Story by Sakeus Kadhikwa
The two Parliamentary Standing Committees of the National Assembly (Economics and Public Administration and that of Natural Resources) jointly organised a six-day oversight workshop in Swakopmund from the 29th May – 03 June 2023. Which brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including members of the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Economics and Natural Resources, representatives from Government agencies responsible for the energy, mining, and oil sectors, officials or representatives from the O/M/As and organizations.
The workshop is necessitated by the oversight consultations the Parliamentary Standing Committees had with the stakeholders in the mining and energy sector such as Ministry of mines and Energy and NAMCOR as a step to understand the governance, government shareholding and state of the mining sector from the custodians of mines and energy sector in Namibia.
The Standing Committees is focusing on maximizing or unleashing or unlocking the potentials of mining and energy sector in Namibia. A range of methods to assess the governance of the sectors, with the aim of achieving the objectives of the workshop.
The workshop’s expected outcomes are to achieve a comprehensive assessment report on the state of mining, energy and oil sectors in Namibia and their governance; identification of key challenges and opportunities; increase awareness and understanding of the sectors and governance among stakeholders; recommendations for addressing the environmental and social impact and a road map for further engagement and dialogue among stakeholders.
The recommendations generated from the workshop will be valuable inputs for lawmakers, policymakers and other stakeholders working to improve the governance of these sectors and the sustainable management of natural resources in Namibia.
