The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) said they are not in support of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) selling off its five per cent stake to Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) for N.dollars 414 million.
A media statement issued on Thursday by PDM Member of Parliament Jan van Wyk, who is also a shadow minister of Mines and Energy, said the party has noted with “great apprehension” the proposed plans of Namcor in which it has agreed to sell half of its stake of the petroleum exploration license in the Kavango Basin to ReconAfrica.
PDM is “indisputably” against the “imprudent and impetuous” selling off of Namibian resources to foreign companies, he said.
Van Wyk said in light of various complaints about ReconAfrica’s presence in Namibia, this transaction is regarded as premature and a sign of irresponsible management of Namibia’s natural resources, something government has been guilty of on a number of occasions.
“This latest display of malefaction and misgovernance is indicative of an utter disregard for Namibia’s natural resource deposits and her people. It is evident that the Namibian nation is not to benefit from the transaction and therefore the PDM urges government to cease with negotiations in this regard with immediate effect,” said Van Wyk.
He added that PDM, as a representative of the Namibian people through a popular mandate, cannot allow the continued exploitation of the country’s natural resources, “which aim to benefit foreign companies and a select few elites”.
This follows the recent announcement by Namcor that it is in negotiation with ReconAfrica to sell half of its 10 per cent stake in the petroleum exploration license in the Kavango Basin, in which ReconAfrica holds 90 per cent.
Namcor managing director, Immanuel Mulunga was quoted as saying that the transaction is not only less “onerous” but adds significant strength to Namcor’s balance-sheet and provides Namcor with exposure to the entire Kavango sedimentary basin in Namibia and Botswana.
“We have the utmost confidence in ReconAfrica, as the company has proven to be a responsible operator in our country, with an excellent track record in the performance of its work obligations,” said Mulunga.
Source: The Namibian press Agency
