Martin Endjala
The leader of the official opposition, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) McHenry Venaani, is concerned about the handling of oil exploration licenses by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, saying they should be renegotiated.
In an open letter dated 23rd August, Venaani is requesting Tom Alweendo to open up all existing and new oil exploration and extracted agreements concluded thus far by his ministry.
Venaani said concerns are raised by the public that the agreements may not be in the best interest of Namibia in future.
“If these Namibian oil resources are used sustainably, they can serve as a strong financial reserve and as a long-term savings plan, which will benefit the current and future generation,’’ Venaani stated.
The PDM leader said the agreements could have been concluded in Namibia’s favour, had the ministry negotiated for a better share such as 40 percent and not the current 10 percent, in one of the blocks where Total Energies hold 40 percent working interest, alongside Qatar Energy (30 percent), Impact Oil and Gas (20percent) with Namcor’s 10 percent.
He therefore, asserted that the oil agreements be renegotiated in good faith to the benefit of the current and future generations of Namibia.
Venaani also pointed out corruption, which is a rife in Namibia, advising that if agreements are concluded in unfavourable manner to the developmental objectives of the country, oil resources will not benefit the people.
