Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo has called on Namibians to equip themselves with the expertise required by the oil and exploration industry, amidst the recent major oil discoveries.

Speaking at the roundtable discussion on petroleum activities in Namibia under the theme ‘Oil and Gas Exploration – A Namibian Perspective’ here on Monday, Alweendo said once it fully kicks off, it is important for Namibia to be ready through its entrepreneurs to be able to provide local services that the sector will require.

“It will make no sense for citizens to demand that some engineering services should be provided by Namibian companies while we don’t have companies that can deliver the required services,” he stressed.

The minister also said it is important for Namibian entrepreneurs to follow the oil and gas exploration local content to enable themselves with factual knowledge and the expertise that the industry will require, and so that Namibians are ready to deliver.

The minister fumed that often Namibian companies will fight for opportunities to deliver services, but the same companies then end up importing services after failing, or never create the required services themselves.

“The industry will offer basic services and at least as Namibians we should be able to offer such services from day compared to highly technical services such as engineering that will require time for local content to be provided,” he noted.

Alweendo further said value addition should be created through the provision of local content, adding that the ministry currently has a draft local content policy that will be made public soon to allow for input from Namibians before it is tabled.

He noted that the oil discoveries by Shell, TotalEnergies and ReconAfrica are a “blessing” for Namibia as it will have positive economic impacts such as job creation, in addition to royalties, for which the current rate stands at five per cent, amongst others.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency