Amutse pushes for Baynes

Ahead of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s arrival in Luanda on Sunday for the inaugural Angola-Namibia Bi-National Commission, Namibia’s Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, Modestus Amutse, was already in Angola for bilateral talks on the Baynes Binational Hydropower Project.

On Friday, 16 October 2026, Amutse held his first bilateral meeting on the project, telling his Angolan counterpart, João Baptista Borges, that it was time to conclude the development phase and move towards construction.

“It is now time to bring the development phase to a clear conclusion and move towards the construction of this much-needed energy infrastructure project,” he said in his opening statement.

Amutse stressed the project's strategic importance, saying a funding strategy developed by the project implementation unit had been presented to both governments, which intend to share the costs.

In a video message released by his ministry, Amutse described Baynes as crucial not only to Namibia and Angola but also to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), particularly the SADC Power Pool.

He called for firm deadlines for outstanding work, including feasibility studies, design and planning. “We want to work on strict timelines,” he said.

The project is to be funded equally by the two countries, with both governments needing to agree on the terms and sources of funding.

“From the Namibian side, our emphasis has always been to source domestic funding as the first choice. That has been our policy,” Amutse said.

He added that developing Namibia’s own baseload electricity generation capacity was essential to reducing reliance on imports. “For Namibia, baseload electricity generation is very crucial. At the moment, we depend more on Eskom, and others such as Zambia, which we appreciate,” he said. “We have realised that it is very important to develop our own baseload capacity.”

Transmission project and environmental concerns

Last week, the ministry’s acting executive director, Tileinge Nghaamwa, clarified that a recent Cabinet approval related to the N$4 billion Angola-Namibia Transmission Interconnection (ANNA) project, rather than the Baynes hydropower scheme.

Nghaamwa said environmental clearance for ANNA had been secured in 2020. However, the remaining studies for Baynes still needed to be completed before applications for environmental clearance could be submitted for the hydropower project.

The clarification followed an 11 October press release by International Rivers, a global environmental and human rights organisation, raising concerns about the implications of the transmission project for local OvaHimba and OvaTjimba communities.

The organisation said the communities wanted the Namibian government to explain how environmental assessments and public consultations could meaningfully influence decisions about the transmission lines when financing had already been approved.

“The concern is that political endorsement and financial commitments for the transmission lines may make Baynes Dam appear inevitable,” the statement said.

International Rivers quoted Motjinduika Kapika Mutambo as asking: “Will this financial commitment make Baynes a foregone conclusion?”

“Approval of financing does not replace the requirement for environmental clearance,” said Siziwe Mota, the organisation’s Africa programme director.

Nghaamwa confirmed that consultations with communities affected by the project were continuing. A Baynes stakeholder steering committee has been established, and procurement of resettlement specialists is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027.

He said a resettlement action plan would need to be developed and negotiated with the affected communities.

Watch the minister’s video message: q.my.na/WS37