The Chamber of Mines CEO, Veston Malango, says they will engage the government to de-risk introducing the proposed free carry.
Malango’s comments come after the 2023 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies reported that Namibia’s position on the overall Investment Attractiveness Index (IAI) deteriorated by 3 points from 59 in 2022 to 56 in 2023.
On this index, Namibia was ranked 42 out of 86 jurisdictions surveyed, compared to 38 out of 62 in 2022.
In the African context, Namibia ranked 4th out of 22 African jurisdictions surveyed on overall investment attractiveness, compared to 6th out of 16 jurisdictions surveyed in 2022.
The IAI measures a country’s competitiveness and combines the Policy Perception Index (PPI) and the Best Practices Mineral Potential Index.
The PPI carries a weighting of 40%, and the Best Practices Mineral Index carries a weighting of 60%.
Namibia’s IAI score decreased due to the decline in the Best Practices Mineral Index and the Policy Perception Index, respectively.
The Best Practices Minerals Potential measures a country’s mineral attractiveness, which is rated assuming a perfect regulatory and policy environment. Namibia’s score on this index fell from 54 in 2022 to 49 in 2023 (5 points).
The Policy Perception Index measures a country’s attractiveness in terms of its mining policies and regulations. Namibia’s performance on this index dropped from 69 in 2022 to 68 in 2023 (one point).
Respondents in the survey cited contributing factors to this decline as “Exploration companies mandated to incorporate local ownership” and “the proposed Investment Promotion Bill is heightening uncertainty and risk.”
Namibia proposed a Draft Minerals Bill and high-level pronouncements to introduce a state-owned free carry to Namibian mining companies in 2023.
Malango says the Chamber of Mines will continue to advocate for the fast-tracking and finalisation of the Minerals Bill and other pending policy matters, such as the Namibia Investment Promotion & Facilitation Bill.
The Chamber’s president, Zebra Kasete, says Namibia can improve mining policy and regulatory matters.
Kasete said that while Namibia can be proud, it is still one of Africa’s most favourable destinations, ranking fourth.
However, he said it is concerning that its absolute score has deteriorated by three points compared to our global rankings.
