Trade ministry wants NIPDB under its wing

Industrialisation and trade minister Lucia Iipumbu has confirmed that talks to integrate the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) into the ministry are at an advanced stage, and will soon be discussed by Cabinet.She added that there are those who are against the integration, saying this might influence the outcome. “We are discussing it. It is now on its way to Cabinet. But it is not guaranteed that it will be integrated with the ministry. The conversations and stakeholder engagements are still taking place and it will determine whether or not it will be brought to the ministry,” she said.Iipumbu would, however, not comment on whose proposition it was to integrate the body into the ministry.Officials in the ministry have revealed that, prior to late president Hage Geingob’s death, the presidency had run out of patience over the alleged snail’s pace at which things were moving at NIPDB, prompting the decision to return investment powers to the trade ministry.Usurping ministry’s powersIn 2021, Geingob told board CEO Nangula Uaandja there should be no duplication of functions between the board and other government ministries, offices and agencies. “We talk about government bureaucracy, but as you are starting, are you starting a new bureaucracy? Are you trying to replace the ministry and duplicate what is already there? You ought to answer those questions.”The board and the trade ministry have been at loggerheads since the NIPDB’s inception four years ago, with the board often accused of attempting to usurp the ministry’s powers.Iipumbu, at one point, even went as far as instructing ministerial officials to ignore directives issued by Uaandja.Several senior officials confirmed that, over the past four years, Iipumbu has not been happy with what she believes is interference and the hijacking of investment-related activities that should rest under her ministry.jemima@nmh-hub.com.na

Trade ministry wants NIPDB under its wing

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-24

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Trade ministry wants NIPDB under its wing

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-24

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