Namibia’s mining sector records improvement
Mining sector in Namibia has recorded an improvement in its overall investment attractiveness in the 2022 Fraser Institute survey of mining companies.
The country’s score on the investment attractiveness index increased from 52 to 59, and it moved up in the rankings from 59th out of 84 jurisdictions in 2021 to 38th out of 62 in 2022. Namibia also ranked sixth out of the 16 African jurisdictions that were surveyed.
Minerals Bil
The Fraser Institute survey assesses a country’s competitiveness by combining the policy perception index and the best practices mineral potential index. While Namibia improved on the best practices mineral potential index, its policy perception index score decreased by six points. The report highlighted concerns related to the unilateral powers of the minister of mines to make determinations such as royalty levels and a lack of mineral rights security. However, the report also commended Namibia for having good foreign investment policies in the mining sector.
Zebra Kasete, the president of the chamber of mines, acknowledged that Namibia’s performance in the survey was fairly good but could have been better. He mentioned that the Namibian government has made significant improvements to legislation that encourages exploration.
Veston Malango, CEO of the Chamber of Mines, stated that the chamber is actively engaging with the mines and energy minister, Tom Alweendo, regarding the Minerals Bill. Malango expressed confidence that the policy concerns raised in the survey would be addressed during the advanced stage review of the Minerals Bill. He believed that the finalization of the bill would enhance Namibia’s overall investment attractiveness in the global mining industry.
Overall, the survey indicates both positive developments and areas for improvement in Namibia’s mining sector, and the government and industry stakeholders are actively working to address policy concerns and further enhance the country’s investment attractiveness.
