The Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) has called for urgent reforms, including the need for policymakers to be accessible and responsive, increased funding support for economic clusters, addressing fragmentation in the beef sector, and equal support for local entrepreneurs.
“Access to policymakers on time, every time tops the list,” said NCCI President Bisey Uirab during the inaugural State of Business Address (SOBA) on Monday.
The NCCI has called for immediate remedial action to address the unavailability of policymakers and public officials for engagement, as well as their non-responsiveness to written communication.
Uirab also expressed concerns about inadequate budgetary allocation to the productive economic sectors, particularly in the Ministries of Trade and Agriculture.
One of the key challenges raised by the NCCI was “the fragmentation within the beef sector, which hinders Namibia’s potential to penetrate new markets and adequately serve existing ones”.
The NCCI urged swift policy decisions and implementation to address this issue and emphasised the importance of providing equal support to local entrepreneurs and enterprises.
The address further highlighted long-standing impediments, such as the lack of serviced industrial land and limited access to units at government business parks and incubation centres.
Additionally, the absence of incentives or rebate schemes in Namibia was deemed problematic, and the NCCI expressed a willingness to work with the government to explore solutions.
Uirab emphasised the need for effective communication forums and the establishment of a Public-Private Dialogue forum.
Nelson Ashipala, a medium-to-large horticulture farmer, told the gathering that despite existing government policies and initiatives aimed at supporting local businesses, farmers, and entrepreneurs, they feel that the current frameworks are not providing the necessary support to thrive in a competitive market.
“From the perspective of a farmer located on the northern side of the red line, I operate on a relatively small plot of land in one of the poorest regions and participate in green schemes that are not performing well. Despite the existence of policies that encourage government procurement from local farmers, the overall situation is not favourable,” he said.
He highlighted the difficulties faced by local farmers in supplying supermarkets and schools, including issues related to product quality, reliability, and meeting demand.
“While there are policies encouraging government procurement from local farmers, the overall situation is not favourable. We have developed a value chain among ourselves, but the future doesn’t look positive within the existing frameworks,” Ashipala said.
“The rising cost of production is also a pressing issue for farmers. The expenses for producing maize on a 20 to 30-hectare field have increased significantly, reaching half a million Namibia dollars. However, the prices farmers receive for their produce have only seen marginal growth, increasing by 10 to 15% annually.”
Dinapama Textile Manufacturer’s Managing Director David Namalenga emphasised the need for a favourable business environment that supports local producers.
Speaking at the same event, Namalenga highlighted the importance of differentiating between local producers and suppliers, and called for incentives and measures to reduce the high cost of importing products.
“However, when discussing local sourcing, we cannot simply focus on that alone; we must also consider enterprise development. We need to examine how we can develop enterprises that can meet the demands of the local market. Currently, we are transitioning from NDP5 to NDP6, but we need to ensure that we fully utilise and benefit from what we have implemented in NDP5. This includes evaluating our enterprise development, local sourcing, and our overall strategy for promoting domestic industries,” he said.
Namalenga further emphasised the importance of timely policy amendments and implementation, urging the public and private sectors to work together to overcome delays.
