Thirty-three years of self-governance later, Namibia is undoubtedly on the cusp of an economic breakthrough due to the discovery of oil off our coastline and the burgeoning green hydrogen industry.
Nonetheless, the ultimate determinant of our breakthrough remains—like for many other oil-blessed countries—our leadership style and approach towards these promising industries.
The leadership tenets of transparency, integrity and patriotism would help us transcend beyond oil finds into economic prosperity with tangible benefits for all Namibians. The people, as the rightful owners of all mineral resources, ought to be made the primary beneficiaries and winners of every oil and green hydrogen deal struck.
Individualistic and self-serving propensities would undermine Namibia’s drive to realise inclusive socioeconomic development from these sectors, rendering the breakthrough immaterial to ordinary citizens.
The oil discoveries have placed Namibia in the limelight, with potential investors looking the country’s way for investment opportunities. A situation that behoves Namibia to develop well-wrought investment and mineral resources policy frameworks to ensure that maximum benefits are derived from every project emanating from the oil and green hydrogen investments.
Moreover, with the preponderance of foreign direct investment heading the country’s way, at N$13.2 billion during the first nine months of 2022, Namibia ought to prime herself for the imminent economic boon by equipping the youth with the requisite skills to take part in these new industries with a view to add value, create industries and optimise quality and sustainable job creation.
Namibia’s new economic dispensation requires clarity in leadership, integrity and ethical rectitude when dealing with foreign investors who are predominantly profit driven. The government should therefore always be clear to galvanise and champion the interests of the citizens.
Existing literature and case studies from the continent teach us that amorphous leadership of handling unruly investors with kid gloves never bear progressive results, but rather undermines the leadership making the country susceptible to state capture and exploitation. As a result, Namibia should be willing to unreservedly show foreign investors, who are not pliant to local laws and requirements, the road to the Hosea Kutako International Airport.
This should be done as a patriotic gesture to stave off the retrogressive forces of corruption that punctuate oil-related deals in most countries. Patronage is another albatross that can be around Namibia’s neck, while developing these novel industries, which should be avoided at all costs to realise an inclusive development and equitable distribution of the oil and green hydrogen cake.
In conclusion, considering the successive independent intervening variables of floods, droughts and the coronavirus pandemic that have been torpedoing Namibia’s economic growth, the oil finds and new green hydrogen sector afford the country a vantage opportunity to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and rewrite its economic trajectory. However, it is only dependent on the type of leadership style Namibia employs and the development of pro-Namibia legal frameworks to govern these lucrative industries.
*This article first appeared in Namibia Review, a Ministry of Information and Communication Technology’s magazine, where the author is employed as a Subeditor.
