Itula warns against careless political statements scaring investors off

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Panduleni Itula has cautioned the government against scaring investors off.

He was responding to questions during an interview at State House after paying president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah a courtesy visit on Tuesday.

This was the first engagement between the president and the IPC as the official opposition since Nandi-Ndaitwah took office.

“We need to be very careful of those pronouncements that are likely to scare investors away, and concentrate on pronouncements we know are going to work.

“There is no point in trying to make brilliant statements that are not objective and not based on actually contributing to the global foundation of the economy,” Itula cautioned.

He said this does not mean Namibia should dance to investors’ tunes though, but should rather ensure it creates an environment that is investor-friendly.

“We may differ on how we want to grow the economy, but we need to be friendly to foreign investors to make sure we create a conducive environment.

“Governments do not create jobs, it’s the private sector we need to pay attention to, and to encourage them to come in and do their part.

“But we cannot encourage them if we are uttering phrases of rhetoric that are likely to chase these people away,” he said.

Itula said the country’s economy has been stagnating for a long time.

Itula said Namibia can only eradicate hunger through employment.

He said 729 742 people were employed in 2018, compared to today’s over 500 000, which is a 24% reduction.

This, he said, has a huge impact on the country’s gross domestic product.

“Careless statements will chase everybody away, and those being chased away are the ones who can create jobs for our people and also reduce poverty and hunger,” he said.

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