budget speech motivation-ministry of trade and industry

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BUDGET S PEECH

VOTE 19: MIN ISTRY OF TRADE& INDUSTRY

BY

HAGE GEINGOB, MP

11 May 2010

The Hon. Chairperson of the Whole House Committee

Honourable Members of this August House

I have the pleasure to present to this August House, Vote 19 for the Ministry of Trade &

Industry for the 2010/2011 financial year.

Hon. Chairperson

Honourable members

I am privileged that during the State of the Nation Address, His Excellency the President gave

such a comprehensive and resounding coverage of the trade, industry and investment sector.

I will thus not attempt to improve on what His Excellency had said, but go straight tobudgetary allocations.

BUDGETARY ALLOCAT ION

The. Ministry has been allocated a total of four hundred and ninety million, six hundred and

eighty nine thousand Namibia Dollars (N$490,689,000). This total allocation consists of:

• An amount of two hundred and thirty five million, eight hundred and seventy one

thousand Namibia Dollars (N$235,871 ,000) for the Operational Budget, and

• An amount of two hundred and fifty four million, eight hundred and eighteen thousand

Namibia Dollars (N$254,818,000) for the Development Budget.

1



This allocation reflects a total increase of one hundred and forty five million, nine hundred and

forty four thousand Namibia Dollars (N$145,944,000) or 42 per cent on the previous year's

allocation.

The bulk of this increase is on the Capital or Development Budget, which has increased byone hundred and thirty million, two hundred and eighty thousand Namibia Dollars (N$130,

280,000) or 105percent.

The Operational Budget, on the other hand, has increased by fifteen million, six hundred and

sixty four thousand Namibia Dollars (N$15,664,000) or 7 percent.

The mandate of the Trade and Industry Ministry is divided into the following five (5) keyProgramme areas:

.:. Trade promotion and facilitation;

.:. SME and Entrepreneurship development

.:. Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment Promotion

.:. Domestic Market Competitiveness

.:. Industrial Planning and Infrastructure Development

Hon. Chairperson

Hon. Members

1. Trade Promotion and Facilitation

An amount of one hundred and seventy one million, four hundred and seventy one

thousand Namibia Dollars (N$171,471,000) has been allocated to this programme.This allocation represents a 71 percent increase from the previous year.

PlannedActivities

The Ministry will use the budget allocated for 2010/11 to carry out the following

activities:

2



• Hosting of the SACU and SADC Summits in Windhoek

As the current Chair of SACU, Namibia has recently hosted the first SACU Summit

of Heads of State and Government and the Centenary commemorations on 22 April

2010.

Namibia will assume the Chairmanship of SADC in August this year.

As such, we will also be hosting the SADC Summit of Heads of State and

Government in August 2010, when SADC will also celebrate its 30 th Anniversary.

As the national focal point for SADC, the Ministry of Trade and Industry will be at

the forefront of the envisaged preparations for the SADC Summit and anniversary

celebrations.

• Construction of trade fair centres

In response to the lack of appropriate trading and trade exhibition facilities in most

parts and regions of the country, the Ministry during the 2009/19 financial year

embarked on the construction of these facilities.

Okakarara was the first chosen, and the construction of the multi-purpose business

and trade fair centre that started in the previous financial year will be completed

during the current fiscal year. Other places that are in line for the construction of

similar centres are Rundu, Keetmanshoop, Omaruru, Tsumeb and Katima Mulilo.

The trade fair facilities provide Namibian enterprises, including SMEs, an

environment conducive to exhibiting their products and establishing markets for

their products. As a related activity, the Ministry will provide financial and technical

support aimed at building the capacity of regional and local authorities to

successfully organise trade fairs.

• Financial support to private sector

As we did in the past financial year, when the Ministry organized, facilitated and

supported the participaflon of some 265 Namibian SMEs and entrepreneurs in trade

fairs at home and abroad, costing N$4.5 million, we will continue to provide this

3



support. This will include covering costs such as the transportation of exhibition

products and promotional materials, exhibition space and facilities, and to the

extent possible, also travel and accommodation costs. We plan to increase such

financial support in this fiscal year.

• Market Research and Product Development

The diversification of our export products and markets, as well as the sources of

imports, is important for us. This requires thorough research and analysis. This

year, the Ministry plans to dedicate more resources towards market research and

product development, with a view to identifying and cultivating additional potential

export markets as well as to stimulating the development of exportable products. In

this regard, emphasis will be given to product branding and labelling so thatNamibian products are easily identifiable and well marketed.

• Support to Industry Associations

To address the lack of capacity and financial resources that umbrella industry

organizations and associations require in order to build effective operating capacity

and perform their advocacy roles, we will continue to, as we did in the past, provide

financial support to various industry organizations. These include the NCCI,

Namibia's Manufacturers' Association, the Indigenous People's Business Forum,

Team Namibia and the National Trade Forum. The Ministry specifically supported

the projects and activities of these bodies that complement the objectives of the

Ministry.

• Establishment of the Namibia Board of Trade

In this year we will establish the national body required under the SACU agreement

to handle our import tariff management, anti-dumping measures and research on

trade flows, trade data, import-export controls and management and related

matters. It is anticipated that there will be a SACU-wide Board of Trade established

in 2011, thus requiring that we establish our national body this year. This also

requires amendments to our legislation on imports and exports which will be tabled

later this year.

4



Hon. Chairperson

Hon. Members

2. SME and Entrepreneurship Development Programme

A total of sixty nine million, two hundred and sixty three thousand Namibia Dollars

(N$69,263,OOO) has been allocated for this programme. This represents an increase of 66%

from the previous year.

Hon Chairperson

Hon. Members

We plan to use the allocated budget to expand our SME support programme. Some of the key

activities that we plan to carry out in this regard are:

• Conducting feasibility studies and development of business plans as well as turn-

around strategies and due diligence assessments;

• Providing business advisory and mentoring services;

• Supporting product development and facilitation of market linkages between SMEs and

large businesses;

• Conducting enterprise surveys and census;

• Transforming the Small Credit Guarantee Scheme into an SME bank; and

• Providing financial and technical support to SME enterprises and related industry

associations

The expected outcomes of this programme is the enhanced participation of the SME sector inthe formal national economy, and its potential for employment creation, export generation,

empowerment of the previously disadvantaged and formalization of businesses.

5



3. Industrial Planning & Infrastructural Development


(N$69,263,000) has been allocated for this programme. This represents an increase of 66%

from the previous year's allocation.

The provision of affordable industrial premises has positive effects, one of which is to help

expose small businesses that used to operate under trees or concealed back-yard garages

where they are hardly noticed by potential customers. The appropriate basic business

infrastructure provided through this programme increases the chances of business success,

growth and employment as well as poverty reduction.

With the budget allocation for the 2010/11 financial year, we plan to undertake the following

major industrial development and support activities:

• The provision of electricity reticulation and related bulk services to site intended for the

construction of an agro-food processing center at Oshakati and a new business hub in

Okahandja;

• To commence construction of multi-purpose business parks and modular community

markets and business centers at places such as Rosh Pinah, Keetmanshoop, Rundu

and Ruacana;

• The construction of the Ministry's Regional Office at Omuthiya in the Oshikoto Region;

• The construction of additional warehouses at Katwitwi and Oshikango border

settlements to meet the increasing demand for employment-creating warehousing and

cross-border trading activities targeting neighboring Angola;

• To establish garment manufacturing factory units starting with a pilot in Windhoek;

• The finalization of the Industrial Policy and Strategy;

• Tocarry out research in order to investigate comparative advantages (resource-

endowment) as well as economic and industrial development potential of the various

regions of the country;

• To spearhead the Industrial Upgrading and Modernization of the local manufacturing

sector so as to enhance the productive capacity and competitiveness of individual

6



enterprises; and

• The development of a reliable information collection, analysis and dissemination system

to improve our ability to plan and direct industrialization with special focus on resource-

based manufacturing.

The impact of these programmes is to facilitate the creation of local industries, especially

small-scale industries, by among others, reducing the cost of acquiring industrial

infrastructure and facilitating the provision of other industry support incentives.

Hon. Chairperson

Hon. Members

4. Promotion of Commerce and Domestic Market Competitiveness

This programme is been allocated an amount of seventy four million, two hundred and twenty

two thousand Namibia Dollars (N$74,222,OOO). This represents a decrease of 16 percent from

last year's allocation.

Hon. Chairperson

Hon. Members

I want under this programme to highlight the importance of our agencies and State-owned

enterprises. We have now successfully established both our Namibia Standards Institute and

our Competition Commission.

These institutions will both playa critically important role in the development of our commerce

as well as ensuring a level playing field for all.

Importantly, the Competition Commission together with the Namibia Board of Trade previously

mentioned with its envisaged powers to prevent dumping in our market, will finally be able to

prevent the uncompetitive behaviour that we have seen amongst businesses in the past and

the ruthless actions by dominant companies to exclude others.

7



This is a very important achievement.

To conclude this overview of the agencies and SOEs under the mantle of the Ministry of Trade

and Industry, I need to mention in conclusion that we are considering significant reforms to

the Namibia Development Corporation, as well as the Offshore Development Company. In

due course I will inform this August House of proposed developments in this regard.

Activities planned for 2010/11

The financial resources allocated for this programme will among others go towards financing

and strengthening the operational capacity of Namibia Standards Institution and Namibia

Competition Commission;

I now move on to our final programme:

5. Domestic & Foreign Direct Investment Promotion

The budgetary allocation to our investment programme amounts to thirty five million, seven

hundred and eighty seven thousand Namibia Dollars (N$35,787,000). This represents a 23

percent increase from last year's allocation.

It is pleasing that already in the last quarter of 2009, some of the mining companies that either

closed or scaled down their operations as a result of the global economic meltdown were

showing signs of recovery or revival. On the other hand, Namibia experienced a uranium

investment boom, with some N$1.76 billion worth of commitments in foreign direct

investments recorded, with corresponding creation of over 1,228 new jobs during this period.

Planned activities

In the coming year, we will use these resources to intensify our promotion and marketing of

investment opportunities in the country to both domestic and foreign investors. The promotion

of joint venture partnerships will receive special attention.

8



We will roll-out a more appealing and easily accessible web-site entitled

"investnamibia.com.na", while maintaining the use of existing effective media. A data for the

proper capturing and storage of investor information will also be put in place for easy tracking

of investments.

In addition, we will intensify networking and dialogue with umbrella business organizations

and stakeholders such as the NCCI to ensure coordinated efforts in promoting and supporting

investments in the country. Most of the existing incentives need to be re-examined to ensure

their continued relevance and effectiveness, and we will continue consultations with the

Ministry of Finance and other relevant institutions of Government in this regard.

Comrade Chairperson

Honourable members

In conclusion therefore, I now wish to request the support and approval of this august house

for Vote 19 Ministry of Trade and Industry for a total allocation of FOUR HUNDRED AND

NINETY MILLION, SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE THOUSAND NAMIBIA DOLLARS

(N$ 490,689,000) for the 2010/2011 financial year.

I thank you for your attention and support .

............................................................. END .

9



ANNEX TO

BUDGET SPEECH

VOTE 19: MINISTRY OF TRADE & INDUSTRY

BY

HAGE GEINGOB, MP

11 May 2010

BUDGETARY ALLOCATION

The Ministry has been allocated a total of four hundred and ninety million, six hundred and

eighty nine thousand Namibia Dollars (N$490,689,000). This total allocation consists of:

• An amount of two hundred and thirty five million, eight hundred and seventy one

thousand Namibia Dollars (N$235,871 ,000) for the Operational Budget, and

• An amount of two hundred and fifty four million, eight hundred and eighteen thousand

Namibia Dollars (N$254,818,000) for the Development Budget.

This allocation reflects a total increase of one hundred and forty five million, nine hundred and

forty four thousand Namibia Dollars (N$145,944,000) or 42 per cent on the previous year's

allocation. The bulk of this increase is on the Capital or Development Budget, which has

increased by one hundred and thirty million, two hundred and eighty thousand Namibia

Dollars (N$130, 280, 000) or 105 percent.

The Operational Budget, on the other hand, has increased by fifteen million, six hundred and

sixty four thousand Namibia Dollars (N$15,664,000) or 7 percent.

The mandate of the Trade and Industry Ministry is divided up into the following five (5) key

Programme areas:

.:. Trade promotion and facilitation;

.:. SME and Entrepreneurship development

1

(



.:. Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment Promotion

.:. Domestic Market Competitiveness

.:. Industrial Planning and Infrastructure Development

1. Trade Promotion and Facilitation

An amount of one hundred and seventy one million, four hundred and seventy one thousand

Namibia Dollars (N$171 ,471,000) has been allocated to this programme. This allocation

represents a 71 percent increase from the allocation of last year.

Achievements: Some of the achievements and activities out during the previous financial

year are as follows:

• Conclusion of a new Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between SACU countries

and the MERCOSUR countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay presents

an important new market for Namibian products as well as a source for imports of

goods and capital. I am about to table the ratification of this agreement to

Parliament.

• Ongoing negotiations as part of SACU for a preferential trade agreement between

SACU and India, whereby Namibia and other SACU member states are seeking

preferential access for their goods into the Indian market;

• Initiation of negotiations for a tripartite agreement and free trade area between

SACU, MERCOSUR and India. Such an agreement will go in furtherance of South-

South cooperation among the emerging economies of India, sub-Saharan Africa and

South America, where much of the future growth in the world economy is expected

to come from;

The SADC Free Trade Area provides further duty free market for Namibian products

into the over 200 million populated market. These arrangements also provide

opportunities for the sourcing of raw materials and other industrial inputs from the

resource-diverse SADC region to fuel manufacturing and industrial activities in the

region including Namibia.

2



Continue ....

• The tangible results from the SADC FTA is led to a consideration for the

establishment of a tripartite FTA between SADC, the Common Market for Eastern

and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC). Besides

the enlarged market of over 30 African countries - from the Cape to Cairo - this

economic integration arrangement will help overcome the problem of multiple

memberships to different economic groupings. This has impacted negatively on

commitments to regional integration and cohesion in dealing with third parties as

evident from the negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement with theEuropean Union.

• While the most obvious benefit to Namibia from the African Growth and

Opportunity Act (AGOA) ended with the closure of Ramatex that exported

garments to the USA, Namibia is also eligible to export other products such as

grapes, dates and meat under AGOA. It is envisaged that we will soon start to

export meat to the USA once all veterinary clearances have been granted by the

US authorities. The Namibian private sector is encouraged to take advantage ofthis and other export market opportunities.

• As it is common knowledge, the 2009/10 financial year was challenging when it

comes to the negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the

European Union/Commission. There has been little progress and as far is Namibia

is concerned the negotiations are still in process since a number of crucial

concerns have not yet been addressed by the EC.

3



Planned Activities

In keeping its ongoing trade promotion mandate, the Ministry of Trade & Industry will

use the budget allocated for 2010/11 to carry out the following activities:

• Hosting of the SACU and SADC Summits in Windhoek

The year 2010 marks 100 years of the existence (centenary) of SACU. As the

current Chair of SACU, Namibia has recently hosted the first SACU Summit of

Heads of State and Government and the Centenary commemorations on 22 April

2010.

Namibia will assume the Chairmanship of SADC in August this year. As such, we

will also be hosting the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in August

2010, when SADC will also celebrate its 30 th Anniversary.

As the national focal point for SADC, the Ministry of Trade and Industry will be at

the forefront of the envisaged preparations for the SADC Summit and anniversary

celebrations.

• Construction of trade fair centres

In response to the lack of appropriate trading and trade exhibition facilities in most

parts and regions of the country, the Ministry during the 2009/19 financial year

embarked on the construction of these facilities. Okakarara was the first chosen,

and the construction of the multi-purpose business and trade fair centre that started

in the previous financial year will be completed during the current fiscal year. Other

places that are in line for the construction of similar centres are Rundu,

Keetmanshoop, Omaruru, Tsumeb and Katima Mulilo.

The trade fair facilities provide Namibian enterprises including SMEs an

environment conducive to exhibiting their products and establishing markets for

their products. As a related activity, the Ministry will provide financial and technical

support aimed at building the capacity of regional and local authorities to

successfully organise trade fairs.

4



• Financial support to private sector

As we did in the past financial year, when the Ministry organized, facilitated and

supported the participation of some 265 Namibian SMEs and entrepreneurs in trade

fairs at home and abroad, costing N$4.5 million, we will continue to provide this

support. This will include covering costs such as the transportation of exhibition

products and promotional materials, exhibition space and facilities, and to the

extent possible, also travel and accommodation costs. We plan to increase such

financial support in this fiscal year.

• Market Research and Product Development

The diversification of our export products and markets, as well as the sources of

imports, are important for us. This requires thorough research and analysis. This

year, the Ministry plans to dedicate more resources towards market research and

product development, with a view to identifying and cultivating additional potential

export markets as well as to stimulating the development of exportable products. In

this regard, emphasis will be given to product branding and labelling so that

Namibian products are easily identifiable and well marketed.

• Support to Industry Associations

To address the lack of capacity and financial resources that umbrella industry

organizations and associations require in order to build effective operating capacity

and perform their advocacy roles, we will continue to, as we did in the past, provide

financial support to various industry organizations. These include the NCCI,

Namibia's Manufacturers' ASSOCiation,the Indigenous People's Business Forum,

Team Namibia and the National Trade Forum. The Ministry specifically supported

the projects and activities of these bodies that complement the objectives of the

Ministry.

• Establishment of the Namibia Board of Trade

In this year we will establish the national body required under the SACU agreement

to handle our import tariff management, anti-dumping measures and research on

5



trade flows, trade data, import-export controls and management and related

matters. It is anticipated that there will be a SACU-wide Board of Trade established

in 2011, thus requiring that we establish our national body this year. This also

requires amendments to our legislation on imports and exports which will be tabled

later this year.

2. SME and Entrepreneurship Development Programme


(N$69,263,000) has been allocated for this programme. This represents an increase of 66%

from the previous year.

Achievements: Some of the achievements and activities during the previous financial


• We provided assistance to SMEs in the form of 4 business exploration studies; 10

mentorship and business training workshops; architectural designs for 2 SME

operators, and due diligence assessments.

• We sponsored and facilitated training in business management skills and tendering

procedures for 60 small building contractors;

• We facilitated a visit by promoters of a car battery manufacturing project to Malaysia to

link up and secure a strategic alliance with potential joint venture partners;

• We procured and provided a set of equipment to a young female entrepreneur who has

now successfully set up and is operating a peanut-processing plant at Ondangwa,

and is producing peanut butter for the local market from groundnuts that she

sources from the Etunda irrigation project.

• We facilitated the operationalization of a textiles co-operative (Namtex) by procuring

and providing garment sewing machines worth N$2 million. The cooperative has

some 160 members in Windhoek, Arandis and Swakopmund, most of whom are

women and the youth.

6



Continued ...

• In response to the increasing need and demand for productive equipment from needy

SMEs across the country, we expanded equipment aid support and supported afurther 59 SMEs with productive machinery and related technologies and technical

skills to the amount of N$8.6 million. These machines and equipment are used to

carry out various self-employing and poverty alleviating business activities.

• In response to the ongoing need for affordable financing by majority of SMEs in the

country, the Ministry of Trade & Industry, on directive by Cabinet, embarked on the

transformation of the Small Business Credit Guarantee Trust into a self-sustaining

SME financing bank. During the past financial year, we submitted a formalapplication for a banking license for this envisaged bank. We are still engaged with

the Bank of Namibia on this matter. I have no doubt when fully established, this

institution will provide an additional window for SME financing in this country.

• In April this year, I had the pleasure of officiating at the graduation of 12 young

Namibians, four of whom came from Himba communities in the Kunene who

underwent and successfully completed their 6-month training in the cutting and

polishing of semi-precious stone conducted by an Indian expert. In this is in

fulfilment of our commitment to encouraging local value-addition to our natural

resources and creation of self-help community development and employment

opportunities.

• Last year I also promised that my Ministry will carry out a national enterprise census to

enumerate and collect data on all categories of existing business enterprises in the

country. I am happy to report that exercise has been carried out and completed. The

data is under analysis, and the results will be publicised in due course. This

information from the census will help us to understand the various types of

businesses and to devise appropriate supportive interventions.

7



We plan to use the allocated budget to expand our SME support programme. Some of the key

activities that we plan to carry out in this regard are:

• Conducting feasibility studies and development of business plans as well as turn-

around strategies and due diligence assessments;

• Providing business advisory and mentoring services;

• Supporting product development and facilitation of market linkages between SMEs and

large businesses;

• Conducting enterprise surveys and census;

• Transforming the Small Credit Guarantee Scheme into an SME bank; and

• Providing financial and technical support to SME enterprises and related industry

associations

The expected outcomes of this programme is the enhanced participation of the SME sector in

the formal national economy, and its potential for employment creation, export generation,

empowerment of the previously disadvantaged and formalization of businesses.

3. Industrial Planning & Infrastructural Development


(N$69,263,OOO) has been allocated for this programme. This represents an increase of 66%

from the previous year's allocation.

The provision of affordable industrial premises has positive effects, one of which is to help

expose small businesses that used to operate under trees or concealed back-yard garages

where they are hardly noticed by potential customers. The appropriate basic business

infrastructure provided through this programme increases the chances of business success,

growth and employment as well as poverty reduction.

8





• We finished the viability study on the Agro-Processing project and awarded the

tender for the installation of utility services on the identified site. The project is

currently on-going.

• We completed the viability study, designs and working drawings for the

Automotive Manufacturing and Assembling Hub in Walvis Bay. We are

however, at the moment unable to proceed with further development on this

project due to budgetary constraints.

• We completed the construction of an SME Business Park at Okongo, with

among other, a Communication Centre and Metal Fabrication Technology

workshop;

• We repaired and serviced three compressors that used to be leased by small

miners to dig for gemstones in the Usakos and other parts of the Erongo

Region;

• We completed the construction of the Ministry's Regional Office in KatimaMulilo Regional Office, while the construction of the Rundu Office is expected

to be completed in June this year.

• We acquired land and prepared the design documents for the construction of a

new Industrial Park at Okahandja, whose construction will start in this financial

year.

9



With the budget allocation for the 2010/11 financial year, we plan to undertake the following

major industrial development and support activities:

• The provision of electricity reticulation and related bulk services to site intended for the

construction of an agro-food processing center at Oshakati and a new business hub in

Okahandja;

• To commence construction of multi-purpose business parks and modular community

markets and business centers at places such as Rosh Pinah, Keetmanshoop, Rundu

and Ruacana;

• The construction of the Ministry's Regional Office at Omuthiya in the Oshikoto Region;

• The construction of additional warehouses at Katwitwi and Oshikango border settlements

to meet the increasing demand for employment-creating warehousing and cross-border

trading activities targeting neighboring Angola;

• To establish garment manufacturing factory units starting with a pilot in Windhoek;

• The finalization of the Industrial Policy and Strategy;

• To carry out research in order to investigate comparative advantages (resource-

endowment) as well as economic and industrial development potential of the variousregions of the country;

• To spearhead the Industrial Upgrading and Modernization of the local manufacturing

sector so as to enhance the productive capacity and competitiveness of individual

enterprises; and

• The development of a reliable information collection, analysis and dissemination system to

improve our ability to plan and direct industrialization with special focus on resource-

based manufacturing.

The impact of these programmes is to facilitate the creation of local industries, especially

small-scale industries, by among other reducing the cost of acquiring industrial infrastructure

and facilitating the provision of other industry support incentives.

10



An update on the status of the ex-Ramatex factory buildings.

It is regrettable to inform this August House, the ex-Ramatex factory buildings are still a

subject of a legal dispute following a court case brought against the City of Windhoek by

the joint liquidators in 2008 over the disputed ownership of the land and the industrial

property between the two. As such, the buildings are not yet available for use. My Ministry

purchased some 800 sewing machines in the hope that these buildings will become

available so that some of the young people who lost their jobs could get back to work. We

have attempted to broker a compromise, but still without any success in sight so far.

In light of the above, we decided to approach the City to allocate us an industrial land for us

to build our own factory. This has however also not yet yielded positive outcome, and we

are still waiting for a response from the City on our request despite numerous follow-ups.

4. Promotion of Commerce and Domestic Market Competitiveness

This programme is been allocated an amount of seventy four million, two hundred and twenty

two thousand Namibia Dollars (N$74,222,000). This represents a decrease of 16 percent from

last year's allocation.

11



• The full operationalization of the Namibia Standards Institution's Microbiology and

Marine Biotoxin Laboratories at Walvis Bay as well as Fishery Inspectorate both at

Walvis Bay and U.ideritz. The laboratories meet the requirements of ISOIIEC

17025:2005-General Requirements for Competence of Calibration and Testing

Laboratories;



• The Fishery Inspectorate was accredited by SANAS in 2009 as an inspection body

meeting the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17020:1998-GeneralCriteria for the Operation of Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection. The

certificate of accreditation was handed over to the NSI CEO by the SANAS Acting

CEO at a media function at the NSI Testing and Inspection Centre, Walvis Bay in

December 2009.

I want under this programme to highlight the importance of our agencies and State-owned

enterprises. We have now successfully established both our Namibia Standards Institute and

our Competition Commission. These institutions will both playa critically important role in the

development of our commerce as well as ensuring a level playing field for all. I field we

should commend them for their initial achievements but also continue to support them to

become self-sustainable and able to serve the public with the important roles entrusted to

them.

Importantly, the Competition Commission together with the Namibia Board of Trade previously

mentioned with its envisaged powers to prevent dumping in our market, will finally be able to

prevent the uncompetitive behaviour that we have seen amongst businesses in the past and

the ruthless actions by dominant companies to exclude others. This is a very important

achievement in my mind.

I also wish to inform the Hon. Members that we are working on the establishment of a further12



agency, to additionally improve the business environment in Namibia by integrating

procedures to register companies and industrial property, and indeed to also decentralize

such procedures by way of internet-based applications through our regional offices. The

relevant Bill on this matter is currently under discussion in Parliament.

Further in future we also see the need to establish a body to focus on consumer protection,

and research work on the legal foundation thereof will commence in this year.

To conclude this overview of the agencies and SOEs under the mantle of the Ministry of Trade

and Industry, I also need to mention that we are considering significant reforms to the

Namibia Development Corporation, as well as the Offshore Development Company. The timewill come that I will inform this August House of proposed developments in this regard.

Activities planned for 2010/11

The financial resources allocated for this programme will among others go towards financing

and strengthening the operational capacity of Namibia Standards Institution and Namibia

Competition Commission; the development of a consumer protection framework; trade

inspections to ensure compliance to trade measures; upgrading and decentralization of the

computerized companies registration system to the regions, with the Ministry's regional offices

as satellites. The regional offices are directly linked to the main system in Windhoek. This

roll-out will enable members of the public to apply from the regions and would not need to

travel to Windhoek to file their business registration applications.

• The commencement of the construction of the NSl's Testing and Inspection

Centres in Walvis Bay and the Fishery Inspectorate in LOderitz;

• The expansion of testing services to cover heavy metal, histamine and norovirus,

thus further reducing the turnaround time for these test which are currently

conducted outside Namibia;

Some of the other specific activities to be undertaken in the areas of standards and

business registration during the current fiscal year are:

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• The establishment of trade metrology measurement traceability system and

engineering laboratories;

• Accreditation of the food laboratories in Walvis Bay;• Management and coordination of the implementation of the National Quality Policy

(NQP);

• Adoption of Namibian Standards based on need as identified by stakeholders; and

• Promotion of the application of standards, through awareness campaigns and

training of stakeholders.

• Registration of Companies, Close Corporations, Patents and Trade Marks;

• Scrutiny of all relevant legislation for amendments to facilitate the establishment of

the Namibia Business and Intellectual Property Authority

• Undertake awareness and information dissemination campaigns on consumer

rights;

• Monitoring and adoption of measures to secure the removal of detected Non-

Trade Barriers (NTBs);

• Strengthen the operational capacity of the Namibia Competition Commission and

Namibia Standards Institution.

5. Domestic & Foreign Direct Investment Promotion

The budgetary allocation to our investment programme amounts to thirty five million, seven

hundred and eighty seven thousand Namibia Dollars (N$35,787,000). This represents a 23

percent increase from last year's allocation.

It is pleasing that already in the last quarter of 2009, some of the mining companies that either

closed or scaled down their operations as a result of the global economic meltdown were

showing signs of recovery or revival. On the other hand, Namibia experienced a uranium

investment boom, with some N$1.76 billion worth of commitments in foreign direct

investments recorded, with corresponding creation of over 1,228 new jobs during this period.

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Achievements: Some of the achievements and activities during the previous financial year

are as follows:

In keeping with our undertaking to intensify the investment promotion and marketing of

Namibia during 2009/10, I wish to report on the following activities that have either been

concluded or are on-going:

• the continuation of the CCN advert and other advertising campaigns on Namibia in

view and even after the FIFAWorld Cup in South Africa;

• The re-opening of the Namibian Commercial Office in Washington DC;

• The organization or facilitation of numerous inward and outward investment

promotion missions, most of which I have personally led and others accompanyingHis Excellency the President. These missions provide the platform for Namibian

business people to link up with and forge partnerships with their counterparts in the

countries.

The drafting of the law that wi" replace that current Foreign Investment Act, 1990, which

has been found to be outdated and only addresses foreign investment at the expense of

domestic investments, has started and is underway. The Ministry secured the expert

assistance of UNCTAD in this regard. I am expecting the draft law very soon, which after

public consultations and other set procedures, should hopefully reach this August House

before the end of this year.

Planned activities

In the coming year, we will use these resources to intensify our promotion and marketing ofinvestment opportunities in the country to both domestic and foreign investors. The promotion

of joint venture partnerships will receive special attention. We will roll-out a more appealing

and easily accessible web-site entitled "investnamibia.com.na", while maintaining the use of

existing effective media. A data for the proper capturing and storage of investor information

will also be put in place for easy tracking of investments.

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In addition, we will intensify networking and dialogue with umbrella business organizations

and stakeholders such as the NCCI to ensure coordinated efforts in promoting and supporting

investments in the country. Most of the existing incentives need to be re-examined to ensure

their continued relevance and effectiveness, and we will continue consultations with the

Ministry of Finance and other relevant institutions of Government in this regard .

......................................................... END .

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budget speech motivation-ministry of trade and industry

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