Public Private Partnerships of Namibia

Public–private partnerships in Namibia are one feature of the growing economic landscape since independence was declared in the 1990s. Despite the boom in mining industry ventures, the fiscal deficit is growing and living standards remain inadequate in localised areas. PPPs are increasingly sought after for wider social objectives. The World Bank will support Namibia in a Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) to achieve its Fourth National Development Plan that centralises development of state capacity and the private sector. The dedicated Development Bank of Namibia provides funding for infrastructural projects completed by local or state-owned enterprises together with private companies, including direct loans for PPP enterprises. CEO Martin Inkumbi of the Development Bank of Namibia argues that public–private partnerships need to be further developed with regard to revenue streams for projects that go beyond initial capital projections. There is still a degree of resistance to private sector involvement in public services, with concerns over how employment would be affected and how black and gender empowerment could be incorporated into such schemes. Since independence, private finance has been injected into telecoms, power and port expenditure, while large investments in mining, smelting and refining infrastructure have mostly been funded by multinationals.

Examples of public–private participation are limited, but include energy projects, mining, desalination, mobile telecommunications and the Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (Tipeeg). The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has funded more than NAD3 million on public–private partnerships in Namibia with three current private partners – NamPost Savings Bank, Pupkewitz Megabuild and BFS Nampro Fund Manager. Namibia has little in the way of dedicated public–private partnership policy framework, something President Hifikepunye Pohamba has pledged to address. Development achieved via public–private partnerships is in line with Namibia’s Vision 2030 to raise the living standards of the Namibian people to those of the developed world by 2030.