EDITORIAL: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves on natural resources
Namibians must not overestimate their importance when it comes to natural resource endowment, and how we deal with external partners who have the financial and technical means to get those resources out of the ground.
Since the discovery of oil, and indeed the renewed hype around our mineral riches, there has been this attitude - which almost borders on arrogance - that we must enter into partnerships with these foreigners in a manner that is unbusiness-like.
In our edition today, lawmakers are asking for a 50% stake in mines ‘at no cost’. If politicians think investors are so daft to enter into an arrangement like this – and on top of that still pay royalties, corporate taxes and share their profits equally with government - then they must enrol in business school for an elementary understanding of how things work.
We fully agree that Namibia must maximise her returns from her own resources. But if there is no economic sense for the investor, our resources will remain in the ground. And when that is the case, our economy will suffer irreparable damage, with unemployment as the sour cherry on top of a rotten cake.
Like minister Tom Alweendo said on The Agenda a year ago, Namibia can benefit from her resources through so many other models than equity ownership. For oil, he predicted that the country can reap 55% of the benefits, while on paper only holding 10% equity. Indeed, there are many ways to kill a cat, beyond drowning it in a bowl of milk.
Since the discovery of oil, and indeed the renewed hype around our mineral riches, there has been this attitude - which almost borders on arrogance - that we must enter into partnerships with these foreigners in a manner that is unbusiness-like.
In our edition today, lawmakers are asking for a 50% stake in mines ‘at no cost’. If politicians think investors are so daft to enter into an arrangement like this – and on top of that still pay royalties, corporate taxes and share their profits equally with government - then they must enrol in business school for an elementary understanding of how things work.
We fully agree that Namibia must maximise her returns from her own resources. But if there is no economic sense for the investor, our resources will remain in the ground. And when that is the case, our economy will suffer irreparable damage, with unemployment as the sour cherry on top of a rotten cake.
Like minister Tom Alweendo said on The Agenda a year ago, Namibia can benefit from her resources through so many other models than equity ownership. For oil, he predicted that the country can reap 55% of the benefits, while on paper only holding 10% equity. Indeed, there are many ways to kill a cat, beyond drowning it in a bowl of milk.
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Namibian Sun
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