Patience Makwele
Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Public Assets Management Agency of Namibia (PAMA), a new state-owned company intended to strengthen the management of the country’s commercial public assets.
The decision was taken at the 25th Cabinet meeting on 4 August 2026 and announced by minister of information and communication technology and cabinet spokesperson Emma Theofelus during a Cabinet decisions briefing on Friday in Windhoek.
According to Theofelus, PAMA will be established as a public company with limited liability under the Companies Act of 2004, with the government as its sole shareholder.
“PAMA is conceived as a strategic entity dedicated to ensure transparent, efficient and effective management of the country’s commercial public assets,” Theofelus said.
The establishment of the agency comes as the government continues to strengthen the recording and management of its extensive public asset base.
In October 2025, then minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi told the National Assembly that the government had recorded immovable assets valued at about N$47.4 billion, comprising approximately 9 640 properties.
The portfolio included land, housing, clinics, prisons, hospitals and schools, highlighting the scale of assets held by the state.
The government’s efforts to establish a comprehensive asset register have also highlighted the challenge of maintaining an accurate picture of state-owned property.
In 2025, Nekundi said verification of government assets, including their location and condition, was still ongoing, while some regional councils, ministries and state-owned enterprises had yet to submit information.
In light of this, PAMA will provide a dedicated institutional vehicle for the management of commercial public assets, with Cabinet positioning the agency as a strategic entity focused on transparency, efficiency and effectiveness.
The agency will operate with the government as its sole shareholder, placing its management of commercial public assets within a corporate structure rather than directly within a government ministry.
PAMA’s establishment also adds another component to Namibia’s public-asset management framework, alongside existing structures responsible for public enterprises and government assets.
The government’s department of public enterprises, for example, is responsible for overseeing state-owned enterprises and ensuring that public enterprises are effectively managed and do not become a financial burden on the state.
The creation of PAMA is therefore expected to bring greater institutional focus to the commercial management of public assets as the government seeks to improve the value, efficiency and accountability associated with state-owned resources.
The decision was among several taken at Cabinet’s 25th and 26th meetings held on 4 and 11 August 2026.
