Trade Minister tables Namibia Industrial Development Agency Bill

Namibia's Minister of Industrialization, Trade and Small Medium Enterprise Development, Immanuel Ngatjizeko tabled the Namibia Industrial Development Agency Bill in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

According to Ngatjizeko, the bill seeks to develop key industrial and business infrastructure, promote investment, facilitate trade as well as the introduction of new technologies.

"The bill also aims to support schemes contributing to industrialization efforts, while acting as an agent in making equity investments on behalf of the Namibian government and its institutions," Ngatjizeko said.

The proposed legislation is further aimed at entering into public private partnerships to foster economic transformation and exercising effective control over its investment for the agency.

Some Parliamentarians have however expressed concerns over how the bill has been drafted, arguing that the bill is one of the indications of an increasingly poor draftsmanship of laws seen since last year.

Parliamentarian Tommy Nambahu said the bill is not clear what its functions and base would be, whether it will be an investment, research or development agency.

"In addition, the bill does not allude or provide clarity on the budget allocation and its core function. This is some of the components that I would like to see addressed before this bill is passed," said Nambahu.

The bill seeks to repeal the Namibia Development Corporation Act. It also incorporates the mandate of the Namibia Development Corporation while also amending the Development Bank of Namibia Act. Endit