Deputy Governor of the Bank of Namibia, Ebson Uanguta has said that capitalising on the oil and gas sector requires setting appropriate public policies.
Speaking at a public lecture during the 2023 Africa public service day celebrations, Uanguta said that the determination of policies including taxation and expenditure plans associated with the oil and gas sector are critical in ensuring that the Namibian economy is placed and remains on a sustainable growth path.
“This requires policymakers to implore a people-centred and long-term view on the utilisation of rents from the oil and gas sector to minimise reliance on the sector and avoid crowding out of other sectors of the economy. In crafting these policies, we will need to also ensure the sustainability of the sector so that it can benefit future generations as well.
“If properly managed, these natural resource endowments offer unparalleled opportunity for economic growth and development. Moreover, these resources can be instrumental in relieving the large constraints in infrastructures. There is a need to build and strengthen institutions as well as regulatory and governance frameworks to ensure efficient provision of public goods,” he said.
He went on say that embracing these economic opportunities will also require enabling public infrastructure emphasising that maximizing the economic benefits from the oil and gas sector, green hydrogen and the AfCFTA require well-coordinated and targeted investments in strategic infrastructures.
“For instance, we must rehabilitate our railway infrastructure to ensure seamless transportation of goods from the Port of Walvis Bay to the rest of the country and subsequently to our neighbouring countries. This will require regional cooperation to extend our transport infrastructure such as the rail from Grootfontein to Katima Mulilo to facilitate the development of key trade corridors in the region.
“Furthermore, we will need to implement one-stop border posts along these trade corridors to enhance trade flow, reduce frictions and cost as well as improve efficiency. We will also have to relook at the availability and capacity of enabling infrastructure and public services, for instance around the town of Luderitz, which is poised to be the hub of the green hydrogen and the oil and gas sectors,” he further stated.
In addition to the physical public infrastructure, Uanguta said Namibia will also need agile and efficient public servants to capitalise on these economic opportunities.
“We will need to embrace and leverage on digital and technological innovations to harness efficiency of the public service. It is important that we invest in technologies that enhance delivery of public services and do away with bureaucratic inefficiencies and outdated technologies. The public, especially the younger generations, are accustomed to the convenience of accessing services and information on a click of a button.
“To maintain competitiveness both with our regional and international counterparts as well as with the private sector, the public service needs to employ digital solutions which allow public institutions to do much more with speed. Digitalisation can create an enabling environment that facilitates for local firms and businesses to achieve competitiveness and capacity to compete in the regional and continental markets,” he explained adding that he cannot stress enough that an efficient public service is the gateway to economic development.
”Behind all the complex indicators of exports, imports and trade numbers are men and women who wake up everyday and put in the hours to ensure that goods are cleared at customs, passports of travellers are stamped, the necessary taxes, tariffs and duties are paid and the trucks transporting the goods are roadworthy and have the necessary permits to move from one country to another.
“Without such people, without an efficient public service, we run the risk of becoming one of those countries where trucks spend 7 days at the border waiting on the necessary clearance. In the meantime, the average citizen awaits on the delivery of life-changing medications or the supply of much-needed school materials for an extra 7 days, while they sit on the back of a truck waiting on customs clearance. That, in itself, ladies and gentlemen, is an unnecessary tax on trade that we cannot afford as a country. At least not when we harbour ambitions of becoming the logistics hub in the region.”