The appointment of Modestus Amutse as Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy on 2 December 2025 marks a decisive attempt by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to restore stability to a ministry that has endured weeks of uncertainty and leadership gaps. His arrival follows the dismissal of Natangwe Ithete on 26 October 2025.
This abrupt decision left the ministry without a permanent political head at a time when some of the country’s most critical industrial and mining decisions were pending.
When Ithete was fired, the Presidency initially announced that President Nandi-Ndaitwah would assume responsibility for the portfolio herself.
Days later, she stepped back from that initial position and appointed Defence Minister Frans Kapofi as acting minister from 28 October onward, creating a temporary leadership arrangement in a ministry where continuity is vital.
This period of interim management came at a sensitive moment. The Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy traditionally oversees key sectors that anchor Namibia’s economy — mining, electricity, manufacturing, and upstream energy regulation — and many of its statutory powers depend specifically on the minister’s signature. Licences, renewals, project approvals, work-programme assessments and industrial-policy implementation all require apparent authority for administrative processes to function.
But the portfolio’s structure has shifted. Even as she announced Amutse’s appointment, President Nandi-Ndaitwah made it clear that oil and gas matters — particularly those governed under the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 1991 — will fall directly under her office rather than under the incoming minister. This change follows the controversy surrounding Ithete’s dismissal, which stemmed from his reported renewal of an expired petroleum licence in defiance of a presidential moratorium. The decision to retain upstream petroleum oversight in the Presidency reflects the administration’s desire for tighter central control over a sector experiencing heightened global interest.
That leaves Amutse with a more focused, yet still robust, portfolio. Under the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act, 1992, he continues to hold the authority to grant, refuse, suspend or cancel mineral licences; approve transfers and renewals; issue regulations; and oversee compliance across Namibia’s mining sector. He also retains responsibility for industrial policy, SME development, manufacturing promotion, mineral beneficiation initiatives and broader economic transformation strategies.
Under the Electricity Act and associated frameworks, he remains the political head responsible for electricity generation licensing, power sector planning, and energy market oversight.
The separation of petroleum oversight from the traditional mines portfolio creates a dual-track governance model: mineral licences and industrial policy will fall under Amutse. At the same time, oil and gas will be handled at the presidential level. This internal restructuring underscores the need for administrative clarity and coordinated planning, especially given Namibia’s simultaneous push into uranium, green hydrogen, renewable energy, copper, gold, and battery-metal projects.
Amutse’s appointment, therefore, brings permanence to a ministry that has been in flux since late October, even as the portfolio adjusts to a narrower mandate.
The ministry regains a full-time political head after weeks under interim control, restoring the chain of authority required to process mineral-sector decisions, industrial initiatives and energy-sector matters outside of upstream petroleum.
For a portfolio central to NDP6, national industrialisation, green-energy development and the regulation of Namibia’s mines, consistent leadership is essential.
With Amutse’s arrival — alongside the President’s decision to keep oil and gas under her direct supervision — the ministry enters a new phase defined by both stabilisation and structural recalibration.
The test ahead will be whether these adjustments deliver the clarity and predictability that investors, regulators and national planners require.
