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BUREAUCRACY AFFECTING INVESTORS – UAANDJA

By: Andrew Kathindi

Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) CEO Nangula Uaandja says that bureaucracy and a slow pace has led investors to pull out of the country in recent years.

“What they are saying is our pace is counter-industry. They say we are slow in making decisions. We leave investors to devise their own means. They also said that politics dictate private sector. There are blurred lines between politics and business,” Uaandja said.

Uaandja, during a presentation of the investment development boards 24-month strategic plan stated that the institution interviewed stakeholders in the financial services, embassies represented in Namibia, multinational companies and Namibians operating in foreign missions whose is to promote investment in the country.

“Too many permits required. Disjointed process – investors are sent from pillar to post. Both government and the private sector are non-committal. We invite investors but when they come we do little to remove the bottleneck, and we are not always responsive. We have a reluctance to important skills.”

She further said that according to the response from stakeholders, visa issuance for skilled foreigners is hindered and that visa application process is tedious.

“Immigration officers only police rather than facilitate investor entry.”

She says the perception is linked to Namibia’s international ranking.

This comes as Namibia was ranked as the 94th most competitive nation in the world out of 140 countries ranked in the 2019 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum

Namibia is ranked 104 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings. The rank of Namibia improved to 104 in 2019 from 107 in 2018.

Namibia was also rated poorly on the perception of starting a business, trading across borders, and resolving insolvency.

Uaandja said that to improve ease of doing business, the NIPDB will be coordinating institutions such as Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) and Namibia Competition Commission, “to make sure that as the Namibian government, we are serving the investor as one and not as many disjointed organizations.”

Bank of Namibia (BON) Governor Johannes Gawaxab this week told The Villager that the NIPDB was set up as a recommendation of the high-level economic recovery panel, which he chaired and on which Uaandja served.

 

Julia Heita

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