Kandjoze defends govt oil secrecy
IMF urges transparency to curb corruption
The former energy minister says calls to publicise details of oil deals are made selectively, mainly against poorer nations.
National Planning Commission (NPC) director-general and former energy minister Obeth Kandjoze says Namibia is not obliged to make its oil deals known to the public - amid a call for transparency from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which wants government to disclose its dealings.
He made the comments this week during a panel discussion held by Nedbank Namibia, and said the IMF’s demand should also extend to powerful sovereign states.
According to a high-level summary technical assistance report by the IMF, making this information public would help prevent corruption in the sector, as is seen in other countries. “Namibia should pre-empt such challenges by adhering to the highest standards for transparency and governance. An immediate down payment on this effort could be realised by making publicly available in an easily accessible manner all petroleum agreements concluded by the government,” the report noted.
Kandjoze described the demand as unfair, saying the IMF did not require the same from developed countries.
“Those in the super-power structures of government are excluded from such tactics. We have seen it in the geopolitical dispensation in the Middle East. For the rest of us, it's not so good,” he said of the Bretton-Woods institution’s stance.
Extra leverage
Kandjoze stressed that Namibia’s ability to fund its own budget gave it extra leverage to confine its dealings from the public. Namibia’s governance framework did not give it reason to disclose its dealings with international oil companies, he said, adding that corruption and corrupt individuals had been dealt with.
“This very country funds its own budget; this very country does not get any donor money for its budgetary programmes. We actually have a governance framework against corruption, so why should any other sovereign entity - on equal status as a government - dictate to us what to disclose? I adhere to a government structure that actually deals with corrupt officials."
The NPC director-general said the government would not relent on its stated objective to deal with economic inequality despite resistance towards the implementation of the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework’s broad-based economic empowerment principles.
“Going forward, it is the desire of the government to close those inequality gaps. The feeling is you take from the rich and just give to the poor without any merit. The government cannot sit and wait for someone, I don’t know who, to come and talk and get this right. We Namibians must speak to our inner selves and resolve [it]. That situation is untenable and we cannot leave it,” he said.
'Is govt not kind enough?'
Kandjoze said international oil companies and other foreign investors were not limited from engaging the government on matters regarding policy, or uncertainty regarding the safety of their investments.
“I want to implore the investor: Get out there, speak to a government that provides you that political environment for you to thrive in, that government that offers you the return on your investment. You can expatriate that to any investment destination of your choice. Is this government not kind enough?”
Touching on utterances made by late president Hage Geingob that the oil did not belong to Namibians, Kandjoze stressed that oil exploration would have bankrupted Namibia.
“We would waste government money, putting it either in green hydrogen or gas mineral exploration, which, if any of that happened today, we would have bankrupted this country, if not owe money to the industry itself."
He made the comments this week during a panel discussion held by Nedbank Namibia, and said the IMF’s demand should also extend to powerful sovereign states.
According to a high-level summary technical assistance report by the IMF, making this information public would help prevent corruption in the sector, as is seen in other countries. “Namibia should pre-empt such challenges by adhering to the highest standards for transparency and governance. An immediate down payment on this effort could be realised by making publicly available in an easily accessible manner all petroleum agreements concluded by the government,” the report noted.
Kandjoze described the demand as unfair, saying the IMF did not require the same from developed countries.
“Those in the super-power structures of government are excluded from such tactics. We have seen it in the geopolitical dispensation in the Middle East. For the rest of us, it's not so good,” he said of the Bretton-Woods institution’s stance.
Extra leverage
Kandjoze stressed that Namibia’s ability to fund its own budget gave it extra leverage to confine its dealings from the public. Namibia’s governance framework did not give it reason to disclose its dealings with international oil companies, he said, adding that corruption and corrupt individuals had been dealt with.
“This very country funds its own budget; this very country does not get any donor money for its budgetary programmes. We actually have a governance framework against corruption, so why should any other sovereign entity - on equal status as a government - dictate to us what to disclose? I adhere to a government structure that actually deals with corrupt officials."
The NPC director-general said the government would not relent on its stated objective to deal with economic inequality despite resistance towards the implementation of the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework’s broad-based economic empowerment principles.
“Going forward, it is the desire of the government to close those inequality gaps. The feeling is you take from the rich and just give to the poor without any merit. The government cannot sit and wait for someone, I don’t know who, to come and talk and get this right. We Namibians must speak to our inner selves and resolve [it]. That situation is untenable and we cannot leave it,” he said.
'Is govt not kind enough?'
Kandjoze said international oil companies and other foreign investors were not limited from engaging the government on matters regarding policy, or uncertainty regarding the safety of their investments.
“I want to implore the investor: Get out there, speak to a government that provides you that political environment for you to thrive in, that government that offers you the return on your investment. You can expatriate that to any investment destination of your choice. Is this government not kind enough?”
Touching on utterances made by late president Hage Geingob that the oil did not belong to Namibians, Kandjoze stressed that oil exploration would have bankrupted Namibia.
“We would waste government money, putting it either in green hydrogen or gas mineral exploration, which, if any of that happened today, we would have bankrupted this country, if not owe money to the industry itself."
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