Staff Reporter
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources has highlighted that the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) requires more than N$500 million in funding to sustain its projects.
“NIDA has an industrialisation mandate to manage 148 properties nationwide, with key projects in Kavango, such as the cattle ranch, which generates N$15 million in sales, and the Naute Irrigation Farm, valued at N$233 million. However, additional funding is required to sustain these projects, with a further N$550 million needed as a capital injection for the Integrated Strategic Business Plan, and another N$29.7 million required to clear utility arrears that are affecting operations,” the committee revealed.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources outlined these findings in its Final Report on the Capacity Building Workshop with Stakeholders.
NIDA is a commercial State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) under the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy, with the mandate to promote, facilitate, and manage industrial development in Namibia. It oversees industrial estates, tourism centres, residential properties, agricultural holdings, and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) business parks across the country.
The report explained that the funding is needed to repair and renovate NIDA’s properties, as utility costs are rising (69 parks have electricity disconnected or blocked, 89 have water disconnected, utility bills for all parks need to be written off, and a debt collector has been appointed to recover all outstanding debt).
“NIDA is facing industrial development bottlenecks due to delays in policy implementation, including the need to review the Diamond Act, which has been pending since 2019, as well as Special Economic Zone (SEZ) incentives, which have yet to be operationalised,” the report added.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: File
