Extracting minerals ‘no joke’ – Mbumba

President Nangolo Mbumba has called on Namibians to participate in the oil and gas sector through capacity building.

He said this while visiting the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Windhoek yesterday.

Mbumba said the extraction of mineral resources requires skills, and Namibians should gain those skills.

“To get minerals from the ground is not a joke. It demands people who think and are committed,” he said.

Mbumba said although the country’s resources belong to Namibia’s citizens, they would only benefit if there is local participation.

“The resources are yours, but you can only benefit when they are out of the ground and unless you have enough people of your own involved in those projects and mining, your share will be small,” the president said.

Mbumba further encouraged young people to enrol for tertiary courses in the fields of oil and gas.

Minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo said the ministry is working on accelerating mineral exploration.

“For us to continue ensuring the sector remains important, as it is the second-largest contributor to gross domestic product, we are preoccupied with figuring out how to accelerate mineral exploration,” he said.

The minister said the ministry is still busy addressing the issue of value addition when it comes to the exportation of raw minerals.

“Last year we decided not to allow certain mineral resources to be exported in raw form without value addition. That is something we are still working on,” Alweendo said.

He said more value addition would mean more revenue to the government, and the country starting to enjoy the benefits of its natural resources. Alweendo said the energy sector’s portfolio has grown since green hydrogen started making waves.

“We fuelled the first two dual-fuel trucks with locally produced hydrogen at Walvis Bay in May,” he said.