Namibian-owned road construction companies should be distinguished from and prioritised over foreign-owned, yet still Namibian-registered, firms.

This is according to Works and Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi, who is advocating an amendment to the law to prioritise companies genuinely owned by Namibians.

The minister addressed a recent town hall meeting of the Swapo Party with national leaders in Swakopmund.

Some residents, like Thomas Iiyambo, wanted to know what the government is doing to empower local road contractors.

"What are we doing to ensure that our local contractors are also involved in infrastructure projects? Because if they don't have the equipment and the know-how, what is being done to build their capacity so that they can contribute to Namibia's road infrastructure and create local jobs?"

Minister Nekundi said the Public Procurement Act needs to be amended to empower Namibian contractors.

He noted that one proposed change would be to differentiate between companies owned by locals and those merely registered in Namibia but owned by foreigners, something the current Act fails to do.

"So, if a company is owned by South Africans but registered in Namibia, it's still considered Namibian. We want to introduce proper classifications so that companies owned by Namibians have a clear preference and are placed in their own category. Once approved, certain projects will be reserved for Namibian-owned companies only; that's the only way we can close that gap."

Nekundi further stated that some procurement specifications currently disadvantage Namibian-owned companies.

"The tender specifications might say, 'To qualify for this tender, you must have completed a similar project worth N$100 million in the past three years.' Ninety per cent of Namibians haven't done such contracts, but foreign companies with experience in Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, or Angola have. They also require you to have a specific number of machines registered to your company, which most Namibians don't have. Those are the challenges we've identified."

Another challenge, according to the Minister, is that Namibian-owned companies often lack the resources to hire qualified and experienced engineers who can help complete projects on time.

The minister said consultations are underway nationwide to develop solutions to form part of the proposed amendments.