1st LD Writethru: Namibia has pro-investment policies: President

Namibian President Hage Geingob said on Tuesday that the country is creating a conducive investment climate through strengthening the governance architecture to enhance investment.

In his keynote speech at an investment conference being held in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, Geingob said the government has ensured that Namibia has a conducive environment for doing business because of good infrastructure, medical services and recreational facilities.

The two-day conference which kicked off Tuesday is being attended by about 1, 000 delegates from as far as Mexico, USA, Italy, Belarus, and South Africa.

Running under the theme of Promoting Investment for Inclusive Growth and Industrialization, the conference is discussing investing in agriculture, housing, logistics, infrastructure, energy sector, tourism and manufacturing.

"Our financial systems are of world class standard and we have an array of shopping malls, a vibrant retail sector and top hotels and lodges, all providing a high standard of living for the foreign investor to live in Namibia should he or she desire," he said.

Geingob also said Namibia is on a march and has set pace in many macro-economic, governance and social indicators.

He said there is a well contained debt in relation to the GDP, with an Internal Default Rating of BBB- by Fitch; a robust economic growth, although there is slight slowdown in economic activity this year; a huge contractual savings in search of local investment opportunities; and a sound banking system.

In addition, Geingob said Namibia has lifted half a million people out of poverty through deliberately attuning fiscal policy to be pro-growth and pro-poor.

"In this connection, the bulk of budgetary allocations have been directed to our education, health and social protection systems," he said, admitting that he is aware that deficits remain in the socio-economic architecture.

Namibia has, he said, put in place policies to redress these social imbalances by crafting policies such as Vision 2030, the National Development Plans and lately, the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

According to Geingob, Namibia is working on the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework to address some of the shortcomings, among them creating an inclusive economy.

Speaking on the first day of the conference going on in Windhoek, Namibia's economics minister Tom Alweendo said Namibia has vast investment opportunities in housing, transport and logistics, tourism and manufacturing.

According to Alweendo, Namibia has a housing backlog of 300, 000 units, with most of the backlog in urban and peri-urban centers.

Alweendo also said although Namibia has an unique and beautiful scenery, there is need for diversifying products to attract more tourists, adding tourist arrivals recorded a 6 percent increase in the last five years.

Another opportunity, Alweendo told the delegates, is in transport and logistics where Namibia offers a gateway to southern Africa with access to more than 280 million markets.

Alweendo said this is possible because Namibia has a good road infrastructure. Endit