Windhoek: Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, Modestus Amutse, has dismissed prevailing fears that placing the oil and gas sector under the Office of the President will weaken his ministry or concentrate excessive power in the hands of the president. He argued that the move is aimed at strengthening governance of a strategically important part of the emerging oil and gas industry.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the issue resurfaced sharply in the National Assembly following the tabling of amendments to the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act of 1991. The tabling of the Bill by Amutse reignited a public debate that has simmered since President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah assumed oversight of hydrocarbon projects last year.

Speaking in an interview, Amutse rejected suggestions that the proposed changes amount to a political takeover of the sector. "Definitely, the objective of the new Bill is an amendment to the Petroleum Act, and that amendment is seeking to transfer certain powers of the Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy to the petroleum unit, which is actually the upstream unit," he described.

At the centre of the proposed reforms is the creation of an Upstream Petroleum Unit housed in the Office of the President. Last year, Nandi-Ndaitwah moved the oversight of hydrocarbon projects to the Office of the President, advancing that this would facilitate the development of the emerging oil and gas sector.

Amutse said this reflects a practical division of labour driven by the expanded mandate of his ministry following the merger of Industries (formerly Industrialisation under the Ministry of Trade) with Mines and Energy. "We are just taking out one unit, a very, very important unit for that matter, so that we can strengthen it," Amutse explained. "In terms of monitoring, in terms of management and execution, so that it has enough and dedicated function to manage this very, very crucial resource of the country, which is oil and gas."

Public unease has largely centred on the perception that the Head of State will directly control the oil and gas sector. Amutse dispelled that view. "It doesn't mean it's the president herself who is going to manage the unit," he said.

The Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Amendment Bill, 2025, proposes to delete, amend and define certain expressions in the Act, while transferring specific powers from the Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy to the President, and others to the Director-General of the Upstream Petroleum Unit in the Office of the President. The aim is to streamline decision-making, clarify lines of authority and enhance oversight of petroleum exploration and production.

However, opposition lawmakers have warned that the amendments risk undermining accountability and upsetting the balance of power between the Executive and Parliament. Reacting to the tabling of the Bill, opposition lawmakers criticised the legislation, arguing that it concentrates authority over the oil and gas sector in a single office.

Leader of the official opposition, Imms Nashinge, cautioned that the proposed changes raise constitutional and governance concerns. "The Bill proposes a significant transfer of authority from a minister, accountable to Parliament, to the president and a new director general within the Presidency," IPC's Nashinge said. "While framed as creating efficiency, this consolidation risks creating a regulatory monolith where technical oversight, political authority, and commercial negotiation become dangerously intertwined."

PDM leader McHenry Venaani echoed those concerns, arguing that the legislation would leave the minister with little real authority. "What we are doing with this legislation, we are giving the rights of the minister to the president. Why? You are only becoming a minister of energy by title because the power of your ministry will be bequeathed to the Office of the President," Venaani said.

Amutse, however, insisted that the fears are misplaced and that Nandi-Ndaitwah will not be involved in day-to-day management of the sector. He said operational authority would rest with the Upstream Petroleum Unit, established through legislation and led by a director general and deputy director general. "The functions of the unit will be actually vested in the director general, deputy director general and their staff," Amutse said. "The unit is going to be transferred to the director general of the upstream unit, who will then report to the president, just like all director generals do and the ministers do."

To reinforce his argument, Amutse drew parallels with existing institutions housed in the Presidency, particularly the National Planning Commission. "What will happen then is just to give the president the same power she currently has to appoint the director general of the National Planning Commission, the auditor general and the attorney general," he said. "Just take, for instance, the National Planning Commission. They deal with the budget, but also the Ministry of Finance. It's just division of labour."

In his view, Amutse noted that the scale and long-term implications of oil and gas development demand a dedicated and technically focused institutional arrangement. "Oil is a very important resource for Namibia's economy for the short and long term, so it needs to be managed with utmost care and as such we must actually support this initiative. We have to have one strong unit dedicated to this function," the minister said.

He also dismissed claims that the reforms amount to a loss of authority for line ministries. "There is no disempowerment," Amutse said. "The functions of ministers are also given by the president. It's the president who gives me a mandate."

"If the mandate was given to the minister by the president, what is wrong for the president to diversify such power, even to make it much easier and flexible for functionality purposes?" he asked.

As parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill continues, the debate unfolds against the backdrop of growing international interest in Namibia's offshore resources. Significant discoveries in the Orange Basin have attracted global oil majors, raising the stakes around governance and oversight.

TotalEnergies' discovery of the Venus oil field is widely regarded as one of the largest oil finds in sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated 1.5 to 3 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Other companies, including Shell, are continuing appraisal activities following offshore discoveries, with estimates suggesting as much as 11 billion barrels.

Against this backdrop, Amutse maintained that the proposed amendments would deliver 'a stronger, more transparent and more manageable' framework for governing Namibia's emerging oil and gas industry.

Source: Emirates News Agency