1 000 days later: NIPDB takes stock

The new Investment and Promotion Act, which is undergoing its final round of consultation, will properly contextualise the role of the Namibia Investment and Promotion Development Board (NIPDB), its CEO Nangula Uaandja said, as the institution celebrated its first 1 000 days of existence.This comes as policymakers continue to question the role of the institution amid concerns that it is duplicating the roles and functions of the ministry of industrialisation.“What we are trying to do with the doubt of everybody, with the new act that is coming, is really demarcating the role to say, here is a ministry that has got a very wide mandate, because trade is something that we, as an investment promotion, do not do, and industrialisation policy is something that we do not do; we do not touch policy; we are not policy makers,” Uaandja said.The role of the NIPDB was entirely different from that of the ministry, she said.Deliver on the mandate She said the board has a specific mandate to promote investments and economic development."That is why, in the act, it is proposed that it be set out: here is the role of the ministry in terms of investment; here is the role of NIPDB; hopefully, when that act comes, it will provide the clarity that everybody needs,” she said.Uaandja also dismissed views that the institution would be done away with once a new administration takes over, maintaining that its future was secured well into the future.“From where we stand, we are an institution that is created to be here to deliver on the mandate, and we are here to stay. We are ready to stay. There is an act, the Foreign Investment Act, that takes the role of what we are doing in the ministry of industrialisation, so I think [that is] where we are standing,” Uaandja said.The NIPDB commenced operations in January 2021, taking over the functions of the Namibia Investment Centre to become the lead investment agency for Namibia. It is housed under the Office of the President.

1 000 days later: NIPDB takes stock

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-20

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1 000 days later: NIPDB takes stock

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-20

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