Eba Kandovazu
THE Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) says it is against the proposed plans of the National Petroleum Company of Namibia (NAMCOR) to sell half of its 10 percent stake in the petroleum exploration license (PEL 73) in the Kavango Basin to Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) for N$414 million.
Namcor’s managing director Immanuel Mulunga was recently quoted in media reports saying that Namibia’s 10 percent stake in Recon Africa’s exploration is of no use and therefore they decided to turn five percent of their stake into shares, to enable Namcor to trade on the stock exchange to generate an income.
Mulunga reportedly stated that until the oil discovery is made, the stake will hold no value in the company’s books.
PDM has since criticized the move, saying that they “cannot allow the continued exploitation of our natural resources to only benefit foreign companies and a selected few elites”.
“The PDM is indisputably against the imprudent and impetuous selling off of Namibian resources to Foreign Companies. In light of various complaints about Recon Africa`s presence in Namibia, this transaction is regarded as premature and a sign of irresponsible management of Namibia`s natural resources, something this administration has been guilty of on a number of occasions,” PDM member of parliament Jan van Wyk says.
Van Wyk stressed that the move is a display of misgovernance, which he says is indicative of an utter disregard for Namibia’s natural resource deposits and its people.
“It is evident that the Namibian nation is not to benefit from the transaction and therefore the PDM urges the government to cease with negotiations in this regard with immediate effect,” he maintained.
