Namibia considers scrapping black ownership requirements in mining
The country is looking to benefit from an upturn in the commodities cycle by easing investment rules — as Zimbabwe and Angola are doing
Windhoek — Diamond and uranium producer Namibia may scrap requirements for black ownership in the mining sector as it seeks to woo investors to an industry that is rebounding with the commodities cycle, its new mines minister said on Tuesday. Regional peers such as Angola and Zimbabwe are also trying to kickstart their mining sectors by easing investment rules — at a time when other African countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo are embracing resource nationalism, and raising taxes and royalties. "I am not going to withdraw them [black ownership requirements] unilaterally, obviously we first have to discuss and see if they are really serving the purpose of why they exist. If the answer is, they don’t, then maybe we should change," Mines Minister Tom Alweendo said. "To give exploration licences to many people who won’t add value, I think we are just slowing down the [black] empowerment that we want to achieve at the end of the day," he said. Under the current policy, there mu...
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