WINDHOEK, Aug. 17 — Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo on Wednesday cautioned against viewing recent oil and gas discoveries as an automatic solution to socioeconomic challenges in the southwestern African nation.
Speaking at the commencement of the two-day Namibia Oil and Gas Conference 2023 which kicked off Wednesday in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, Alweendo urged careful management of expectations and highlighted the potential for uncertainties and complexities in the development of the oil sector.
“Oil is not an automatic remedy to all our socioeconomic challenges,” Alweendo warned.
“While potential significant oil investments are expected to flow into Namibia, it is not a given that prosperity will follow. Prosperity will follow only if the investments and the consequent oil revenue are well-managed. If not well-managed, the subsequent result could well be worsened socio-economic challenges,” he noted.
Alweendo stressed the importance of governance to ensure that economic benefits are shared fairly, saying “Poor management of the oil and gas sector can drive corruption and inequality that in turn will fuel social tensions and threaten political stability.”
“We thus need to learn lessons from some oil-producing nations whose oil production has not resulted in a broad-based socioeconomic development,” Alweendo said.
He also noted the crucial role of international oil companies in fostering local expertise.
“To maximize benefits, there is an urgent need to prioritize the development of our local capabilities,” the minister said.
Namibia is hosting the conference under the theme of “leveraging oil discoveries for inclusive economic development,” which was attended by experts and industry leaders from Nigeria, Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Norway, Guayana and Trinidad & Tobago.
In March, Namibia made a third oil discovery after the success of the Graff-1X and Venus-1X discoveries by Shell and TotalEnergies. (Xinhua)
