Staff Reporter
THE Namibian Prime Minister, Dr. Elijah Ngurare, has said that eyebrows should be raised if Namibian laws are bent in favour of certain individuals, and stated that Namibian laws should be followed by all foreign investors, regardless of the major geo-political ties they may have.
The minister made these remarks in Parliament after being queried about Namibia’s rejection of multi-billionaire Elon Musk’s proposal to have his company, Starlink, provide internet services in the country. The investment deal, which had been poised to close Namibia’s rural digital gap via the use of satellites, was, however, turned down due to a 100% foreign ownership model, which the government opined posed a national security risk.
“Has government gauged the geo-political ramifications? You have touched someone bigger than life, in other words. As far as Namibians and all of us in this August House are concerned, we must be concerned when our laws somehow are bending in favour of certain people. As poor as we were in the liberation struggle, we stood up to big powers, but we were driven by the principle of liberating this country. The law here speaks to us having an entity that can do business here, where Namibians can have a share,” Dr. Ngurare said.
He added that someone cannot come here just because they have geo-political connections and trample upon the principles and the laws of Namibia.
“In our principles, we must stand, and whoever wants to do business here should conform to the rules of this country. How will rural schools get access to the internet? This is precisely what the Ministry of Information, Communications, and Technology (MICT) did. They have a fund to close the digital gap in rural schools. Let us converse and say if we would like the Namibian child to have access to connectivity, let us do so in a manner in which Namibians benefit,” Ngurare said.
According to statistics provided by the Namibian Minister of MICT, Emma Teofelus, in March 2025, a total of 53% of Namibians have access to the internet, and of the 1,635 schools in the country, only 456 have access to 4G coverage.
UNWAVERING: Namibian Prime Minister Dr. Elijah Ngurare. Photo: OPM
