Manufacturing: A place to thrive

Government is committed to supporting the manufacturing and overall industrial sector. To this end, manufacturing incentives have been a constant for the past 20 years. In addition, opportunities through Southern African Customs Union (SACU) provisions, such as the infant industry protection regime, helps to shore up and sustain selected industries, as approved by the SACU Council of Ministers of Trade and Industry. These were some of the comments made by industrialisation deputy permanent secretary Dr Michael Humavindu, when he asked to comment on the general situation in the manufacturing sector, and from a policy point of view.Humavindu, who is a qualified economist, said government’s commitment is further embolden through the introduction of special economic zones (SEZs), as cabinet recently approved the SEZ policy framework. In terms of the provision of industrial space, government has constructed industrial and SME parks across the breadth of the country, which resulted in more than 90 000 square metres of lettable space at a major discount to SME tenants.In terms of market access, government is equally committed to ensuring that locally manufactured goods receive preferential treatment through provisions in the Public Procurement Act and the voluntary Retail Charter, as well as through the constant and ongoing negotiation of trade agreements at regional, continental and global level, Humavindu said. Favourable environmentIn general, Namibia provides a favourable environment for any business to thrive at both micro and macro level, he said.“At the macro level, we have political stability and peace, and these translate into prosperity for any business run on good governance principles. Our institutions, crucial for any viable society, are in place and so is the law and order dynamic.”At micro level, Humavindu said, there is ample emphasis on supporting and growing manufacturing entities and ensuring the regulation of anti-competitive behaviour, the supporting of a standards framework and ensuring a viable environment for business registration, while supporting and sustaining innovation through an appropriate intellectual property regime. He said the recent approval of a National Consumer Protection Policy is also a portent of good things to come, as business-to-business consumer complaints are also covered within the policy principles. He added the manufacturing sector in Namibia has other advantages, including good infrastructure such as roads and power. In addition, being the gateway to the South African Development Community (SADC) market via its ports as well as the transport corridors, means Namibia is ideally placed. Room for moreAsked how Namibian’s manufacturing sector can improve, Humavindu said: “The optimisation of our productive space is marred by a skills deficit and a high cost structure, especially administrative costs (water, energy and transport costs). If we are able to be innovative around the high cost structure dynamics; we should be able to overcome any other gap that could hinder the performance of the sector.”Humavindu said if one looks at the funding that flows to the manufacturing sector, especially at the start-up level, it really leaves much to be desired. This, he said, is because there is a serious financing gap. “We need to ensure that the skills gap, financing gap and the high administration prices are addressed to unlock more investment in the sector.”Humavindu said government takes to heart the concerns of the manufacturing sector.“The ministry of industrialisation has a memorandum of agreement with the Namibia Manufacturers Association (NMA) to ensure an appropriate public-private platform and the fostering of dialogue.” NDAMA NAKASHOLE

Manufacturing: A place to thrive

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