hub of South Africa, is closer to Walvis Bay than to the major ports of South Africa, Durban and Cape Town.

We have a developed infrastructure that can distribute more goods and services to both South Africa and Botswana. Also, a lot of these go into neighbouring Angola using our roads.

We also play a very proactive role in regional affairs.

 

Q Do you think the Namibian dollar peg to the South African rand and the currency’s strength against the dollar will affect the growth of export-related investment?

A Yes, it does affect it. It is one of the drawbacks of this linkage, but there are many more advantages that outweigh this disadvantage. I have not yet met a potential investor who has expressed concern about the link with the rand.

 

Q What are the issues about Namibia that attract and concern potential investors?

A Good things include the infrastructure, political stability and the fact that the system works: water runs; there is electricity without power cuts; the school system works; the legal regime is highly developed; and the rule of law is in place. Red tape is minimal and, by and large, bureaucrats and ministers respond to queries in good time.

One of the major drawbacks is the problem of skilled manpower. We have invested a large chunk of money into education over the past 14 years. We have doubled enrolment at secondary schools, we have tripled it at primary level and doubled it at the tertiary level. But the efficiency of the school system is still not good.

We have not focused attention on technical and managerial training to address the needs of the market and of industry. The priority now is to focus on that and train more accountants, technicians and engineers. This is most important and we need to address it.

 

Q What has been your biggest success in attracting investment into the country?

A Mining – the Skorpion zinc mine; and textiles – the Ramatex textile factory. We are trying to get investors to go into tourism and our port management and operations. Tourism is the big one; there is a lot of space here for facilities and tourism infrastructure development is a priority.

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