Industrialisation and Trade Minister, Lucia Iipumbu, on Monday said that her ministry has been working around the clock to finalise the Investment Bill for tabling in parliament this year.

Speaking at the final consultation of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Facilitation Bill (NIPFP), Iipumbu said the ministry engaged stakeholders for inputs into the legislation that seeks to unlock and attract investments in Namibia.

“We are therefore committed to finalise this process to ensure that Namibia addresses the policy gap when it comes to the investment environment to avoid investors’ uncertainties,” she said.

“The new investment policy regime will therefore enhance a conducive business environment in Namibia to fully leverage on new investment strategies pertaining to renewable energies and resuscitate the economy within an updated investment legislative and policy framework,” she said.

“This will enable a viable institutional framework to support policy ambitions through the policy desk at the ministry and at the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) while fostering the required investor-friendly infrastructure,” Iipumbu added.

Meanwhile, the minister expressed her hope to table the NIPFB in the National Assembly before the end of the parliament session this year.

The ministry has been working on the bill since 2016, which seeks to replace the Foreign Investment Act, which Iipumbu said is outdated as it will not adequately enhance new policy developments around Special Economic Zones, which aim to ensure that Namibia can attract investments.

The NIPFP Draft Bill was tabled in the National Assembly in November 2021 but had to be withdrawn following several calls for further consultations.

There were concerns that the Bill would give the minister too much power regarding investment decisions and that he or she would limit the independence of the NIPDB.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency