Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo says Namibians must always be alert and do everything necessary to guard against abuses and malfeasance in the country’s nascent oil and gas sector.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Alweendo said now is the right time to do so while still at an early stage of the development cycle.
He called upon Namibians to join forces to ensure that the nascent petroleum sector is managed honourably so that the economic benefits accrue to all Namibians fairly and equitably.
However, Alweendo said fighting corruption should be done with integrity and honesty, not in a manner tantamount to character assassination.
“When doing so, let us be circumspect; let us be weary of making spurious claims, lest we create unintended consequences.
“It is not good enough to advance our personal opinions or value judgments about who is corrupt as proven facts of the existence of corruption.
“It is counterproductive and makes fighting corruption ineffective. It is said that if we cry wolf too often, people will stop believing us,” Alweendo said.
The minister was responding to questions raised by LPM MP Henny Seibeb regarding the allegations that he had influenced the decision for Titan Oil and Gas to partner with Eco Atlantic on PEL 98 and Oranto Petroleum on PEL 106.
Alweendo said the assertion that he corruptly awarded an oil exploration license to his friend’s company is a serious allegation.
He said Titan Oil and Gas is a Namibian-registered company with a minority participating interest in two petroleum exploration licenses.
In addition, Alweendo said, Namcor also has a minority participating interest in the two licenses.
According to Alweendo, PEL98 was awarded in February 2021 to Eco Oil and Gas Services, a Namibian-registered company, while PEL106 was awarded in December 2022 to Oranto Petroleum, a Nigerian-registered company.
The minister pointed out that the applicants in both licenses were not Titan but Eco Oil and Gas in the case of PEL98 and Oranto Petroleum in the case of PEL 106.
Alweendo explained that as per the provisions of S11 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, the minister does not receive any application for a petroleum licence but rather the petroleum commissioner.
The petroleum commissioner evaluates and then recommends whether to award or reject an application to the minister.
To minimise the risk of collusion between the minister and the commissioner, we have instituted a Licensing Evaluation Committee to assist the commissioner.
The commissioner chairs the committee, which consists of petroleum department officials.
“As an added measure of checks and balances, the committee makes its recommendations to the minister through the executive director,” Alweendo explained, adding that the minister does not know who has applied until a recommendation is made.
In the case of Eco Atlantic and Oranto, Alweendo said the Licensing Evaluation Committee evaluated the applications, found them worthy of awarding the two licenses, and recommended accordingly.
Alweendo said Namibia encourages local companies to enter into joint ventures with foreign companies with the requisite capability when applying for petroleum exploration licenses.
However, he said the identification of joint venture partners is entirely left to the local companies.
“It now transpires that one of Titan’s shareholders is someone known to me, hence the allegation of corruption against me.
“It is, however, absurd to assume that just because a person is known to the minister or is a friend of the minister, their participation is only because of the minister’s meddling influence,” Alweendo said.
The minister said that throughout his long professional career, he always spoke out against corruption and promoted good governance.
“My detest for corruption has not changed, and it is not about to change. Therefore, the allegations of corruption on my part are vehemently and unambiguously rejected. As I have stated on several previous occasions, corruption in all its manifestations is abhorrent and must be rejected by all of us, regardless of who is involved in it,” Alweendo said.
He cited the example of the Bank of Namibia, where he spent 16 years at the institution’s helm, as an epitome of good governance, where there is zero tolerance for corruption.
