The government has cleared the way for the merger between Whale Rock Cement (Pty) Ltd and Schwenk Namibia (Pty) Ltd after Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy Modestus Amutse overturned the Namibia Competition Commission’s (NaCC) decision to block the transaction.
The ruling, published in Government Gazette Notice No. 229 of 2026, reverses the Commission’s prohibition and allows the merger to proceed, subject to conditions aimed at preventing job losses, preserving local production and limiting the risk of market dominance.
The NaCC had prohibited the merger over competition concerns.
However, following an appeal by the merging parties, Amutse concluded that those concerns could be addressed through enforceable conditions rather than blocking the transaction altogether.
“While appreciating that the Commission acted within the confines of its enabling piece of legislation, I am of the considered opinion that the concerns raised by the Commission can be remedied by attaching appropriate conditions to the proposed merger as well as where necessary, the Commission to initiate investigations post the merger,” the Minister said in his determination.
As part of the approval, Amutse ordered that no jobs may be lost as a result of the merger and directed that the Cheetah Cement plant must not be closed or demolished. Instead, the facility must be maintained and options explored to keep it operational and productive.
The Minister also ordered the merged entity to increase local ownership to at least 40% and instructed the Competition Commission to closely monitor the company after the transaction to ensure it does not abuse a dominant market position or create monopolistic conditions.
NaCC Corporate Communications Practitioner Dina //Gowases confirmed that the Minister had overturned the Commission’s decision after the merging parties exercised their right of appeal under the Competition Act.
She said while the Commission had initially prohibited the transaction based on competition concerns, the Act gives the Minister the authority to review and reverse such decisions.
“From the Commission’s side, when the Minister does such a review, the Commission does not have further input in that regard, because the vested powers that the Minister has, according to the Competition Act No. 2 of 2003, empowers him to make such determinations,” she said.
//Gowases said the Commission’s role will now shift to monitoring compliance with the Minister’s conditions, including ensuring the merger does not result in excessive market concentration, anti-competitive conduct, higher prices or job losses.
“We are required to monitor that the merger does not translate into a monopoly,” she said, adding that the Commission will implement a structured compliance programme to track developments in the cement industry.
She said the Commission will comply with the Minister’s ruling and continue carrying out its statutory responsibility of monitoring competition in the market.
