We welcome investors, not bargaining over laws - president

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says some foreign investors entering Namibia want to negotiate the country’s laws but warned that government would not tailor its legal framework to suit individual companies.Nandi-Ndaitwah made the remarks during a Council on Foreign Relations discussion in New York last week while responding to a question about revenue collection and Namibia’s experience in establishing the Namibia Revenue Agency.“You find a situation when investors come, some of them want to negotiate our laws. You can now imagine if you have to negotiate your laws with every investor – how are you going to run that country? It must be run with one law,” she said.Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia welcomes international investment, but investors should understand the country’s laws and policies rather than expect different legal arrangements to be negotiated.“We have our laws, we have our policies, and we are saying, you are welcome to invest in Namibia, but you also need to make a fair analysis and understand how we are operating, what are the benefits, [and] what are our laws saying,” she said.The president argued that multinational companies investing in Africa sometimes seek concessions they would not necessarily demand elsewhere.“You find that when multinationals are negotiating in Africa, they want to be given special terms," Nandi-Ndaitwah said.She said Namibia must apply its laws consistently if investment partnerships are to benefit both companies and Namibians.“It must be run with one law, and whoever is coming, you have agreed to go in accordance with the laws… in that way we will have a true partnership between the investor and the people of Namibia,” she said.Not the first warningThis is not the first time Nandi-Ndaitwah has warned that foreign investment in Namibia must take place within the country’s laws and on terms that protect its interests.In April 2025, while defending her decision to place oversight of the emerging oil and gas industry under the Presidency, she said the sector would continue to be governed by Namibian law.“I want to assure the Namibian people that having taken an oath to defend and protect the Constitution and the Namibian laws, there is no way I can manage this industry outside the Namibian laws,” she said at the time.Her position became more pointed at the Chamber of Mines Mining Expo in Windhoek in August, when she argued that Namibia should recognise the bargaining power that comes with owning the mineral resources sought by investors.“Others come in with money, but we are strong because we have the resources. We should not just fill our minds with money. We must not negotiate with a poverty mindset,” she said.The latest remarks take that argument a step further. Rather than only insisting that investors comply with Namibian law or that government negotiate from a position of strength, Nandi-Ndaitwah now argues that some investors are themselves attempting to negotiate the country’s laws.Earlier in the discussion, Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia was not simply seeking capital but wanted partnerships that bring investment, technology, skills and markets."We are really seeking for a better partnership that will bring investment in our country, technology and skill transfer, and also to have a market for our products that will be able to produce,” she said.The president identified mining, energy and oil and gas among the sectors expected to support Namibia’s development programme, with value addition forming part of the government’s approach to extracting greater benefits from the country’s natural resources.Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia has significant mineral deposits, including rare earths and other critical minerals, and wants investment in those resources to contribute to domestic processing, industrialisation and skills development.

We welcome investors, not bargaining over laws - president

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-01

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We welcome investors, not bargaining over laws - president

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-01

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