The business community is expressing its interest as the elections approach

As with any political election, fundamental issues inevitably come to the fore and inevitably have a huge impact on the outcome.

The same bodes for this year’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, where Namibians’ disdain for the current socio-economic environment may ultimately play a significant role.

This year’s elections are expected to be hotly contested, separating the pretenders from the real candidates, as politicians usually say.

However, in an election year, the business community has specific interests and is pursuing future goals while also dealing with operational issues.

Some aspects of elections and their impact on businesses and corporations include policies and frameworks, public procurement and local government procedures.

I am talking with new eraindependent economic researcher Josef Sheehama stated that excessive bureaucracy and unfavorable trade policy kill every company.

“Companies expect a calm atmosphere, a high level of investment and reasonable corporate income tax rates. Therefore, the development of local content is expected to become even more important for all industry stakeholders as the need to localize value chains in Namibia increases. To create a favorable environment for business, a legal framework and strong institutions must be provided, he said.

He said the business community was eagerly awaiting local guidance on content related to green hydrogen as well as oil and gas.

Local content can be defined as the active participation of the Namibian workforce and entrepreneurs in the oil and gas sector through training, employment and local procurement of goods and services.

This, Sheehama said, is a major factor in keeping the business community happy and running smoothly and profitably.

He noted that business communities are frustrated with policies resulting from ineffective service delivery.

They expect the new president to ensure that business assets and investments are protected, and that their voices on effective governance and trade policy will be heard by the new administrators.

“If Namibia is to unleash its enormous economic potential and truly achieve the goal of the Industrial Revolution, there is a need to significantly improve the business environment and make it more friendly and enabling in terms of the ease and cost of doing business.

“Therefore, rethinking, redefining and reforming development policy means confronting these realities. These efforts must be closely linked to policy goals, but also to the regulatory framework,” the economist added.

Meanwhile, some businesses are calling for updated information on the implementation of the National Equal Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) and the Investment Promotion Act. The essence of NEEEF’s transformation policy is to serve as a remedy to undeniable socio-economic inequality caused by past discriminatory laws and practices.

More pertinently, it aims to correct the huge income disparities that existed in Namibia before independence.

Additionally, representatives of the Namibia Local Business Association (Naloba) called on foreign investors and businesses to focus on the huge opportunities that local businesses are not taking advantage of.

In their opinion, this requires fair competition and job creation, especially for local graduates.

Additionally, businessman Leake Hangala said any new administration should focus on economic growth, inequality and poverty.

“We should now develop cleaner policies for emerging sectors to ensure Namibians – from individuals to the business community – benefit from our own resources,” he said.

He also emphasized that the government should work on an effective public procurement system in the country.

This is to ensure efficiency and combat corruption in the public procurement process.

Hangala further disagreed with the country’s limping construction sector.

He said the government should look at how to revive this declining sector, especially since it could absorb many unemployed Namibians and could be a catalyst for other sectors.

Memories

In this context, economist and founder of High Economic Intelligence (HEI) Salomo Hei went down memory lane during the budget presentation to highlight events that were decisive or stood out in the budgets for the first election years.

The state budget for 1999 was divided into categories by reducing corporate taxes from 40% to 35%.

This was seen as a move to attract foreign direct investment by opening up the Namibian economy, which was approaching a decade of democracy.

Five years later, the talk of the town was an increase in contributions to pension funds, the completion of the new House of Representatives, which revitalized the construction industry and created much-needed jobs, and a special sickness program.

Fast forward to 2009, when taxes were cut for the “poor” on products such as milk and sugar, tax breaks for war veterans and first aid for the now defunct Air Namibia.

The 2014 election budget followed massive spending on the Targeted Intervention for Employment and Economic Growth (TIPEEG) program and the mass housing program, as well as another bailout for Air Namibia.

“TIPEEG had some execution problems, but the planning went well,” Hei praised.

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