The Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Finance to commence with the mobilisation of funds for the construction of the Baynes regulating dam and Baynes main dam, including sourcing additional funding for the construction of the road access to the Baynes Project site.

This is one of the resolutions taken during the Cabinet meeting held this week.

Cabinet took note of the latest developments on the bi-national Baynes Hydro Power Project and the cost-benefit analysis undertaken for the co-existence of the Baynes Project and the Kudu Gas-to-Power Project.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Communication, and Technology, Modestus Amutse, says, "The Cabinet approved the signing of the Baynes Implementation Agreement and mandated the Minister of Mines and Energy to sign the Agreement on behalf of the Namibian Government. Cabinet approved the establishment of the Joint Project Office to be situated either in Windhoek or Luanda."

Cabinet further approved expediting the commencement of the construction of the Baynes Road access by not later than September 2024.

It also endorsed the transformation of the Baynes Project Office into the Baynes Binational Implementation Unit to operate in collaboration with the Permanent Joint Technical Commission on the Cunene Basin.

Another matter that received attention is the prohibition of the export of certain critical minerals, such as unprocessed crushed lithium ore, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and rare earth elements.

The Cabinet endorsed a maximum export quantity of one thousand kilogrammes for mineral analyses per year per exporter or producer.

It also endorsed a maximum of up to 20,000 tonnes for plant design parameters.