Namibia finally signed the Samoa Agreement in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday after refusing to ink the deal, citing constitutional concerns.
State-owned New Era newspaper reported on Tuesday that the National Planning Commissioner Director General Oberth Kandjoze signed the agreement, which signifies the country’s position in addressing emerging needs, such as human rights, peace and security, environmental sustainability, and climate change.
Namibia was one of the countries that refused to sign the agreement on 14 November 2023 in Apia, the capital of the Caribbean Island of Samoa.
Kandjoze, Namibia’s head of delegation, told the media in Samoa that the southern African would not sign because of interpretative issues about the Constitution.
“We are worried, of course, just like anybody else,” Kandjoze told Devex, a social enterprise and media platform for the global development community.
Kandjoze added: “But the constitution is what it is.”
The international relations minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, told parliament on 1 November that Namibia would not sign the 20-year deal in its current form.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia was concerned with the absence of a glossary of terms or a definitions section within the agreement.
She also said the agreement refers to a commitment to the full and effective implementation of future outcomes of Beijing and the International Conference on Population and Development review conferences.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, signing such an agreement could bind signatory countries to processes and outcomes.
Nandi-Ndaitwah revealed that the attorney general had flagged these prescriptive provisions that impose certain actions not in line with the Namibian Constitution in 2021.
The Samoa Agreement brings together the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
The provisional application of the agreement will start on 1 January 2024.
The Agreement will enter into force upon consent by the European Parliament and ratification by the Parties, i.e., all EU Member States and at least two-thirds of the OACPS Members.
Through the European Investment Bank (EIB) Global, the EU pledged €150b in funding for green energy and raw materials partnerships for the OACPS.
Namibia is developing the biggest green hydrogen plant in sub-Saharan Africa, and the EU has pledged €1b for the project and critical raw materials.
The Namibia-EU €1b partnership involved revolutionising sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen initiatives.
The Namibia-EU €1b partnership involved revolutionising sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen initiatives.
The partners wanted to streamline value chains by collaborating with industry stakeholders to identify, promote, and facilitate cooperation in the exploration and commercialisation of critical raw material projects.
They also wanted to work together to leverage environmental, social, and governance criteria, including mapping and assessing abandoned mines and supporting Namibia in utilising ‘Earth Observation’ and remote sensing techniques for resource exploration, land use planning, and management.
Part of the agreement was to fund the soft and hard infrastructure, including selected mining, refining, mineral green processing projects and investments in water, rail, and renewable energy projects.
Notable are the plans to transform the Port of Walvis Bay into an industrial and logistics hub in the region with the help of the Port of Antwerp and Bruges International.
The other aspect was to enhance capacity and skills within the raw material and green hydrogen value chains, identifying training and skill requirements and enhancing technical and vocational training.
The EU pledged to assist Namibia in developing a national strategy for critical raw materials and enacting a synthetic fuel act to create an enabling environment for the hydrogen and synthetic fuels industry.
*Photo Courtesy of New Era Newspaper
