The government of Namibia has established a sovereign wealth fund which will be launched in May 2022, President Hage Geingob said on Wednesday.

The president said this in Parliament during the State of the Nation Address, where he said the aim of the fund is to safeguard the welfare of current and future generations.

Geingob said despite fiscal constraints, the government is positioning itself to take advantage of anticipated economic tailwinds that could potentially propel Namibia toward an era of growth and opportunity.

“In this vein, to safeguard the welfare of current and future generations, we have established, amid a recession, Namibia’s first sovereign wealth fund,” he said.

The framework for the Welwitschia Fund is completed, and the fund will be launched with a capital injection of N.dollars 300 million.

Geingob also revealed that he had commissioned two task forces, the Business Rescue Task Force and Fourth Industrial Revolution Task Force, which are expected to submit reports and recommendations soon.

The task forces were established with the aim of supporting vulnerable enterprises in the economy and preparing for the next industrial revolution.

“Government remains committed to ensuring that Namibia recovers from the worst domestic recession since independence. They (Business Rescue Task Force) have completed their work and will submit a report on 14 April 2022, which among others, recommends a supportive business environment based on international and continental best practices in the area of business rescue,” he said.

The Business Rescue Task Force is chaired by Thinus Prinsloo, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Capricorn Group.

Geingob added that the government is committed to small and medium enterprises which is why it is exploring the modalities of a Business Rescue Fund in conjunction with the Development Bank of Namibia.

“The fund would look to deploy affordable equity capital to enterprises that face imminent collapse, in order to preserve jobs and limit the economic scarring caused by COVID-19.”

He added that the drive toward economic advancement is taking place in tandem with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“We should view the Fourth Industrial Revolution as an opportunity to leapfrog from our current developmental stage. I appointed the Fourth Industrial Revolution Task Force in July 2021 to conduct an assessment on Namibia’s readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, chaired by Anicia Peters, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Namibia,” Geingob said.

The task force has already submitted its inception report with initial findings and recommendations.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency