By the Chairperson of the High-level Panel on the Namibian Economy Mr Johannes !Gawaxab

“Setting the scene” for the Economic Summit 2019

Your Excellencies, Members of Cabinet, distinguished invited guests, fellow Namibians. We are gathered here today on the 31st day of July 2019 in Windhoek, Namibia to start an open and transparent dialogue on how to best revive the Namibian economy, honestly debate the issues that face us all, and build the beginnings of an action plan towards sustainably solving these issues for the long-term.

It is my distinct honour and privilege to welcome all attendees to the 2019 Namibian Economic Summit. I am delighted by the presence of His Excellency President Geingob, the highest levels of Namibian political and economic leadership of the country as well as the dignitaries and esteemed guests from the region and farther beyond. This is a clear indication of the importance that you attach to the country and to this event.

I am here to welcome you today and to set the scene and framework guiding the panel’s work. I represent a team of truly dedicated Namibian and non-Namibian professionals both on the panel and in support of the panel, working tirelessly to bring these solutions forward. They have answered the President’s call to serve on this Panel and do so driven solely by their love of Namibia and their desire to see our collective success.

The High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy (HLPNE) was established by President Geingob in March 2019, with the primary aim to advise on bold, practical and evidence-based solutions to address the triple challenge of unemployment, inequality and poverty in our country. Whilst the focus is on the medium and long-term, the President requested the panel to give some attention to short term, tactical interventions to complement the National Development Plan 5 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

One of our primary mandates is to identify constraints and roadblocks compromising the speedy recovery of the Namibian economy and recommend interventions that will lead to their removal. In this regard we have submitted our first set of recommendations to the President and Cabinet on the 3rd July 2019. We plan to submit our next set of recommendations after the Summit during the month of August and a final report in February 2020. Needless to state that our recommendations are underpinned by research, stakeholder engagement and best practice benchmarking.

The other, likewise important, deliverable expected from the High-level Panel was to coordinate and host this 2019 Economic Summit, under the leadership of the Vice-President President of the Republic of Namibia, supported by the Right–Honourable Prime Minister and in collaboration with relevant economic Ministries.

This Summit is the first step towards repositioning the way we do business in Namibia as well as to increase confidence in the economy. The Government continuously assesses its current policy framework and has realized the need for further reform in order to create an economic climate that is more friendly and welcoming to all businesses, in all sectors of our economy. However, the Government can only create a framework. In order to grow the Namibian economy, as Namibians, we must do all we can to welcome and promote both domestic and foreign investment, inspire action, marshal our entrepreneurial spirit, root out fraudulent activity and support the community around us. Bringing together the highest levels of political and business leadership from both the public and the private sector, the youth, organised labour and civil society is a sign that we are committed to working together and building the Namibian House. Nothing as it is can stay as it is. It can’t be business as usual. There is a realisation that the structure of the economy must and should change to move forward.

Furthermore, the attendance here at the Summit today clearly proves that there is still strong confidence in the fundamentals of our political and economic system. This confidence is reflected in investment commitments by domestic, regional and international investors.

Economic growth is critical to address structural inequalities, poverty and unemployment. It is for this reason, that we have chosen the theme of this Summit: “Economic revival for inclusive growth – strengthening the Namibian House”. It is in line with the President’s first term in office, namely to build a Namibian House where no one is excluded. We are embarking on a process to stem the tide of the current economic downturn and its socio-economic consequences.

The main objective of this Economic Summit is to kick-off the five goals aligned to the TOR of the Panel. Namely:

• To revive the Namibian economy and consequently create more jobs;
• To address structural inequalities and ensure inclusive growth;
• To improve capital inflows and foreign direct investment in Namibia by attracting USD1 billion million in investment;
• To identify and discuss policy and regulatory impediments that are preventing stronger economic growth and subsequently take remedial actions; and
• To promote Namibia as a tourist and investment destination.

This Summit is a key milestone towards the Panel’s goal to raise USD1 billion over the next two years. It is the platform to publicly and clearly state this goal, the platform that affirms the Government’s deep support via the attendance of our Government at its highest level, and a platform for firm discussions that will lead to us reaching this goal. The focus of the Summit is on private sector-led growth and investments. While the total amount of investment raised is the marquee metric measuring the success of the panel and a clear indication of trust in our country and economy, we must not forget that the true measure of success, particularly from the perspective of inclusiveness, is the total number of much-needed direct and indirect jobs created through the domestic and foreign investments injected into the economy and how we improve the quality of lives of Namibians. Social inclusion and ensuring that youth, the poor and the marginalised are benefitting from the proceeds of this Summit are critical to its success.

Of paramount importance as a necessary factor towards meeting the Panel’s goals is raising the public’s confidence that decent and sustainable jobs for the many unemployed, in particular the Youth, will result. This will have a positive impact on the lives of all Namibians. This Summit sets the stage to inspire this confidence, but must be quickly followed by real, tangible results that truly signal achieving our set objectives are within our grasp.

During this Summit, we will have ten break-away sessions focusing on key priority areas and sectors in our economy, where there are many untapped opportunities. These include Agriculture, Manufacturing or Tourism. Moreover, we are dedicating one session to Employment Creation, given the unsatisfactory situation of the labour market. We simply need to create jobs through public-private partnerships We have catalogued and do have a brochure of bankable investment opportunities for investors. The intention is to link projects with capital. We do expect a number of new investment announcements in the next two days, and we are convinced that we will uncover more investment opportunities during these sessions and create the connections necessary to continue this work. We are also looking forward to policy clarifications and announcements from the Government today and tomorrow that will go a long way towards strengthening the confidence of domestic and foreign investors in attendance and farther afield.

Yes, our economy is facing serious headwinds at the moment. After 26 years of 4-5% GDP growth per year since independence, we recorded negative growth in 2018 and 2019. This was largely due to low commodity prices, declining SACU revenues, rising debt, slow growth in SA and the Angolan exodus, as well as drought.

We shall rise again. Rise our economy shall. The long term potential of the Namibian economy remains intact: we have political stability; we have had orderly and peaceful transitions of presidential leadership since independence; we have strong property rights and rule of law in place and we have a solid track record of growing the economy between 4-5% for 26 of the last 29 years since independence. Policy uncertainty and bottlenecks – be they legislative, regulatory or bureaucratic – and a seamless execution of the strategic vision are being addressed through the HLPNE.

Before I come to the end of my remarks, let me take this opportunity to thank You, Your Excellency, for your trust in the High-level Panel on the Namibian economy to assist You and Your Cabinet in reviving our economy, and more specifically in organising under the leadership of the Vice President this Economic Summit. Likewise, I would like to thank my esteemed Panel members for the commitment and dedication shown in living up to the expectations. I’m proud to lead this team.

Let us be the nation of nations, thinking beyond borders, hitting targets and not only aiming, rising from constrained beginnings, unlocking resources, forging new paths and catalysing Namibia’s success for years to come.

I welcome all of you again to our 2019 Economic Summit and let me wish us a successful, productive and engaging event.

I thank you all. Take a look at the aspirations of the youth of Namibia: The Namibia we dream of