A top government official says Namibia’s economy should not rely heavily on mining but needs to be diversified.
George Simataa, the secretary to Cabinet, told the First Global South Think-Tank Dialogue held in Xiamen, China, that modernising the Namibian economy in the mining sector could benefit richer economies in Europe and Asia.
The International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the People’s Government of Fujian Province, and the Chinese Council for BRICS Think Tank Cooperation sponsored the Global South Think Tank Dialogue.
More than 50 participants from scholars, political party representatives, and over 300 businesspeople from emerging markets and developing countries attended the event on 3 November.
Simataa says Namibia cannot remain at its current level of economic development with little heavy industry and an economy focused on mining only.
“Namibia has the potential to be a productive powerhouse. For example, the Namibian Government is looking into developing a new, clean, green economy in the Namib Desert.
“We will need to work together with transnational corporations by reducing exports of our raw materials and encouraging local value addition and beneficiation,” Simataa said.
He added that Namibia is demonstrating strong leadership in developing green hydrogen to grow the economy and as a solution in the global decarbonisation agenda and the fight against climate change.
Namibia, Simataa said, can become a manufacturing hub, with large quantities of land suitable for manufacturing and some transport infrastructure already in place, including the Port of Walvis Bay.
According to Simataa, what Namibia is doing can only be meaningful if there is an educated and skilled workforce.
“Developing nations need to redouble their investments in education. Better and appropriate education will reduce population growth through knowledge of birth control, combating the predicted doubling in the future and enable people to get better jobs and create a multiplier effect,” Simataa said.
