Petroleum bill advances despite opposition walkout …50 MPs back second reading as oversight concerns persist

Patience Makwele

The government’s proposed changes to the administration of Namibia’s petroleum sector have cleared a key parliamentary hurdle, with 50 lawmakers voting in favour of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Amendment Bill despite a walkout by most opposition parties.

The National Assembly passed the Bill’s second reading on Tuesday, allowing it to proceed to the committee stage, where its provisions can be examined further.

The vote ended with no votes against the Bill and no abstentions. The Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) participated in the vote alongside Swapo Party members of parliament (MPs), while most opposition parties were absent.

NEFF deputy president and MP LN Kalimbo Iipumbu said the party backed the Bill because Namibia needed to treat its petroleum resources as a strategic national asset rather than primarily as an opportunity for foreign capital.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Kalimbo acknowledged concerns about the concentration of authority, accountability and possible political interference, but said supporting the legislation did not amount to giving the Executive unrestricted power.

“NEFF’s support should therefore not be misunderstood as a blank cheque to the Executive,” he said.

Introduced by minister of industries, mines and energy Modestus Amutse, the bill proposes shifting certain responsibilities from the minister and the Petroleum Commissioner to the President and a new Upstream Petroleum Unit (UPU) in the Office of the President.

The proposed changes have raised concerns among opposition MPs about the concentration of decision-making powers, the handling of petroleum revenue and whether sufficient safeguards will protect public accountability as Namibia develops its oil and gas resources.

During an earlier debate, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) MP Winnie Moongo questioned a proposed amendment to Section 63 of the Act, which would reduce the finance minister’s role in royalty remissions, refunds and deferrals from concurrence to consultation.

Moongo warned that the change could weaken financial controls over decisions involving public revenue.

“Legal safeguards must operate before public money is waived, not after it has left the treasury,” she said.

She also argued that the bill needed enforceable local-content requirements to ensure Namibian businesses and workers benefit from petroleum activities.

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) MP Ottilie Haitota raised concerns about the discretion involved in granting petroleum licences, warning that decisions involving valuable national resources must be protected from lobbying, preferential treatment and conflicts of interest.

Haitota also questioned who would be responsible for environmental restoration if a petroleum company failed to meet its obligations.

“If a petroleum company leaves after extracting the resource, who carries the cost of restoring the environment?” she asked.

PDM MP Immanuel Hengari warned that transferring responsibilities to the Presidency would require strong public and parliamentary safeguards.

“The President is not the problem. Concentrated power without equally strong public, parliamentary and legal control is the problem,” Hengari said.

Swapo MPs defended the Blbill, arguing that a specialised unit could improve coordination and strengthen the administration of the technically demanding petroleum sector.

Swapo MP Tobie Ocean Aupindi said the unit should operate professionally and remain accountable despite being located in the Presidency.

“The Upstream Petroleum Unit must be a professional institution, not a political office,” Aupindi said.

“But elevation to the Office of the President must not mean insulation from oversight,” he added.

Swapo MP Ephraim Nekongo also defended the proposed changes, arguing that establishing the unit in the Presidency would not remove Parliament’s legislative and oversight responsibilities.

The proposed UPU would be headed by former deputy mines minister Kornelia Shilunga.

The sitting also saw disagreement over the handling of the debate before the vote, with a member questioning whether MPs had received substantive responses to their contributions before the debate was brought to a close.

The Speaker responded that parliamentary rules governed the closure of debate and indicated that the bill would be examined further, clause by clause, at a later stage.

PDM leader McHenry Venaani said he could not comment on the Bill’s passage because none of his party’s MPs had been present in the National Assembly on Tuesday, as they had another engagement.

“I can’t comment, none of our MPs were present today, we had an engagement,” Venaani responded to the Windhoek Observer.

Immanuel Nashinge declined to comment, saying he was “attending the memorial service of the 2nd First Lady.”

Job Amupanda did not respond to calls seeking comment by the time of publication.