The Ministry of Industries, Mines, and Energy has started to develop a policy on mandatory minimum percentage local equity participation in all new mining ventures.

This was announced by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who said the policy is in pursuit of increased national ownership and value addition.

Mining is one of the critical economic enablers identified to support priority sectors and achieve their desired outcomes.

"Concurrently, efforts to legislate mineral beneficiation are being advanced with technical support from the African Development Bank's African Legal Support Facility, which provides legal assistance to African governments. Furthermore, initial consultations have commenced with the Bank of Namibia (BoN) regarding the establishment of a national gold reserve, with the attendant legislative framework currently under development."

For new industries such as oil and gas, the President announced that the process of updating relevant legislation has commenced in support of the envisioned logistics and supply infrastructure.

"The discovery of oil and gas in Namibia necessitates a quick shift in how to plan and drive our economy for the benefit of our people. As such, the government has initiated preparatory work for the development of a Namibia Oil and Gas Logistics and Supply Base, aimed at supporting the growing petroleum sector. The upstream petroleum unit has been placed in the Office of the President, with key appointments concluded."

In the energy sector, the Service Level Agreements have been concluded with seven Regional Electricity Distributors, thereby facilitating the rollout of rural and peri-urban electrification projects countrywide.

"Significant progress was recorded in renewable energy infrastructures, namely: a. Grid connection of the 20-megawatt Khan Solar Photovoltaic (PV) project; b. Commencement of construction on the 40-megawatt Otjikoto Biomass and 100-megawatt solar PV plants; c. Issuance of NamPower's Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) bids for 120-megawatt solar PV generation."

President Nandi-Ndaitwah has also directed Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare to constitute a nuclear energy task force comprising experts to work on a Nuclear Energy White Paper in a bid to diversify the country's energy mix.