Dismantling the ‘Investment Promotion’ Empire

Great idea, questionable motive.

That’s not a harsh way to sum up the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB).

The NIPDB opened its doors in early 2021 with the noble aim of making it easy for foreign investors and locals to do business in the country.

At the time, Namibia was ranked at over 100 out of 190 economies on the ease-of-doing-business measurement amid concerns the country was making it more difficult to attract investors.

The NIPDB promised to tackle the challenges with modest but “high value low-hanging fruit”, such as setting up a “one-stop shop”.

With a promise of good corporate governance, the NIPDB was also expected to discourage the corrupt tendencies of companies seeking audiences with politicians to set up shop.

Alas! The NIPDB kicked off with a poor structure and opaque recruitments of jobs for pals, which may well be among the major issues which resulted in what seemed to be structural obstacles for serious-minded businesses.

The institution clearly failed on the good governance front when it was set up with the chairperson as head of the advisory board and chief executive being one person and such an individual reporting, but not accountable, to an ‘advisory board’.

It is not clear what convinced president Hage Geingob to appoint Nangula Uaandja, long-time auditor and leader of PWC Namibia for years, as head of the investment attraction and business development quasi-governmental institution.

It is also not clear what informed the advisory board’s appointment.

What is clear is that many of the people involved seemed to have worked together for long or moved in the same circles.

Over the past month, the Presidency seems to have been backtracking by dismantling the all-in-one position of chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO), though it is not clear how that would solve other accountability questions.

As it is, the chair-cum-CEO is in no man’s land in terms of accountability.

From the onset, the NIPDB attracted controversy: Uaandja was accused of hiring mainly yes-people and significantly those with a PWC background.

Those reports were followed by a penchant for travel and organising joyrides with the president amid massive promises of tens of billions of dollars in investments and tens of thousands of jobs in the NIPDB ‘pipeline’.

Nearly four years down the line, it’s about time to review how many dreams have become a reality.

The government and the NIPDB should understand sceptics will not hold their breath and instead expect little to be shown for the high travel expenses covered by taxpayers as well as the massive salary bill incurred.

The latest confirmation that a temporary technical consultant position in the office of the CEO was hastily created to accommodate Swapo National Assembly candidate Dino Ballotti, because FNB Namibia could not keep him is nothing short of an abuse of public resources.

Uaandja all but made it clear in her announcement to staff that Ballotti was returning to the NIPDB to make it easy for him to campaign for Swapo.

It’s easy to conclude that the NIPDB is currying favour with Ballotti who, as an appointee of Swapo presidential candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is guaranteed to make it to the parliament and is likely a shoo-in for a Cabinet position.

It is no secret that Uaandja and the NIPDB have struggled to create a good rapport with the Cabinet members.

But the governing politicians would be well advised not to throw the NIPDB baby out with the bath water.

The idea of fixing obstacles to facilitate and coordinate investment attraction for Namibia remains solid.

As for the portfolio of the small and medium enterprise (SME) mandate residing at the NIPDB, but the budget being allocated to the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade to the tune of N$125.1 million by minister Iipumbu Shiimi – this raises questions over how the NIPDB would execute initiatives aimed at SMEs across 14 regions.

What is needed is a wholesale review (including of the overblown salaries and travel activities) on why the NIPDB has failed to work well with the likes of the ministries of trade, labour and immigration?

There might be factors beyond assuming that Uaandja and her team were allowed to create an empire that has failed to deliver on its promises.