A Public Enterprise Readiness to Implement NDP6 Survey has found that while state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are largely prepared to contribute to Namibia’s national development agenda, funding constraints remain the biggest obstacle to delivering on key priorities.
Presented during the Public Enterprises CEOs’ Strategic Dialogue with the President, the survey revealed that 63.3% of respondents identified limited financial resources as their biggest internal challenge, making it the most frequently cited barrier to improved performance.
Presenting the findings, Public Enterprises CEOs’ Forum spokesperson Patty Karuaihe-Martin said funding constraints should not be viewed solely as a call for additional government allocations, but also as an opportunity for public enterprises to become more innovative and identify sustainable ways to generate revenue and improve operational efficiency.
“The most significant challenge identified was limited financial resources, with 63.3% of public enterprises citing this as their biggest internal constraint. Financial limitations emerged as the dominant concern. On this matter, I would like to emphasise that we need to be creative in finding solutions. When we highlight financial constraints, it does not necessarily mean that we should approach His Excellency or the Minister of Finance simply to request additional funding. The challenge is for us to think innovatively and explore how public enterprises can work together to create alternative avenues for mobilising resources,” she said.
The survey also identified funding as the leading external challenge facing public enterprises, with 21% of respondents citing access to finance as the biggest factor affecting their operations.
Market conditions and regulatory issues were also identified as obstacles, while climate and environmental risks were viewed as having a comparatively smaller impact.
Other internal challenges included ageing infrastructure, shortages of skilled personnel and governance-related issues, although these were reported less frequently.
“Regarding external challenges, market conditions were identified by only 2% of respondents, indicating that this was not considered one of the most significant constraints. However, funding once again emerged as a major concern, with 21% of enterprises citing it as the key external challenge. This reinforces the importance of financial stability and regulatory efficiency in ensuring the successful delivery and sustainability of public enterprises,” Karuaihe-Martin said.
Despite these challenges, the survey found that public enterprises are confident in their readiness to support the implementation of NDP6.
About 40.8% of respondents described themselves as “very ready”, while 34.7% said they were “ready”, meaning that more than three-quarters of participating enterprises believe they are adequately prepared to implement the national development agenda. A further 22.4% said they were moderately ready but would require additional government support to strengthen their capacity.
The assessment also found that more than half of the participating enterprises have fully aligned their strategic plans with NDP6, while a further 32.7% reported that their plans are mostly aligned with the country’s development priorities.
“When the moderate readiness category, which accounted for 22.4% of respondents, is included, the overall readiness level increases to more than 90%. However, this moderate group also highlights the need for additional support and targeted interventions to enable these enterprises to reach the same level of readiness as those that are already fully aligned and prepared. This finding provides an important picture of where support is required and allows us, as the state and public enterprise stakeholders, to identify areas where interventions can be made,” she said.
Strong governance emerged as the sector’s greatest strength, with more than 41% of respondents identifying government leadership and governance structures as key enablers of performance.
Existing infrastructure, innovation, skilled employees, stakeholder collaboration and contributions to national development were also identified as key strengths.
Nearly half of the respondents (46.9%) said their organisations contribute to a very significant extent to national development, while another 30.6% believed they make a significant contribution to achieving the country’s broader economic objectives.
The survey also found that public enterprises require greater government support to maximise their impact.
Almost 46.9% of respondents identified increased capital investment as the most important intervention required, while others called for policy and legislative reforms, stronger institutional capacity, improved monitoring systems, and greater investment in technical, financial and project management skills.
“The survey indicates that government support should focus on areas such as investment, enabling policies, regulatory reforms, and institutional capacity building. Approximately 46.9% of respondents identified investment support as a key requirement from the government, while 26% highlighted policy and regulatory reforms as an important area requiring attention,” she said.
Karuaihe-Martin said the survey received responses from 49 of Namibia’s 78 public enterprises, representing a 63% response rate.
Non-commercial public enterprises accounted for the largest share of respondents at 42%, followed by commercial public enterprises (26.5%), regulatory bodies (18%), and extra-budgetary funds and other entities making up the remainder.
“We had 78 participants in the system. It was conducted as a survey, and 49 enterprises responded, giving us an overall response rate of 63%. The study covered readiness, alignment, additional capacity, collaboration, and support requirements. Who participated? As you can see, the largest representation came from non-commercial public enterprises, accounting for 42% of respondents. They formed the majority of the respondent group. Commercial public enterprises accounted for 26.5% of the responses, and we would have preferred a higher representation from this category. Regulators accounted for 18%, which provided full representation, while extra-budgetary funds and other enterprises accounted for 6.1% of responses,” she said.
Among its recommendations, the survey called for increased capital investment in public enterprises with mandates directly linked to NDP6, stronger policy and regulatory frameworks, improved coordination between government, boards and public enterprises, enhanced monitoring and evaluation systems, and continued investment in digital transformation.
