Mines minister Tom Alweendo says the end goal of local content policy is to spread the wealth generated by the natural resources among Namibians, develop the skills of the Namibian people in oil and gas professions, and promote the establishment of Namibian oil and gas businesses.
In his keynote address Wednesday at the Namibia International Energy Conference in Windhoek, Alweendo said one of the most important issues Namibia will be paying focused attention to is that of local content.
The minister said the concept of local content is to institute broad policy tools that promote domestic businesses and employment.
He said this is achieved by requiring a certain percentage of goods and services sourced from domestic companies and a certain percentage of jobs to be filled by local people.
The minister, who is the conference’s patron, said it also motivates international companies to share knowledge and expertise with local firms and encourages investment in local infrastructure.
“We have witnessed other petroleum-producing nations struggle in vain to introduce frameworks to protect and enhance domestic benefits of their natural resources,” Alweendo said.
Unfortunately, he added, once hydrocarbons have become the economy’s mainstay, retroactively establishing a meaningful local content policy that adds new requirements for producers becomes a Herculean task.
“We have a unique opportunity to learn from past mistakes and adopt the best practices of successful petroleum economies as we proactively plan for a framework for our local content,” he said.
Alweendo said he is more inclined to refer to local content as Namibian Content because that is what it is. “It focuses on creating in-country value across the Namibian economy and ensuring sustainable economic impact from the resources under Namibian soil.
“The end goal is to spread the wealth generated by these natural resources among Namibians, develop the skills of the Namibian people in oil and gas professions, and promote the establishment of Namibian oil and gas businesses,” he added.
The minister said Namibia introduced a draft National Upstream Petroleum Local Content Policy that outlines a pathway for Namibian citizens and companies to benefit from our oil and gas resources.
According to him, this is to be done by increasing our participation in the oil and gas industry, from exploration and production to the entire industry value chain.
He encouraged the delegates to offer feedback on the policies and frameworks to ensure that the Namibian Content regulations are effective for real-life applications.
“We in the ministry are striving to enact the framework to create an internationally competitive petroleum sector that maximizes the benefits for our people and leverages our natural resources for broader national development,” he said.
Alweendo said there is laser-focus on balancing increasing local participation and attracting the required investment.
“However, to make it work requires more than good policies. Namibian entrepreneurs must play a deliberate role in developing this new industry,” he said.
