Deputy Minister of Urban and Rural Development (MURD), Evelyn !Nawases-Taeyele says transferring oversight of the petroleum sector to the presidency will significantly contribute to safeguarding the resources and avoiding exploitation from foreign countries.

She expressed this while delivering her contribution to the Appropriation Bill.

The Deputy Minister stated that throughout history, nations that have discovered strategic natural resources have often chosen to safeguard them by placing their management under the highest authority of the state.

She says this is to protect such resources from corruption, undue influence and external pressure that can undermine national sovereignty and the interests of the people.

"The decision by the 8th administration, under the leadership of Her Excellency President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, to place one of Namibia's most recently discovered strategic resources, in the name of oil, under her direct supervision is both a prudent and visionary initiative. This approach is neither unusual nor unprecedented. It is the practice of states that understand the immense opportunities and equal significance and risks that accompany the discovery of valuable natural resources."

She reiterated that history has shown that when natural resources are not carefully protected and strategically managed, they can become sources of instability rather than prosperity.