EDITORIAL: Wealth in the ground, poverty above it

Namibia is blessed - not with a quiet blessing, but a thundering one. Beneath our soil lie treasures the world is scrambling for: diamonds, uranium, lithium, rare earth minerals. Yet, if we are not vigilant and visionary in how we exploit them, Namibia risks becoming another cautionary tale: a nation rich beneath the soil, but poor above it.Oranjemund whispers a warning. Once the gleaming gem of our diamond dreams, it now stands as a testament to what happens when riches flow out faster than value is kept in. For decades, diamonds dazzled investors abroad. But now, with the mines depleted, we must ask ourselves - did Namibia benefit optimally from the Oranjemund diamonds?Today, the world looks to us again - not for diamonds, but for lithium to power electric cars, uranium for energy, and offshore oil to fuel economies far beyond our own. But even as the global spotlight returns, much of the control still lies in foreign hands. Raw minerals are shipped out, value added elsewhere, jobs created abroad.We must demand more than royalties. We must insist on beneficiation - the right to refine, process, and transform our minerals here at home. We must invest not only in machines, but in minds too.It is time to treat our natural resources not as windfalls to be exploited, but as tools to engineer structural change. That means building infrastructure, industries, and institutions that outlast the mines. It means using sovereign wealth to fund the dreams of the next generation, not just balance this year’s budget.The ore is finite. The oil will run dry. But what we do now - how we govern this wealth - will echo far beyond the last barrel or final ounce.

EDITORIAL: Wealth in the ground, poverty above it

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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EDITORIAL: Wealth in the ground, poverty above it

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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