NamPort, NamPost and MTC have emerged as the top-performing institutions in Namibia’s inaugural corporate governance rankings, with a nationwide assessment finding strong awareness of governance principles but identifying shortcomings in transparency, succession planning and procurement.
The governance ranking report, commissioned by the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Public Enterprises in partnership with the European Union and implemented with technical assistance from the Namibia Institute of Corporate Governance (NICG), assessed 51 public and private institutions against governance indicators covering board effectiveness, transparency, strategic planning, procurement and anti-corruption measures. Thirty institutions submitted complete responses.
NamPort ranked first with a score of 86.5%, followed by NamPost on 84.8% and MTC on 84.3%.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, Ministry of Finance Department of Public Enterprises Deputy Director Martha Simasiku said the report provides a benchmark for measuring governance performance and strengthening accountability across Namibia’s institutions.
“This is an important occasion that represents more than the release of the report. It marks our collective efforts to strengthen governance standards across Namibia’s institutions and provides an opportunity to reflect on our progress, recognise areas of excellence and identify opportunities for continuous improvement,” Simasiku said.
Lead researcher Robin Sherbourne described the study as the most comprehensive governance assessment conducted in Namibia, noting that it moved beyond reviews of publicly available information by combining detailed questionnaires with interviews and engagement with participating institutions.
He said the findings showed widespread awareness of corporate governance principles, with many organisations adopting board-approved governance frameworks and recognised governance standards.
However, the assessment also identified areas requiring improvement, including delays in publishing annual reports, weaknesses in succession planning and inefficiencies in procurement processes.
“Good corporate governance is on all participants’ radar screens. Within public entities there’s a spectrum of corporate governance performance, from poor to excellent. The fact that someone scores highly doesn’t mean someone else has to score badly. We can all score highly,” Sherbourne said.
NICG Executive Director Edla Kaumbi said the assessment was intended to provide a practical understanding of governance practices through direct engagement with institutions rather than relying solely on publicly available information.
She said the assessment framework was based on the Public Enterprises Governance Act, the King Code and OECD governance principles, with participating organisations interviewed to validate their responses.
Kaumbi said the institute intends to repeat the governance rankings annually to monitor progress and encourage continuous improvements in governance standards.
European Union Ambassador to Namibia Ana Beatriz Martins said the report should be viewed as the beginning of a broader governance improvement process rather than an end in itself.
She said stronger governance contributes to greater transparency, improved management of public resources and increased public confidence in institutions.
“The true value will be measured by what happens next. We encourage every institution to treat this report as a tool for learning, not a final score and not a final judgement,” Martins said.
