The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is pushing to unlock N$15 billion worth of investment projects facing implementation bottlenecks, as the government seeks to accelerate investment and job creation.
The intervention follows a debriefing by the Ministry of International Relations and Trade (MIRT) to Prime Minister Dr Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare, where officials highlighted projects being delayed by challenges including land access, environmental approvals, visa requirements and regulatory constraints.
The MIRT delegation, led by Minister Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, identified 15 investment projects facing specific bottlenecks, prompting Ngurare to direct officials to examine the obstacles and identify practical, long-term solutions.
The intervention comes as 27 investment projects facilitated through the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) over the past three years have reached operational stage, creating 6,600 job opportunities.
NIPDB now falls under the Ministry of International Relations and Trade.
A further 94 investment projects remain in the pipeline, with the potential to create an estimated 22,000 additional jobs if they reach implementation.
Ngurare called for greater urgency among government institutions in addressing avoidable administrative and regulatory obstacles holding back investments.
He also called for stronger coordination between institutions responsible for processing and approving investment projects.
Ashipala-Musavyi said delays in resolving regulatory and administrative hurdles risk discouraging investors and undermining potential projects.
“When an investor waits for a year, two years, they lose interest,” she said.
The government’s focus on the N$15 billion investment pipeline comes amid efforts to increase private investment and employment, with authorities seeking to shorten the time between investment commitments and projects becoming operational.
