By: Ngiinomenwa-vali Erastus
In the past three financial years (2022/23 to 2024/25), requests to acquire or merger with another company in Namibia have generated N$34.04 million.
Earlier this week, the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC/the Commission) revealed that merger filing fees were their second source of income, sharing that for the past 3 years most of its income derived from government subsidies and merger filing fees.
The Commission received N$109,36 million in the financial years under review, with majority stemming from the national budget.
The Commission is referred to as a non-commercial public enterprise that does not operate for profit.
In their statement, NaCC explained that as a regulatory body funded by the government to serve public interest, “all resources received are applied strictly towards fulfilling its statutory mandate and not for commercial gain.” Moreover, the Commission’s statement did not reflect income from other sources, nor interest earned on investments.
Merger filing fees are received upon the determination of merger notifications and recognised as revenue. The fees, however, do not determine if the merger will be approved or not.
PECUNIARY PENALTIES NOT REVENUE
The Commission also indicated that the pecuniary penalties they collect are not recognised as revenue or income. Instead, these penalties are imposed on entities found to have contravened the Competition Act, and are transferred into the State Revenue Fund in accordance with Section 53(5) of the Competition Act.
With that, the Commission clarified that the penalty funds are only transferred after an audit report is received, mainly for transparency and accountability.
As of October 2025, the Commission has collected N$9.12 million in pecuniary fines from concluded cases. These funds will be transferred to the State Revenue Fund within the course of this month, according to the Commission.
Since its inception, the NaCC has transferred a cumulative total of N$65 million in collected penalties to the State Revenue Fund.
erastus@thevillager.com.na
