EU pact

President Hage Geingob last week instructed National Planning Commission director-general Obeth Kandjoze to fly to Brussels to sign a European Union (EU) exclusive partnership agreement (EPA), despite international relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announcing in parliament last month that the country would shun the pact due to issues raised by Attorney-General Festus Mbandeka.

Mbandeka pointed to several clauses in the EPA, also known as the Samoa Agreement, that contradict the Namibian Constitution.

Namibia also took issue with a provision that would require the country to destroy its ivory stockpiles.

The country has in the past demanded that it be allowed to sell its ivory, saying it places wild animals such as rhinos and elephants at greater risk of being poached. Namibia, as at 2019, had ivory stockpiles valued at an estimated N$125 million.

Additionally, Namibia feared that signing the agreement would open its markets to European goods, which could negatively affect local industries and hinder development, Nandi-Ndaitwah told lawmakers in the National Assembly.

Yesterday, government sources told Namibian Sun that some ‘extremists’ in the international relations ministry misinformed the minister, leading to her official statement in parliament that the country would not sign the deal.

Potential N$33bn loss

“Not signing the deal means potentially losing out on N$33 billion in trade. There’s no need to indulge in pound-for-pound fights with the EU,” one official remarked.

The agreement has been signed between the EU and the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

“As we speak, only eight out of 79 members of the OACPS have not signed so far. Namibia should not isolate herself,” another senior government official remarked.

Nandi-Ndaitwah declined to comment on the matter.

A government statement yesterday said: “Namibia enjoys friendly relations with the EU and its member states in various sectors and areas such as trade, climate change, water, energy, good governance, education, environmental management, democracy, rural development, agriculture and development cooperation".

The agreement would be applied in line with the Namibian Constitution, it added.

“Namibia’s understanding is that the Samoa Agreement will be interpreted and implemented in line with and subject to the Namibian Constitution, as well as other relevant national laws, regulations and policies,” a government official said.

“This thus ensures that Namibia retains her policy space and the signalling of the national constitution as supreme law."

The EU’s ambassador to Namibia, Ana-Beatriz Martins, welcomed the signing of the agreement.

“We are very pleased to see Namibia join the large and diverse group of OACPS members in a new partnership with the EU and EU member states,” she said.

May pose a problem

Listing other reasons behind the refusal to sign the agreement, Nandi-Ndaitwah last month referred to over 80 treaties Namibia may not be a party to.

“The agreement refers to over 80 regional and international treaties, strategies, initiatives and programmes that may not be legally-binding agreements or processes, and that our country may not necessarily be a party to,” she said.

The minister added: “The treaty does not have a glossary of terms or a definitions section to ensure that all parties have the same understanding of terms, which may pose a problem in the implementation and evaluation phase,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

“Having these provisions in the legally-binding new partnership agreement may elevate non-binding agreements, strategies, initiatives, programmes and processes to a legally-binding position or a treaty status.”

No room for negotiation

Another key matter behind Namibia’s initial refusal to sign the agreement was the removal of provisions after negotiations closed.

“The EU party unilaterally removed the provisions for declarations in Article 6 of the new partnership agreement, even after negotiations were closed. It is normal practice when concluding international treaties that provision for declarations would be made in the text, so that a state may make a declaration about its understanding of a matter or the interpretation of a particular provision in a treaty,” she said.

“The purpose of interpretative declarations of this kind would be to clarify the meaning of certain provisions, or the entire treaty."

The EU mission in Windhoek hailed Namibia for signing the Samoa Agreement. “We are committed to focus on the implementation of the EU-Namibia strategic partnership on green hydrogen and critical raw materials value chains with the Global Gateway Instrument and Team Europe Initiative to generate more jobs and prosperity, ” Martins said.