Red Tape Will Stifle Investment

DURING the state visit of South African President Thabo Mbeki this week, both he and his Namibian host, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, emphasised the need for their governments to put in place measures which would effectively ‘cut red tape’ in order to facilitate smooth business operations for the private sector and foreign investors.

It is good that both presidents recognise the need to take on bureaucracy in order to attract investment, but it is important that these words are converted into speedy action. Addressing the investors’ conference in Windhoek this week, President Pohamba spoke of the need to have in place “a responsive and efficient public service bureaucracy that understands the imperative of economic growth and support for business development”.He called on the civil service to heed his call and to ensure “speedy, fair, objective and transparent” decisions to facilitate the investment goal.His sentiments were echoed by his South African counterpart, who in turn emphasised the importance of tackling corruption, adding that Government had to work closely with the private sector and ensure there be “no corruption and no Mr Ten Per Cent”.Namibia is undoubtedly attractive to investors because of its general atmosphere of peace and democratic governance, but this alone will not promote economic growth unless the policies and practicalities for investors are addressed as well.For example, although President Pohamba spoke of Namibia’s “investor-friendly policies, highly competitive incentives and fiscal regimes”, we need to re-examine these against the background of ‘red tape’ that so often deters investors.Even if the policies are in place, so too the incentives and fiscal regime, officialdom can often deter the most committed investor, and the reports of this happening are not infrequent.It is also an area where bribery (‘Mr Ten Per Cent’ in the words of the South African head of state) plays a role, and unless this scourge is tackled head-on, there will be scant prospect of attracting the badly-needed foreign investment in order to stimulate sustainable economic growth in our country.In a highly-competitive globalised economy, measures to diminish the ‘red tape’ and often-present corruption become absolutely imperative.There are many positives in Namibia as far as attracting investment is concerned, but most of these have to do with Namibia’s peace and stability and geographic location.There are also many negatives.These include the bureaucracy, but also related matters such as our workforce, not generally perceived as hardworking, but also often expensive, and a prospective deterrent to investors.We also need to accept that if we are to attract investment, we also need to be tolerant of the presence of foreigners in our country, and make it possible for them to live here.Often Namibians express anti-foreign (in particular, anti-Western) sentiments, and this does not serve to make investors feel they are welcome here.Namibia could do a lot more than it currently does to attract the investment it purports to be trying to attract, but it needs to be at a number of levels that change must come in order to do so.We do need to work together with other countries of our sub-continent (our neighbour South Africa, to whom we are still so closely tied in particular), and there must be a concerted effort, not only at official Government level, but also in the Ministries dealing with investors, such as Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, to ensure scrupulous dealings with such people.Namibia’s tourist industry has definitely strengthened as people from all over the globe search of alternative destinations, but here too, we often deter visitors by the non-performance of our service industry.Namibians need to take to heart the President’s words as far as attracting foreign investment is concerned, and we need to demonstrably show visitors here that they are not only welcome, but will also be well catered for when they come here.Serious commitment at various levels to ‘cut red tape’ will inevitably help to promote Namibia’s attempts to stimulate growth.Addressing the investors’ conference in Windhoek this week, President Pohamba spoke of the need to have in place “a responsive and efficient public service bureaucracy that understands the imperative of economic growth and support for business development”.He called on the civil service to heed his call and to ensure “speedy, fair, objective and transparent” decisions to facilitate the investment goal.His sentiments were echoed by his South African counterpart, who in turn emphasised the importance of tackling corruption, adding that Government had to work closely with the private sector and ensure there be “no corruption and no Mr Ten Per Cent”.Namibia is undoubtedly attractive to investors because of its general atmosphere of peace and democratic governance, but this alone will not promote economic growth unless the policies and practicalities for investors are addressed as well.For example, although President Pohamba spoke of Namibia’s “investor-friendly policies, highly competitive incentives and fiscal regimes”, we need to re-examine these against the background of ‘red tape’ that so often deters investors.Even if the policies are in place, so too the incentives and fiscal regime, officialdom can often deter the most committed investor, and the reports of this happening are not infrequent.It is also an area where bribery (‘Mr Ten Per Cent’ in the words of the South African head of state) plays a role, and unless this scourge is tackled head-on, there will be scant prospect of attracting the badly-needed foreign investment in order to stimulate sustainable economic growth in our country.In a highly-competitive globalised economy, measures to diminish the ‘red tape’ and often-present corruption become absolutely imperative.There are many positives in Namibia as far as attracting investment is concerned, but most of these have to do with Namibia’s peace and stability and geographic location.There are also many negatives.These include the bureaucracy, but also related matters such as our workforce, not generally perceived as hardworking, but also often expensive, and a prospective deterrent to investors.We also need to accept that if we are to attract investment, we also need to be tolerant of the presence of foreigners in our country, and make it possible for them to live here.Often Namibians express anti-foreign (in particular, anti-Western) sentiments, and this does not serve to make investors feel they are welcome here.Namibia could do a lot more than it currently does to attract the investment it purports to be trying to attract, but it needs to be at a number of levels that change must come in order to do so.We do need to work together with other countries of our sub-continent (our neighbour South Africa, to whom we are still so closely tied in particular), and there must be a concerted effort, not only at official Government level, but also in the Ministries dealing with investors, such as Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, to ensure scrupulous dealings with such people.Namibia’s tourist industry has definitely strengthened as people from all over the globe search of alternative destinations, but here too, we often deter visitors by the non-performance of our service industry.Namibians need to take to heart the President’s words as far as attracting foreign investment is concerned, and we need to demonstrably show visitors here that they are not only welcome, but will also be well catered for when they come here.Serious commitment at various levels to ‘cut red tape’ will inevitably help to promote Namibia’s attempts to stimulate growth.