# Namibia - United States Department of State

- Namibia HomeReportsBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices&#8230;Namibia				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Namibia																																					Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																																																																																							Download Report																																																							Translations																																																																 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																																									a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																																											b. Disappearance																																																																											c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																																			Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																																																		d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																																			Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																																																		e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																																			Trial Procedures																																																								Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																																																		f. Transnational Repression																																																																											g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																																											h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																																																	Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																																									a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																																			Internet Freedom																																																																																																																		b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																																			Freedom of Peaceful Assembly																																																																																																																		c. Freedom of Religion																																																																											d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																																											e. Protection of Refugees																																																																											f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons																																																																											g. Stateless Persons																																																																																	Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																																									Elections and Political Participation																																																																																	Section 4. Corruption in Government																															Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																															Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																																									Women																																																																											Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																																											Children																																																																											Antisemitism																																																																											Trafficking in Persons																																																																											Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																																											Persons with Disabilities																																																																											Other Societal Violence or Discrimination																																																																																	Section 7. Worker Rights																																																									a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																																											b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																																											c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																																											d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																																											e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																																																																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Namibia during the year.Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic violence, and child, early, and forced marriage; laws criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct between male adults (although enforcement was rare); reports of violence against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex community; and minimal advancement in addressing the worst forms of child labor.The government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses.																														Section 1.													 Respect for the Integrity of the Person												    																																																a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings										In contrast with 2022, there were no reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings.																																				b. Disappearance										There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.																																				c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses										The constitution and law prohibited such practices, and there were no credible reports government officials employed them.																Prison and Detention Center Conditions						Prison conditions were adequate, but police holding cells, where accused persons were held prior to trial, were harsh and life threatening due to gross overcrowding, food shortages, physical abuse, and inadequate sanitary conditions.Abusive Physical Conditions: In its Ombudsman Annual Report for 2022, the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed satisfactory conditions in prisons, which were managed by the Namibian Correction Service (NCS). Nevertheless, the report documented severe overcrowding in holding cells managed by the Namibian Police Force (NAMPOL), with some holding cells exceeding capacity by nearly 500 percent.There were documented complaints at prisons of food shortages, unhygienic food preparatory facilities, lack of basic access to health care, male and female detainees sometimes held in the same cells, broken toilets, and lack of basic sanitation. In 2022, several detention facilities, including in the Katatura neighborhood of Windhoek, were deemed uninhabitable and closed. Some accused persons seen as vulnerable to abuse in holding cells, such as ministers or other prominent individuals, were held by NCS prior to trial at the request of NAMPOL.On May 24, a detainee charged with murder was awarded damages for abusive treatment while held during his detention in an NCS prison facility.Administration: Authorities conducted investigations of credible allegations of mistreatment. Representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent authority, routinely visited prisons and holding cells, and provided detailed reports on conditions and complaints. The Office of the Ombudsman reported NCS and NAMPOL were cooperative.Independent Monitoring: The government granted local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) access to prisons and prisoners.																										d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention										The constitution and law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The government generally observed these requirements; however, there was a case during the year in which two activists were arrested and detained for more than six months on unsubstantiated charges of malicious damage to property and incitement to commit public violence related to their organization of a peaceful protest regarding youth unemployment. The magistrate found the accused activists not guilty on all charges.																Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees						Arrest warrants were not required in all cases, including when authorities apprehended a suspect while committing a crime. Authorities had to inform detained persons of the reason for their arrest, and police generally informed detainees promptly of the charges against them. Authorities had to arraign arrested persons within 48 hours of their detention. The government did not always meet this requirement, especially in remote rural areas.The constitution provided for detention without trial during a state of emergency and the publication of the names of detainees in the government’s gazette within 14 days of their apprehension. An advisory board appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (the constitutional body that recommended judges to the president for appointment) had to review cases within one month of detention and every three months thereafter. The advisory board had the power to order the release of anyone detained without trial during an emergency.There was a functioning bail system but not all detainees qualified for bail. Individuals had to have a residential address to qualify, but many defendants did not have access to housing, or lived in informal settlements without recognized addresses. In addition, many detainees could not afford bail. Bail was also granted at a judge’s discretion. An individual detained on a minor charge alleged his bail request was deferred for an unreasonable amount of time. In another case, a political activist was denied bail on questionable grounds for what were alleged to be political reasons.The constitution stipulated accused persons were entitled to prompt access to defense by legal counsel of their choice or one provided by the state, and authorities respected this right.Pretrial Detention: Delays between arrest and trial could last for years. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, however, pretrial detention did not exceed the maximum sentence for conviction of an alleged crime. A shortage of qualified magistrates and other court officials, the inability of many defendants to afford bail, the lack of a plea-bargaining system, slow or incomplete police investigations, and procedural postponements resulted in a large backlog in prosecuting criminal cases. Additionally, there were lengthy delays in criminal appeals.																										e. Denial of Fair Public Trial										The constitution provided for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality.																Trial Procedures						The constitution and law provided for the right to a fair and public trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.						Political Prisoners and Detainees						There was one credible report of incarcerated political detainees. On March 21, the government arrested two organizers of a peaceful protest and held them for six months. Their detention was perceived by members of civil society and the legal community to be motivated by the protesters’ political opinions (see section 1.d.).																										f. Transnational Repression										Not applicable.																																				g. Property Seizure and Restitution										Not applicable.																																				h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence										The constitution prohibited such actions, and there were no reports the government failed to respect these prohibitions.																																					Section 2.													 Respect for Civil Liberties												    																																																a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media										The constitution provided for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right. An independent media, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system generally combined to promote freedom of expression, including for media members.On September 29, the managing editor of the state-owned newspaper New Era was suspended following the publication of a series of articles critical of the judiciary. Government officials denied any involvement, but the suspension was widely regarded by civil society and the press as a result of government influence at the state-owned media entity.Libel/Slander Laws: Defamation was a criminal offense punishable if convicted by imprisonment, fines, or both. Prison sentences were rare and most of those convicted were fined. There were no reports authorities used libel or slander laws to restrict public discussion or retaliate against journalists or political opponents.																Internet Freedom						The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content.																										b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association										The constitution and law provided for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights.																Freedom of Peaceful Assembly						NAMPOL at times denied reasonable requests citing national security grounds. On May 31, NAMPOL’s inspector general denied a permit for a protest against gay marriage, stating the “intended peaceful demonstration might cause feelings of hostility.”On March 21, the country’s independence day, a group of protesters planned to demonstrate regarding the problem of youth unemployment in Windhoek. On March 17, NAMPOL rejected the group’s application to hold the demonstration, citing a lack of resources. The group filed for an emergency court injunction to overrule NAMPOL’s decision, which the court denied. On March 21, as the protest organizers assembled demonstrators, they were arrested and charged with inciting public violence and malicious damage to property. Following six months’ detention, a court found them not guilty, and they were released (see section 1.d.).																										c. Freedom of Religion										See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at  https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.																																				d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country										The law provided for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				e. Protection of Refugees										The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers, as well as other persons of concern.Access to Asylum: The law provided for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government had an established system for providing protection to refugees.Freedom of Movement: The government did not permit all refugees to move freely within the country. The government issued identification cards and exit permits allowing refugees to leave the government Osire refugee settlement to travel to specified locations for defined periods. Refugees without exit permits were required to remain in the Osire settlement. The government maintained strict control over public access to the settlement but provided regular, unrestricted access to UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration, and UNHCR’s NGO partners.Access to Basic Services: The government restricted refugees and asylum seekers from pursuing opportunities for self-sufficiency at a time when international support for the refugee settlement was dwindling. Education, health care, food, water, and child protection services offered at the settlement were below national and international standards.																																				f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons										Not applicable.																																				g. Stateless Persons										Persons unregistered by the government living in tribal and traditional communities were de facto stateless. The government had citizenship policies in place and provided opportunities for these persons to register to confirm their citizenship. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security estimated 141,000 stateless persons lived in the country. The ministry and a foreign government development assistance agency conducted a civil registration outreach campaign to assist stateless tribal and other persons native to the country.																																					Section 3.													 Freedom to Participate in the Political Process												    																						The law provided citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage.																										Elections and Political Participation										Abuses or Irregularities in Recent Elections: National elections were widely reported to be fair and free of abuses and irregularities.																																					Section 4.													 Corruption in Government												    																						The law provided criminal penalties for corruption by officials; however, the government did not implement the law effectively. There were isolated reports of government corruption.Corruption: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), an independent agency, was responsible for investigating all reported cases of corruption. The ACC facilitated multiple arrests of government employees during the year. On October 9, NAMPOL, in partnership with the ACC, arrested six government employees in the Zambezi Region suspected of the theft of four million Namibian dollars ($250,000). Additionally, on October 3, the ACC facilitated the arrest of two Karasburg Town councilors and the town’s acting chief executive officer on charges of corruption. Nevertheless, arrest of senior government officials allegedly complicit in corruption was rare, feeding the public and media perception of a lack of ACC influence or inclination to investigate senior officials.For additional information regarding corruption in the country, please see the Department of State’s Investment Climate Statement for the country, and the Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, which includes information on financial crimes.																											Section 5.													 Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights												    																						A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction to monitor or investigate human rights cases and publish their findings. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to the views of these groups. The government tolerated NGO reports provided to the United Nations that highlighted matters not raised by the government or that pointed out misleading government statements. The Office of the Ombudsman, local human rights NGOs, and the ACC reported NAMPOL cooperated and assisted in human rights investigations.Government Human Rights Bodies: There was an autonomous ombudsman with whom government agencies cooperated. Observers considered the ombudsman effective in identifying human rights abuses, including denial of the right to a fair trial. The ombudsman lacked an enforcement mandate or other means to correct abuses, however.																											Section 6.													 Discrimination and Societal Abuses												    																																																Women										Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalized rape of women and men, including spousal rape. The law defines rape as the commission of any sexual act under coercive circumstances. The courts tried numerous cases of rape during the year. The government generally enforced court sentences of those convicted, which ranged between five to 45 years’ imprisonment.Factors hampering rape prosecutions included limited police capacity and the withdrawal of allegations by survivors after filing charges. Survivors often withdrew charges because they received compensation from the accused; succumbed to family pressure, shame, or threats; or became discouraged by the length of time involved in prosecuting a case.Gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, was a widespread problem. The government and media focused national attention on the issue. The president and first lady spoke out publicly against gender-based violence; the Office of the First Lady actively promoted awareness of the problem and remedies in every region. Civil society groups petitioned for the establishment of a register of convicted sexual offenders, a review of sentencing laws for conviction of sexual offenses and other gender-based violence (including killings), hastening the investigation of all reported sexual offenses, institution of armed neighborhood patrols, and an evaluation of school practices regarding survivor shaming. The matter remained under debate in parliament at year’s end.The law prohibited domestic violence. Penalties for conviction of domestic violence, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, economic abuse, intimidation, harassment, and serious emotional, verbal, or psychological abuse, ranged from a token fine for simple offenses to sentences of 10 years’ imprisonment, a substantial fine, or both for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.The law provided procedural safeguards such as protection orders for gender-based violence survivors. When authorities received reports of domestic violence, protection units such as the NAMPOL Gender-based violence division intervened. Primarily in urban areas, such units were staffed with police officers, social workers, legal advisors, and medical personnel trained to assist survivors of sexual assault. Some magistrates’ courts provided special courtrooms with a cubicle constructed of one-way glass and child-friendly waiting rooms to protect vulnerable witnesses from open testimony. The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare operated shelters; however, due to staffing and funding shortfalls, the shelters operated only on an as-needed basis with social workers coordinating with volunteers to place survivors and provide them with food and other services.The Windhoek Magistrate’s Court operated a gender-based violence survivor-friendly lower court. The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Child Welfare convened quarterly, and include Human Rights Cluster meetings with stakeholders in government and civil society. Police continued implementation of the gender-based violence National Action Plan to improve responsiveness, expedite investigations, and promote collaborative and consultative interventions with stakeholders.Discrimination: Civil law prohibited gender-based discrimination, including discrimination regarding employment, divorce, education, housing, and business and property ownership. The government generally enforced the law effectively. Women experienced some discrimination in employment and persistent discrimination in access to credit, salary level, owning and managing businesses, education, and housing. Some elements of customary family law provided for different treatment of women. Civil law granted maternity leave to mothers but not paternity leave to fathers. The law based marital property solely on the domicile of the husband at the time of the marriage and set grounds for divorce and divorce procedures differently for men and women. The law protected a widow’s right to remain on the land of her deceased husband, even if she remarried. Although courts ruled widows inherit their deceased husband’s property, traditional community leaders sometimes confiscated the property.The law prohibited discrimination in employment and occupation based on race, sex, religion, political opinion, national origin, citizenship, pregnancy, family responsibility, disability, age, language, and social status, but not on sexual orientation or gender identity. The law required equal pay for equal work. Refugees and legal immigrants with work permits enjoyed the same legal protections, wages, and working conditions as citizens.Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.Emergency contraception was not available. Access to postabortion care was very limited because by law abortion could only be performed under strict medical supervision in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother was in danger.Gender-based violence investigation units present at most state hospitals provided forensic examinations to survivors of sexual violence, including prompt access to medication to prevent HIV, hepatitis B, and other diseases. Rape exams were only performed by doctors at government-run hospitals. Women in rural communities often needed to travel some distance to receive such an exam.According to the World Health Organization, the maternal mortality rate was 215 per 100,000 live births. A general lack of access to effective health care, including the treatment of eclampsia, resulted in prolonged labor complications and contributed to the high rate of maternal mortality. According to the World Bank Gender Portal, the adolescent birth rate was 65 per 1,000 girls, and UNICEF reported 15 percent of women ages 20-24 became pregnant before age 18. Factors contributing to early pregnancy included youth unemployment, early marriage, and gender-based violence.																																				Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination										The constitution and law provided for equal treatment regardless of race, color, ethnic origin, sex, religion, creed or social or economic status. The government enforced the law effectively. Reported cases of racial discrimination were investigated and prosecuted in the courts. According to the Office of the Prosecutor-General, there were seven reported cases of racial discrimination from 2020 to year’s end.By law all traditional communities participated without discrimination in decisions affecting their lands, cultures, traditions, and allocation of natural resources. Nevertheless, due to their nomadic lifestyle, the San, the country’s earliest known inhabitants, were unable to exercise these rights effectively because of minimal access to education, limited economic opportunities, and their relative isolation. Some San had difficulty obtaining a government identification card because they lacked birth certificates or other identification. Government identification cards were required to access government social programs and to register to vote. A lack of access to police, prosecutors, and courts prevented San women from reporting and seeking GBV protection.Indigenous lands were effectively demarcated but poorly managed. Many San community members lived on conservancy (communal) lands but were unable to prevent members of larger ethnic groups from using and exploiting those lands. Some San claimed regional officials failed to remove members of other ethnic groups from San lands.																																				Children										Child Abuse: Child abuse was a serious problem, and perpetrators of crimes against children were prosecuted, particularly for rape and incest. By law the penalties for conviction of child abuse included a substantial fine, up to 10 years’ imprisonment, or both. The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare social workers dealt with cases of child abuse and referred cases to a network of NGO counterparts as needed due to capacity constraints. It also conducted public awareness campaigns aimed at preventing child abuse and raised awareness of services available to survivors.Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The law prohibited civil marriage for both boys and girls younger than age 18; however, illegal child marriages, including those of girls younger than age 15, were common, especially in rural areas.Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law criminalized the sale, grooming, or use of children for commercial sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking. The law prohibited child pornography or other forms of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The minimum legal age for consensual sex was 16.The government enforced the law; perpetrators accused of the sexual exploitation of children were routinely charged and prosecuted. The penalties for conviction of commercial sexual exploitation of a child (including through pornography) were a substantial fine, up to 30 years’ imprisonment, or both. The law had special provisions to protect vulnerable witnesses, including individuals younger than age 18 or who were survivors of a sexual offense.Infanticide, Including Infanticide of Children with Disabilities: Media reported cases in which parents, usually young mothers, abandoned their newborns, sometimes leading to the newborn’s death. The government enforced prohibitions against this practice by investigating cases and prosecuting individuals charged with infanticide.																																				Antisemitism										There was a Jewish community of fewer than 100 persons in the country, most of whom lived in Windhoek. There were no reports of antisemitic incidents.																																				Trafficking in Persons										See the Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.																																				Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics										Criminalization: The law criminalized consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adult males but did not address penalties for conviction. There were no records or reports of enforcement of the law in recent years.Violence and Harassment: Police or other government agents did not incite or perpetrate violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals or those reporting such abuse. Government officials confirmed reports of police responding with apathy towards LGBTQI+ victims of assault, however. Members of civil society reported that assaults on LGBTQI+ persons increased following the National Assembly’s passage on July 11 and 19 of two bills criminalizing same-sex marriage and excluding same-sex spouses from receiving immigration status. Instances of violence were underreported due to fear of harassment or discrimination.Discrimination: The law did not prohibit discrimination by state or nonstate actors based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. In general, LGBTQI+ couples and their families were not recognized, nor were they granted rights equal to other persons; however, on May 16, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples whose marriages were concluded legally abroad had certain immigration and residency rights. On June 27, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security circulated a memorandum mandating that staff comply with the ruling.LGBTQI+ persons encountered discrimination in education, employment, health care, and housing. A 2022 study stated some gender-nonconforming students were bullied or isolated in schools.Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: Legal gender recognition was available only to individuals who had undergone gender-affirming surgery.Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices: According to NGOs and LGBTQI+ community members, there were instances of “corrective” rape targeting LGBTQI+ individuals. Under the Combating of Rape Act, any sexual act committed under coercive circumstances was illegal, and the law provided for protection of victims. The 2022 Ombudsman Annual Report noted officials participated in a regional workshop on eradicating conversion therapy practices in Africa.There were no reports of medically unnecessary normalization surgeries performed on children or nonconsenting adults.Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: In general, LGBTQI+ persons and organizations enjoyed freedom of expression, association, and were not restricted from holding events.																																				Persons with Disabilities										Persons with disabilities often did not have equal access to education, health services, public buildings, and transportation on an equal basis with others. The government did not provide information and communication on disability concerns in accessible formats.The constitution protected the rights of “all members of the human family,” which was interpreted by domestic legal experts to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. The law prohibited discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities. The law prohibited discrimination in any employment decision based on several factors, including any “degree of physical or mental disability.” It made an exception in the case of a person with a disability unable to perform the duties or functions of the job in question. The government did not enforce these laws effectively, and societal discrimination persisted.By law official action was required to investigate and punish those accused of committing violence or abuse against persons with disabilities; authorities did so effectively.The government required the construction of government buildings to include ramps and other features facilitating access to persons with physical disabilities. The government, however, did not mandate retrofitting or other measures to provide such access to already constructed public buildings.Children with disabilities attended mainstream schools. Blind and deaf children had the option to attend specialized schools. The law did not restrict the rights of persons with disabilities to vote and otherwise participate in civic affairs, but a lack of access to public venues hindered the ability of persons with disabilities to participate in civic life.The government National Policy on Disability provided for equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities by removing barriers to full participation in all areas to allow them to obtain a quality of life equal to that of other citizens.																																				Other Societal Violence or Discrimination										The law prohibited discrimination based on HIV status, and according to the Namibian Employers’ Federation, discrimination based on HIV status was not a major problem in the workplace.Societal discrimination and stigmatization against persons with HIV remained a problem. Some jobs in the civilian sector required a pre-employment test for HIV; however, there were no reports of civilian employment discrimination specifically based on HIV or AIDS status.																																					Section 7.													 Worker Rights												    																																																a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining										The law provided for the right to form and join independent trade unions, bargain collectively, and conduct legal strikes. The law prohibited antiunion discrimination. The law provided the labor commissioner with authority to terminate a trade union’s registration in the event of continued noncompliance with the obligations of a registered trade union.Certain sectors, such as police, military, and corrections officers, were not prohibited from forming and joining unions but the procedures for handling disputes and complaints between employers and unionized workers defined in the Labour Act of 1993 did not apply to them. For example, if police were to unionize, existing laws would limit the efficacy of their organization. These sectors were not unionized.Except for workers providing designated essential services, such as in public health and safety, workers could strike once mandatory conciliation procedures lasting 30 days were exhausted and 48 hours’ advance notice was given to the employer and the labor commissioner. Workers could take strike actions only in disputes involving specific worker interests, such as pay raises.The law provided employees with the right to bargain individually or collectively and provided for recognition of the exclusive collective bargaining power of a union when more than half of workers were members of that union. Employers had no obligation to bargain with minority unions. The law covered all formal-sector workers, including migrants, nonessential public-sector workers, domestic workers, and those in export-processing zones. The law on collective bargaining did not cover the informal sector.The government effectively enforced applicable labor law in the formal sector, but penalties were rarely applied against violators due to lack of capacity. Inspection was insufficient to enforce compliance in the informal sector. Aside from mediation efforts, the government was not directly involved in union activities. The government and employers generally respected freedom of association, and workers exercised this right. There were no reports of employers interfering in union activities.Collective bargaining was practiced widely in the mining, construction, agriculture, and public sectors. Almost all collective bargaining was at the workplace and company level. In July, workers at the grain processing plant NamibMills organized a strike to demand higher wages, and the employer opened negotiations almost immediately.Employers could apply to the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation (Ministry of Labour) for an exemption from certain provisions, such as overtime pay or working hours, if they were able to prove workers’ rights were protected, but very few employers chose this option.																																				b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.																																				c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment										See the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/ .																																				d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																														e. Acceptable Conditions of Work										Wage and Hour Laws: The Ministry of Labour issued minimum wage regulations for various sectors. There was no national minimum wage law applied across all sectors. Unions and employers negotiated industry-specific minimum wages under Ministry of Labour mediation. All sector-specific minimum wage rates were applied nationally and were above the poverty line.The standard legal workweek was 45 hours, with at least 36 consecutive hours of rest between workweeks. By law an employer could not require more than 10 hours’ overtime work per week and was required to pay premium pay for overtime work. The law mandated 20 workdays of annual leave per year for those working a five-day workweek and 24 workdays of annual leave per year for those working a six-day workweek. The law also required employees receive paid time off for government holidays, five days of compassionate leave per year, at least 30 workdays of sick leave during a three-year period, and three months of maternity leave paid by the employer and the Social Security Commission.Occupational Safety and Health: The Ministry of Labour mandated occupational safety and health (OSH) standards, and the law empowered authorities to enforce these standards through unannounced inspections and criminal prosecution. The law required employers to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of their employees; the responsibility for identifying unsafe situations remained with OSH experts and not the worker. The law covered all employers and employees in the country, including the informal sector and individuals placed by a private employment agency (labor hire), except independent contractors and members of the Namibian Defence Force, the Namibia Central Intelligence Service, the Namibian Correctional Service, and police. By law employees had the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations, and authorities effectively protected employees in such situations. There was an adequate number of labor inspectors to enforce compliance. These inspectors had the authority to make unannounced inspections and initiate sanctions.The Namibian Employers’ Federation reported the most prominent offenses concerning employee rights and working conditions were in the informal sector, including for domestic workers, street hawkers, and employees in the common informal bars known as shebeens.Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement: The government enforced wage, hour, and safety standards laws in the formal sector but did not effectively enforce labor law in the informal sector. Penalties were commensurate with those for similar violations. Penalties were sometimes applied in the formal sector but rarely applied in the informal sector. Inspections occurred proactively, in response to complaints, and at random. Due to the ministry’s resource constraints in vehicles, budget, and personnel, as well as difficulty in gaining access to some large communal and commercial farms and private households, labor inspectors sometimes found it difficult to investigate possible violations. Workers in the construction, agriculture, and mining sectors sometimes faced hazardous working conditions.Media reported foreign firms failed to pay sector-established minimum wages and benefits in certain industries, respect work-hour regulations for Sundays and public holidays, and adhere to laws on hiring and firing. Additionally, they ignored OSH standards, for example, by requiring construction workers to sleep on site.The informal sector accounted for an estimated 57 percent of workers. Although the law applied to informal sector workers, it was seldom enforced.																																				    							View report by:																				Afghanistan											Albania											Algeria											Andorra											Angola											Antigua and Barbuda											Argentina											Armenia											Australia											Austria											Azerbaijan											Bahrain											Bangladesh											Barbados											Belarus											Belgium											Belize											Benin											Bhutan											Bolivia											Bosnia and Herzegovina											Botswana											Brazil											Brunei											Bulgaria											Burkina Faso											Burma											Burundi											Cabo Verde											Cambodia											Cameroon											Canada											Central African Republic											Chad											Chile											China (Includes Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet)											Colombia											Comoros											Costa Rica											Côte d&#8217;Ivoire											Croatia											Cuba											Cyprus											Czech Republic											Democratic Republic of the Congo											Denmark											Djibouti											Dominica											Dominican Republic											Ecuador											Egypt											El Salvador											Equatorial Guinea											Eritrea											Estonia											Eswatini											Ethiopia											Fiji											Finland											France											Gabon											Georgia											Germany											Ghana											Greece											Grenada											Guatemala											Guinea											Guinea-Bissau											Guyana											Haiti											Honduras											Hungary											Iceland											India											Indonesia											Iran											Iraq											Ireland											Israel, West Bank and Gaza											Italy											Jamaica											Japan											Jordan											Kazakhstan											Kenya											Kiribati											Kosovo											Kuwait											Kyrgyz Republic											Laos											Latvia											Lebanon											Lesotho											Liberia											Libya											Liechtenstein											Lithuania											Luxembourg											Madagascar											Malawi											Malaysia											Maldives											Mali											Malta											Marshall Islands											Mauritania											Mauritius											Mexico											Micronesia											Moldova											Monaco											Mongolia											Montenegro											Morocco											Mozambique											Namibia											Nauru											Nepal											New Zealand											Nicaragua											Niger											Nigeria											North Korea											North Macedonia											Norway											Oman											Pakistan											Palau											Panama											Papua New Guinea											Paraguay											Peru											Philippines											Poland											Portugal											Qatar											Republic of the Congo											Romania											Russia											Rwanda											Saint Kitts and Nevis											Saint Lucia											Saint Vincent and the Grenadines											Samoa											San Marino											Sao Tome and Principe											Saudi Arabia											Senegal											Serbia											Seychelles											Sierra Leone											Singapore											Slovakia											Slovenia											Solomon Islands											Somalia											South Africa											South Korea											South Sudan											Spain											Sri Lanka											Sudan											Suriname											Sweden											Switzerland											Syria											Taiwan											Tajikistan											Tanzania											Thailand											The Gambia											The Netherlands											Timor-Leste											Togo											The Bahamas											Tonga											Trinidad and Tobago											Tunisia											Turkey (Türkiye)											Turkmenistan											Tuvalu											Uganda											Ukraine											United Arab Emirates											United Kingdom											Uruguay											Uzbekistan											Vanuatu											Venezuela											Vietnam											Yemen											Zambia											Zimbabwe															Build A Custom Report																						On This Page				search													>																										EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																							a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																						b. Disappearance																																																						c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																				Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																				d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																				Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																				e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																				Trial Procedures																																												Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																				f. Transnational Repression																																																						g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																						h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																			Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																							a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																				Internet Freedom																																																																																				b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																				Freedom of Peaceful Assembly																																																																																				c. Freedom of Religion																																																						d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																						e. Protection of Refugees																																																						f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons																																																						g. Stateless Persons																																																			Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																							Elections and Political Participation																																																			Section 4. Corruption in Government																Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																							Women																																																						Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																						Children																																																						Antisemitism																																																						Trafficking in Persons																																																						Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																						Persons with Disabilities																																																						Other Societal Violence or Discrimination																																																			Section 7. Worker Rights																																							a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																						b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																						c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																						d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																						e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																									Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																								Namibia
- Namibian Independence Day Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of StateOn behalf of the Government and the people of the United States of America, I offer my sincere congratulations to the Namibian people as you celebrate 34 years of independence on March 21.The United States values the enduring partnership and friendship between our people, rooted in our mutual commitment to democratic principles, human rights, and good governance. Together, we are working to build a stronger, healthier, and more prosperous future for the Nambian people.On your 34th Independence Day, we reaffirm our commitment to partner with Namibia, honoring President Geingob’s legacy and vision for Namibia and Namibians.
- The Department of State Celebrates the Ribbon Cutting of the New U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia Office of the SpokespersonU.S. Ambassador to Namibia Randy W. Berry welcomed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, representatives of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), U.S. Mission personnel, and Namibian officials to the formal opening of the new U.S. Embassy Windhoek. The embassy is a testament to the enduring 33-year relationship between the United States and Namibia.Situated on a 12.8-acre site, the new embassy seamlessly blends U.S. architectural, engineering, and construction expertise with Namibian architectural traditions and locally sourced materials. Its red-sandstone exterior echoes the Namibian landscape, drawing inspiration from local natural landmarks like the Kalahari Desert, Damaraland’s sandstone formations, and the iconic Sossusvlei dunes located in the Namib Desert’s southern region.The embassy incorporates advanced energy-efficiency systems, including photovoltaic canopies that supply approximately half of the Chancery&#8217;s energy needs. In addition, passive environmental strategies and drought-tolerant native landscaping reduce heat gain and irrigation needs, integrating seamlessly with Windhoek&#8217;s sustainable water treatment program. Further, the site and landscape design were carefully planned to respect the Klein Windhoek floodplain located adjacent to the property.Skidmore, Owings &amp; Merrill of San Francisco, California, was the design architect, and B.L. Harbert International of Birmingham, Alabama, constructed the embassy, with PAGE Architects of Washington, D.C., serving as the architect of record. Throughout the project, an estimated $17 million was invested in the local economy, and more than 2,000 Namibians were employed during its construction.The new embassy reaffirms the strong partnership between the two nations, serving as a hub for diplomatic activities and cultural connections for years to come.Learn more about the project here.OBO provides the most effective facilities for United States diplomacy abroad. Since the start of the Department’s Capital Security Construction Program in 1999, OBO has completed 178 new diplomatic facilities and has more than 50 active projects in design or construction worldwide.For further information, please contact Meghan Sebold at OBOExternalAffairs@state.gov or visit www.state.gov/obo.
- Nuclear – IAEA Statute (Article XIV.A Amendment) – Notification of Deposit of Instrument; Namibia, November 29, 2023 Office of Treaty Affairs
- Nuclear – IAEA Statute (Article VI Amendment) – Notification of Deposit of Instrument; Namibia, November 29, 2023 Office of Treaty Affairs
- Assistant Secretary Phee’s Travel to Namibia Office of the SpokespersonAssistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee will travel to Namibia from November 5 &#8211; 10, 2023. During this trip, she will consult with Namibian leaders on global and local priorities and common interests, including health, food security, and energy issues. While in Namibia, the Assistant Secretary will visit education, health, and wildlife conservation sites that receive support from the U.S. government. She will also meet with Namibian entrepreneurs and innovators.
- TIP Office National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Evaluation [PDF] 
- Evaluation of the Women in Science (WiSci) Girls STEAM Camp Public-Private Partnership [PDF] 
- Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Lapenn’s Travel to Namibia, South Africa, and Angola Office of the SpokespersonAmbassador Jessye Lapenn, Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation, will travel July 27-August 4 to Windhoek and Walvis Bay, Namibia; Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa; and Luanda, Angola.  She will meet with government officials, non-governmental organizations, and the business community on the importance of Atlantic cooperation.Through the initiative for Atlantic Cooperation, led by Ambassador Lapenn, the United States is working to collaborate with coastal Atlantic countries to support sustainable blue economies, promote climate resilience, and strengthen maritime governance on issues like illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and trafficking.
- Namibia HomeReportsBureau of Economic and Business Affairs2023 Investment Climate Statements&#8230;Namibia				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Investment Climate Statements: Namibia																																																																																												 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment																																																									Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment																																																																											Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment																																																																											Other Investment Policy Reviews																																																																											Business Facilitation																																																																											Outward Investment																																																																																	2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties																															3. Legal Regime																																																									Transparency of the Regulatory System																																																																											International Regulatory Considerations																																																																											Legal System and Judicial Independence																																																																											Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment																																																																											Competition and Antitrust Laws																																																																											Expropriation and Compensation																																																																											Dispute Settlement																																																																			ICSID Convention and New York Convention																																																								Investor-State Dispute Settlement																																																								International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts																																																																																																																		Bankruptcy Regulations																																																																																	4. Industrial Policies																																																									Investment Incentives																																																																											Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation																																																																											Performance and Data Localization Requirements																																																																																	5. Protection of Property Rights																																																									Real Property																																																																											Intellectual Property Rights																																																																																	6. Financial Sector																																																									Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment																																																																											Money and Banking System																																																																											Foreign Exchange and Remittances																																																																			Foreign Exchange																																																								Remittance Policies																																																																																																																		Sovereign Wealth Funds																																																																																	7. State-Owned Enterprises																																																									Privatization Program																																																																																	8. Responsible Business Conduct																																																									Additional Resources																																																																											Climate Issues																																																																																	9. Corruption																																																									Resources to Report Corruption																																																																																	10. Political and Security Environment																															11. Labor Policies and Practices																															12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs																															13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics																															14. Contacts for More Information:																																																					EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				The Namibian government prioritizes attracting more domestic and foreign investment to stimulate economic growth, combat unemployment, and diversify the economy. The Ministry of Industrialization and Trade (MIT) is the governmental authority primarily responsible for carrying out the provisions of the Foreign Investment Act of 1993 (FIA). The MIT is working on new business legislation, the Namibia Investment Promotion and Facilitation Act, but the legislation is still in draft form. As a result, the FIA remains the guiding legislation on investment.The FIA calls for equal treatment of foreign investors and Namibian firms, including the possibility of fair compensation in the event of expropriation, international arbitration of disputes, the right to remit profits, and access to foreign exchange. The government emphasizes the need for investors to partner with Namibian-owned companies and/or have a majority of local employees to operate in country.The mining, fishing, and tourism sectors have historically attracted significant investment in Namibia. There are large Chinese foreign investments, particularly in the uranium mining sector. South Africa has considerable investments in the diamond mining and banking sectors, while Canada has investment in gold, zinc, and lithium mining. Spain and Russia have investments in the fishing industry. Foreign investors from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Qatar, and other countries have investments in oil exploration off the Namibian coast, with promising initial results from exploration in Namibia’s offshore Orange Basin, according to government officials and media. Logistics, manufacturing, and mining for diamonds and critical minerals such as gold lithium, and uranium also attract investment.The investment climate in Namibia is generally positive. Despite global economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, Namibia has maintained political stability and continues to offer key advantages for inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), such as an independent judicial system, protection of property and contractual rights, good quality physical and telecommunications infrastructure, and easy access to South Africa and the region. Namibia is upgrading its transportation infrastructure to facilitate investment and position itself as a regional logistics hub. An expansion at Walvis Bay Port concluded in 2019 and there are plans to extend and rehabilitate the national rail line, notably to improve connection from Walvis Bay port to neighboring countries. Namibia has the best roads on the African continent, according to the World Economic Forum. Namibia also has access to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU, which is also headquartered in Namibia), the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Free Trade Area, and markets in Europe and Asia. With the second highest solar radiation in the world and vast land and wind resources, Namibia is also positioning itself to be a global leader in renewable energies and green hydrogen, with potential to improve local and regional access to energy and efforts to combat climate change.Factors that may inhibit FDI into Namibia are the country’s relatively small domestic market, high transport costs, high energy prices, and limited skilled labor pool. Corruption is a problem but not endemic. A 2019 scandal in the fishing sector resulted in the arrests of ministers and business leaders, cost Namibia around a billion USD, and strained public trust.As a post-apartheid country with one of the highest rates of inequality in the world, Namibia continues to look for ways to address historic economic imbalances. Proposed legislation, the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill (NEEEB), which has been in draft form for more than a decade, will look to create economic and business opportunities for disadvantaged groups, including in the areas of ownership, management, human resource development, and value addition. Parliament aimed to pass the bill in 2022 but did not do so.Table 1: Key Metrics and RankingsMeasureYearIndex/RankWebsite AddressTI Corruption Perceptions Index202259 of 180http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overviewGlobal Innovation Index202196 of 132https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicatorU.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, historical stock positions)2017USD -78https://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheet/World Bank GNI per capita2021USD 4,650http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD																																					1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment						    																																																Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment										The Namibian government welcomes increased foreign investment to help develop the national economy and benefit its population. The Foreign Investment Act of 1993 (FIA) currently governs Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Namibia and guarantees equal treatment for foreign investors and Namibian firms, including the possibility of fair compensation in the event of expropriation, international arbitration of disputes between investors and the government, the right to remit profits, and access to foreign exchange. Investment and tax incentives are also available for the manufacturing sector. The government prioritizes investment retention and maintains ongoing dialogue with investors, including through investment conferences, international events such as the Dubai Expo, and high-level meetings with investors. The government is cognizant that some of its bureaucratic processes (such as the time it takes to get a business visa) impede the ease of doing business and is working to address such challenges. The Namibian Investment Promotion Act, which would replace the FIA, has been under review since 2016.The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) housed in the Office of the President, serves as Namibia’s official investment promotion and facilitation office. Established in 2020, the NIPDB is tasked with assisting investors in minimizing bureaucratic red tape, including obtaining work visas for foreign investors, by coordinating with government ministries as well as regulatory bodies. The NIPDB is the first point of contact for potential investors and offers comprehensive services from the initial inquiry stage through to operational stages. The NIPDB also provides general information packages, coordinates trade delegations, and assists with advice on investment opportunities, incentives, and procedures. The NIPDB is headed by a highly regarded chartered accountant, and analysts agree that it is doing a better job at facilitating investment compared to past investment promotion mechanisms. The NIPDB website is  https://nipdb.com/ .																																				Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment										Under the FIA, foreign and domestic entities may establish and own business enterprises and engage in all forms of remunerative activities. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security grants renewable and non-renewable temporary employment permits for a period of up to 12 months for skills not locally or readily available. However, work permits and long-term residence permits are subject to bureaucratic hurdles. Work permits are hard to obtain for jobs that could be performed by a Namibian. Complaints about delays in renewing visas and work permits are common.Foreigners must pay a 10 percent non-resident shareholder tax on dividends. There are no capital gains or marketable securities taxes, although certain capital gains are taxed as normal income. As a member of the Common Monetary Area, the Namibian dollar (NAD) is pegged at parity with the South African rand.There are no general mandatory limits on foreign ownership, but some sectors have a mandatory joint ownership between a local firm and foreign firm, such as in the natural resources sector. Government procurements usually also require a variable percentage of local ownership.Post is not aware of any investment screening mechanism recently introduced by Namibia.																																				Other Investment Policy Reviews										Namibia has not undergone any third-party investment policy reviews in the last five years by the OECD, WTO, or UNCTAD. The Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), of which Namibia is a member and host, was last reviewed by the WTO in 2015.In the past five years, several think tanks – such as the highly regarded Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Economic Policy Research Association (EPRA) – have provided reviews of investment policy-related concerns, including on the draft Namibia Investment Promotion and Facilitation Bill, which prompted the government to reconsidering the bill’s passage. Links to some examples:  https://ippr.org.na/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/IPPR-Improving-the-Business_WEB.pdf ;  https://www.epra.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/EPRA-report-on-2021-INVESTMENT-BILL-FINAL.pdf 																																				Business Facilitation										Foreign and domestic investors may conduct business in the form of a public or private company, branch of a foreign company, closed corporation, partnership, joint venture, or sole trader. Companies are regulated under the 2004 Companies Act, which covers both domestic companies and those incorporated outside Namibia but traded through local branches. To operate in Namibia, businesses must also register with the relevant local authorities, the Workmen’s Compensation Commission, and the Social Security Commission.Most investors find it helpful to have a local presence or a local partner in order to do business in Namibia, although this is not currently a legal requirement, except in sectors that require a joint venture partner. Companies usually establish business relationships before tender opportunities are announced. Some accounting and law firms provide business registration services.The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) is the primary institution which serves the business community and ensures effective administration of business and intellectual property rights (IPRs) registration. BIPA serves as a one-stop-center for all business and IPR registrations and related matters. It also provides general advisory services and information on business registration and IPRs. Website:  http://www.bipa.gov.na/. 																																				Outward Investment										Namibia provides incentives for outward investment mainly aimed at stimulating manufacturing, attracting foreign investment to Namibia, and promoting exports. To take advantage of the incentives, companies must be registered with MIT and the Ministry of Finance. Tax and non-tax incentives are accessible to both existing and new manufacturers. The list of Namibia’s investment incentives can be found online at:  https://www.namibweb.com/tin.htm . Namibia is in the process of creating Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to offer favorable conditions for companies wishing to manufacture and export products. The planned SEZs would replace the old Export Processing Zone regime.																																												2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties						    																						There is no bilateral investment agreement between the United States and Namibia. In 2008, SACU (of which Namibia is a member) signed a Trade, Investment, and Development Cooperation Agreement (TIDCA) with the United States. Information on Namibia’s Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) can be found online at:  Namibia | International Investment Agreements Navigator | UNCTAD Investment Policy Hub .There is no taxation treaty between Namibia and the United States. Namibia has double taxation agreements with several countries. Details can be found online at:  https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/individual/foreign-tax-relief-and-tax-treaties#:~:text=In%20the%20event%20that%20Namibia,the%20specific%20DTA%20are%20met .In September 2021, Namibia signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Present Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, making it the 96th jurisdiction to join the Convention. The government is also party to the Inclusive Framework’s October 2021 deal on the two-pillar solution to global tax challenges, including global minimum corporate tax.																																		3. Legal Regime						    																																																Transparency of the Regulatory System										Namibia’s legal, regulatory, and accounting systems are relatively transparent and consistent with international norms. Post is not aware of any government requirements for companies’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure to facilitate investments.Draft bills, proposed legislation, and draft regulations are normally not available for public comment and are not required to be, although there are consultations on such documents throughout the government. Depending on the topic, bills are customarily drafted within the relevant ministry with stakeholder or public consultation and then presented to the parliament for debate. Comments on draft legislation and regulations may also be solicited through public meetings or targeted outreach to stakeholder groups. Such comments are also not required to be made public and generally are not. There is no formal process of appeal or reconsideration of published regulations. Approved legislation and regulations are publicly available and published in the Government Gazette, the official journal of the government of Namibia.  The Government Gazette  is digitalized and public.Public finances are generally transparent, with the annual budget and mid-term budget reviews published on the Ministry of Finance’s website and in the Government Gazette. The Ministry of Finance has begun in the past few years holding consultations with interest groups during the budget preparation process. The Bank of Namibia publishes the Government of Namibia’s debt position – including explicit and contingent liabilities – in its annual reports and quarterly bulletins.																																				International Regulatory Considerations										The national coordinating bureau for standards is the Namibian Standards Institution. Namibia is also a member of the International Organization for Standardization. As a member of SACU and SADC, Namibia’s national regulations conform to both regional agreements. Namibia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and notifies the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade on draft technical regulations.																																				Legal System and Judicial Independence										The Namibian court system is independent and is widely perceived to be free from government interference. Namibia’s legal system, based on Roman Dutch law, is similar to that of South Africa. The system provides effective means to enforce property and contractual rights, but the speed of justice is generally very slow due to a backlog of cases across the judicial spectrum. Regulation and enforcement actions are appealable. The Minister of Justice may introduce legislation in Parliament in 2023 that would permit plea bargains to expedite cases and reduce backlog to advance rule of law in Namibia. However, this legislation has been contemplated for several years without action to date.																																				Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment										The Foreign Investment Act (FIA) provides for liberal foreign investment conditions and equal treatment of foreign and local investors. With limited exceptions, all sectors of the economy are open to foreign investment. There is no local participation requirement in the FIA, but the Namibian government is increasingly emphasizing the need for investors to partner with Namibian-owned companies and/or to have a majority of local employees in order to operate in the country.The FIA reiterates the protection of investment and property provided for in the Namibian Constitution. It also provides for equal treatment of foreign investors and Namibian firms, including the possibility of fair compensation in the event of expropriation, international arbitration of disputes between investors and the government, the right to remit profits, and access to foreign exchange.The Business and Intellectual Property Agency (BIPA) acts as a one-stop-shop for business registrations and provides information on relevant laws, rules, procedures, and reporting requirement for investors. More information is available online at:  http://www.bipa.na/ .In August 2016, Namibia promulgated and gazetted the Namibia Investment Promotion Act (NIPA). However, the Minister of Industrialization and Trade pulled back the legislation in November 2021 due to substantive legal concerns raised by the private sector and the NIPBD. The revised Namibia Investment Promotion Act (NIPA) will replace the FIA once revisions are complete and approved by Parliament. The NIPA provides for transparent admission procedures for investors, the reservation of certain categories of business and sectors, and the establishment of an integrated client service facility or one-stop-shop for investors within the NIPDB.																																				Competition and Antitrust Laws										Established in 2009, the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) is the principal institution that promotes and safeguards fair competition in Namibia. The Commission is tasked with: providing consumers with competitive prices and product choices; promoting employment and advancing the social economic welfare of Namibians; expanding opportunities for Namibian participation in world markets while recognizing the role of foreign competition in Namibia; ensuring that small businesses have an equitable opportunity to participate in the Namibian economy; and promoting a greater spread of ownership, particularly increasing ownership stakes of historically disadvantaged persons. The NaCC has the mandate to review any potential mergers and acquisitions that might limit the competitive landscape or adversely impact the Namibian economy. For example, in August 2020, the NaCC blocked the sale of Schwenk Namibia’s stake in Ohorongo Cement to West China Cement Ltd. over fears the deal could lead to anti-competitive behavior in the local cement market. In the ruling, the competition watchdog said that, if the USD 870 million deal was allowed to proceed, it would stifle competition and lead to possible collusion and price-fixing. The Minister of Industrialization and Trade is the final arbiter on merger decisions and may accept or reject a NaCC decision. Any investor can file an appeal with the ministry, though no formal process for doing so has been established.																																				Expropriation and Compensation										The Namibian Constitution enshrines the right to private property but allows the state to expropriate property in the public interest subject to the payment of just compensation. The Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act 6 of 1995 (ACLRA) is the primary legal mechanism allowing for expropriation, but the government has adhered to a “willing seller/willing buyer” policy as part of land reform programs. In 2004, the government announced it would proceed with land expropriations after much criticism about the slow pace of land reform. To date, the government has only expropriated farms from a small number of owners, and in each instance ultimately either compensated the owner or returned the land. In March 2008, Namibia’s High Court ruled against the government in Gunter Kessl v. Ministry of Lands and Resettlement – the sole instance in which expropriation was legally challenged – and in doing so established a strong legal precedent protecting individual land rights. Non-binding resolutions adopted at the Second National Land Conference in 2018 resolved to abolish the “willing seller/willing buyer” policy and bar foreign ownership of agricultural land; however, no legislation formalizing these resolutions has been proposed. The Namibian Constitution makes pragmatic provision for different types of economic activity and a “mixed economy” (Article 98), accepts the importance of foreign investment (Article 99), and enshrines the principle that the ownership of natural resources is vested in the Namibian state (Article 100) and the right to property (Article 16). Section 11 of the FIA reiterates the commitment to market compensation in the case of expropriation, which is also codified in Article 16 of the Constitution. Holders of a Certificate of Status Investment must be compensated in foreign currency and can opt for international arbitration if any disputes arise.																																				Dispute Settlement																										ICSID Convention and New York Convention						Namibia signed but has not ratified the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID). Namibia has also neither signed nor ratified the New York Convention of 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The ICSID and New York Convention are therefore not applicable.						Investor-State Dispute Settlement						The FIA allows for the settlement of disputes by international arbitration for investors that have obtained a Certificate of Status Investment (CSI) that includes a provision for international arbitration. The FIA stipulates that arbitration “shall be in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law in force at the time when the Certificate was issued” unless the CSI stipulated another form of dispute resolution. There have not been any investment disputes involving a U.S. person in the last 10 years.						International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts						As the “one-stop-shop” for investors, the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) is the body that first learns of an investment dispute between a foreign investor and a domestic enterprise. The NIPDB, established in 2020, has not yet received a report of an investment dispute involving U.S. entities. Investment disputes can be handled by the courts.There is no domestic arbitration body in Namibia. Investors without a CSI that encounter a dispute have to address their dispute in the Namibian courts or in the court system which has jurisdiction according to the investor’s contract. The Namibian court system is independent and is widely perceived to be free from government interference, including when state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are involved in investment disputes.																										Bankruptcy Regulations										The Companies Act of 1973, amended in 2004, governs company and corporate liquidations while the Insolvency Act 12 of 1936, as amended by the Insolvency Amendment Act of 2005, governs insolvent individuals and their estates. The Insolvency Act details sequestration procedures and the rights of creditors. Through the law, all debtors (whether foreign or domestic) may file for both liquidation and reorganization, and a creditor may file for both liquidation and reorganization. However, as reorganization (judicial management) is rarely successful in Namibia, the most likely insolvency procedure is liquidation. International credit monitoring agency TransUnion is a licensed credit bureau in Namibia.																																												4. Industrial Policies						    																																																Investment Incentives										Incentives are mainly aimed at stimulating manufacturing, attracting foreign investment to Namibia, and promoting exports. To take advantage of Namibia’s incentives, companies must be registered with MIT and the Ministry of Finance. Tax and non-tax incentives are accessible to both existing and new manufacturers. MIT has produced a brochure on Special Incentives for Manufacturers and Exporters that is available from the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB). Post is not aware of any special incentives for businesses owned by underrepresented investors, such as women.Namibia aims to become a renewable energy hub of Africa. The country therefore offers favorable import incentives on renewable energy technologies, exempting solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries from import duties.The Namibian Government aims to stimulate economic growth and employment and to establish Namibia as a gateway location to the Southern African region. To this end, the government has introduced numerous incentives that are largely concentrated on stimulating manufacturing in Namibia and promoting exports into the region and to the rest of the world. General tax regulations that are indicative of the government’s commitment are:Non–resident Shareholders’ Tax is only 10%;Dividends accruing to Namibian companies or resident shareholders are tax-exempt;Machinery and equipment can be fully written off over a period of three years;Buildings of non-manufacturing operations can be written off: 20% in the first year and the balance at 4% over the ensuing 20 years;Import or purchase of manufacturing machinery and equipment is exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT); and,Through trade agreements, preferential market access to the European Union (EU), United States, and other markets for manufacturers is provided.The government does sometimes issue guarantees, but reluctantly. Joint financing for foreign direct investment is occasionally implemented through the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) or another, sector-relevant state-owned enterprise.																																				Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation										In March 2021, the EU removed Namibia from its list of tax havens after Namibia successfully implemented reforms to bring its tax systems up to the EU’s required standards.  The EU had identified the preferential treatment and tax incentives to manufacturers and export processing zones (EPZ) as harmful tax regimes and allowed Namibia until December 2021 to adapt existing legislation. In June 2020, the Namibian government repealed the EPZ that had offered tax incentives to companies located in Namibia to manufacture and export products. In November 2022, Namibia shifted from the EPZ to an improved Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regime which aims to increase responsiveness to investors’ needs and expedite Namibia’s road to industrialization.																																				Performance and Data Localization Requirements										The government actively encourages partnerships with historically disadvantaged Namibians. Namibia’s Affirmative Action Act of 1998 strives to create equal employment opportunities, improve conditions for the historically disadvantaged, and eliminate discrimination. The Equity Commission requires all firms to develop an affirmative action plan for management positions and to report annually on its implementation. The Equity Commission also facilitates training programs, provides technical and other assistance, and offers expert advice, information, and guidance on implementing affirmative action in the workplace.In certain industries, the government has employed specific techniques to increase Namibian participation. In the fishing sector, for example, companies pay lower quota fees if they operate Namibian-flagged vessels based in Namibia with crews that are predominantly Namibian.Economic empowerment legislation for previously disadvantaged groups, called the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill (NEEEB) is under consideration in the legislature. The bill is being reviewed, but is unlikely to be reintroduced in Parliament during 2023 The bill is likely to contain provisions relating to ownership, management, value addition, human resource capacity building, job creation, and corporate social responsibility that aim to help previously disadvantaged Namibians. While not yet legally bound to do so, many companies in Namibia are already implementing aspects of NEEEB.The Namibian government does not have “forced localization” requirements for data storage. Domestic content is encouraged. State-owned enterprises are including local ownership/ participation.																																												5. Protection of Property Rights						    																																																Real Property										The Namibian Constitution guarantees all persons the right to acquire, own, and dispose of all forms of property throughout Namibia, but also allows Parliament to make laws concerning expropriation of property (see Expropriation and Compensation Section) and to regulate the right of foreign nationals to own or buy property in Namibia. There are no restrictions on the establishment of private businesses, size of investment, sources of funds, marketing of products, source of technology, or training in Namibia. All deeds of sales are registered with the Deeds Office. Property is usually purchased through real estate agents and most banks provide credit through mortgages. The Namibian Constitution prohibits expropriation without just compensation (Article 16).																																				Intellectual Property Rights										Namibia is a party to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Convention, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Namibia is also a party to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Namibia is a signatory to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).The responsibility for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection is divided among three government ministries. The MIT oversees industrial property and is responsible for the registration of companies, private corporations, patents, trademarks, and designs through its Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA). The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) manages copyright protection, while the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) protects indigenous plant varieties and any associated traditional knowledge of these plants.Two copyright organizations, the Namibian Society of Composers and Authors of Music (NASCAM) and the Namibian Reproduction Rights Organization (NAMRRO), are the driving forces behind the government’s anti-piracy campaigns. NASCAM administers IPR for authors, composers, and publishers of music. NAMRRO protects all other IPR, including literary, artistic, broadcasting, satellite, traditional knowledge, and folklore.Namibia has been in the process of finalizing its intellectual property legislation for several years, which BIPA eventually will administer.Namibia is not included in the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Report or the Notorious Markets List.For additional information about national laws and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at  http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/ .																																												6. Financial Sector						    																																																Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment										There is a free flow of financial resources within Namibia and throughout the Common Monetary Area (CMA) countries of the SACU, which include Namibia, Botswana, eSwatini, South Africa, and Lesotho. Capital flows with the rest of the world are relatively free, subject to the South African currency exchange rate. The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) registers portfolio managers and supervises the actions of the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) and other non-banking financial institutions.Although the NSX is the second-largest stock exchange in Africa, this ranking is largely because many South African firms listed on the Johannesburg exchange are also listed (dual-listed) on the NSX. By law, Namibia’s Government Institution Pension Fund (GIPF) and other Namibian funds are required to allocate a certain percentage of their holdings to Namibian investments. Namibia has a world-class banking system that offers all the services needed by a large company. Foreign investors are able to get credit on local market terms.There are no laws or practices by private firms in Namibia to prohibit foreign investment, participation, or control; nor are there any laws or practices by private firms or government precluding foreign participation in industry standards-setting consortia.																																				Money and Banking System										Namibia’s central bank, the Bank of Namibia (BON), regulates the banking sector. Namibia has a highly sophisticated and developed commercial banking sector that is comparable with the best in Africa. There are eight commercial banks: Standard Bank, Nedbank Namibia, Bank Windhoek, First National Bank (FNB) Namibia, Trustco Bank, Letshego Bank Limited, Banco BIC, and Banco Atlantico. Bank Windhoek and Trustco Bank are the only locally-owned banks; Trustco Bank specializes in micro-finance. Standard Bank, Nedbank, and FNB are South African subsidiaries; Banco BIC and Banco Atlantico are Angolan. A significant proportion of bank loans come in the form of bonds or mortgages to individuals. There is little or no investment banking activity.The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and Agribank are Namibian government-owned banks with a mandate for development project financing. Agribank’s mandate is specifically to serve the agriculture sector.While there are no restrictions on foreigners’ ability to open bank accounts, a non-resident must open a “non-resident” account at a Namibian commercial bank to facilitate loan repayments. This account would normally be funded from abroad or from income from rentals received on the property purchased, subject to the bank holding the account being provided with a copy of any rental contract. Non-residents who are in possession of a valid Namibian work permit/permanent residency are considered to be residents for the duration of their work permit and are therefore not subject to borrowing restrictions placed on non-residents without the necessary permits.The BON does not recognize cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, as legal tender in Namibia. The BON is reluctant to allow the implementation of blockchain technologies in banking transactions.																																				Foreign Exchange and Remittances																										Foreign Exchange						The Namibian dollar is pegged at parity to the South African rand, and rand are accepted as legal tender in Namibia. The FIA offers investors meeting certain eligibility criteria the opportunity to obtain a Certificate of Status Investment (CSI). A “status investor” is entitled to:Preferential access to foreign exchange to repay foreign debt, pay royalties and similar charges, and remit branch profits and dividends;Preferential access to foreign currency in order to repatriate proceeds from the sale of an enterprise to a Namibian resident;Exemption from regulations which might restrict certain business or categories of business to Namibian participation;Right to international arbitration in the event of a dispute with the government; andPayment of just compensation without undue delay and in freely convertible currency in the event of expropriation.						Remittance Policies						According to World Bank Development Indicators, remittances to Namibia have been consistently less than 0.15 percent of GDP for at least the last decade. The majority of remittances are processed through commercial banks. There have been no plans to change investment remittance policies in recent times.																										Sovereign Wealth Funds										In May 2022 Namibia launched its first-ever Sovereign Wealth Fund &#8211; named the Welwitschia Fund &#8211; to serve as a buffer against future economic shocks. The fund will collect its funding from royalties on the sale of natural, renewable, and non-renewable resources; taxes; divestiture from public investment holdings; and contributions from certain state-owned enterprises. The Welwitschia Fund is still without governing legislation and is therefore currently administered by the Bank of Namibia. The Government Institution Pension Fund (GIPF) provides retirement and benefits for employees in the service of the Namibian government as well as institutions established by an act of the Namibian Parliament.																																												7. State-Owned Enterprises						    																						While Namibian companies are generally open to foreign investment, government-owned enterprises have generally been closed to all investors (Namibian and foreign), with the exception of joint ventures discussed below. More than 90 state-owned enterprises (SOEs, also known as parastatals) include a wide variety of commercial companies, financial institutions, regulatory bodies, educational institutions, boards, and agencies. Generally, employment at SOEs is highly sought-after because their remuneration packages are not bound by public service constraints. Parastatals provide most essential services, such as telecommunications, transport, water, and electricity. A list of SOEs can be found on the Ministry of Public Enterprises’ website:  www.mpe.gov.na . The following are the most prominent SOEs:Namibia Airports Company (airport management company)Namibia Institute of Pathology (medical laboratories)Namibia Wildlife Resorts (tourism)Namport (maritime port authority)Nampost (postal and courier services)Namwater (water sanitation and provisioning)Roads Contractor CompanyTelecom Namibia (primarily fixed-line)TransNamib (rail company)NamPower (electricity generation and transmission)Namcor (national petroleum company)Epangelo (mining)In 2021, the government liquidated the state-owned airline, Air Namibia, which had become a financial burden. When the Minister of Finance tabled the budget in March 2021, he announced that the Namibian government will reduce its stake in state-owned enterprises as a way of raising capital, unburdening the government from the budgetary drain of perpetual SOE-bailouts, and giving room for the private sector to play a more prominent role in the economy. The government is looking to reduce its stake in or completely divest from certain SOEs.The government owns numerous other enterprises, from media ventures to a fishing company. Parastatals own assets worth approximately 40 percent of GDP and most receive subsidies from the government. Most SOEs are perennially unprofitable and have only managed to stay solvent with government subsidies. In industries where private companies compete with SOEs (e.g., tourism and fishing), SOEs are sometimes perceived to receive favorable concessions from the government. Foreign investors have participated in joint ventures with the government in a number of sectors, including mobile telecommunications and mining.In 2015, the Namibian President created a new Ministry of Public Enterprises intended to improve the management and performance of SOEs. Legislation to shift oversight of commercial SOEs from line ministries to the Ministry of Public Enterprises was passed by Parliament in 2019. However, the Ministry of Public Enterprises reached the end of its mandate in 2022 and was absorbed into the Ministry of Finance in December 2022.																										Privatization Program										Namibia does not have a privatization program, but the government has taken steps towards privatization of certain SOEs. In 2021, the government sold its shares in Namibia’s biggest telecommunications company, Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), and reportedly used the proceeds to reduce the government’s debt.																																												8. Responsible Business Conduct						    																						Most large firms, including SOEs, have well defined (and publicized) social responsibility programs that provide assistance in areas such as education, health, environmental management, sports, and small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) development. Many firms include Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programs within their larger Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. Firms operating in the mining sector – Namibia’s most lucrative industry – generally have visible CSR programs that focus on education, community resource management, environmental sustainability, health, and BEE. Many Namibian firms have HIV/AIDS workplace programs to educate their employees about how to prevent contracting and spreading the virus/disease. Some firms also provide anti-retroviral treatment programs beyond what may be covered through government and private insurance systems.Namibia’s mining sector is considered a leader in the region for its sound mining policy and responsible business conduct. Namibia ranked as the best jurisdiction in Africa on its mining policy in a 2019 Fraser Institute survey. The Namibian Chamber of Mines ( https://chamberofmines.org.na ) is an independent association of mining businesses that monitors and encourages responsible business practices and corporate social responsibility from its members and the mining industry at large. Namibia is also a member of the U.S. Department of State’s Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI), which seeks to promote sound mining governance and resilient energy mineral supply chains. Namibia is not a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).																										Additional Resources										Department of StateCountry Reports on Human Rights Practices;Trafficking in Persons Report;Guidance on Implementing the &#8220;UN Guiding Principles&#8221; for Transactions Linked to Foreign Government End-Users for Products or Services with Surveillance Capabilities;U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and;Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory Department of the TreasuryOFAC Recent ActionsDepartment of LaborFindings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor Report;List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor;Sweat &amp; Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World and;Comply Chain.																																				Climate Issues										Namibia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Already one of the most arid countries on the planet, Namibia has been experiencing extensive drought in the past decade. Namibia’s Harambee Prosperity Plan II (2021-2025) and Fifth National Development Plan (2017-2022) as well as its 2021 updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) are the guiding documents for Namibia’s climate adaptation strategy. In the near-term Namibia’s adaptation activities are focused on prevention and repair of infrastructure and systems. Namibia is in the process of creating an overarching National Adaptation Plan, which will supply further detail for national adaptation priorities and implementation of long-term strategies.Namibia has committed to reducing its overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 92 percent by 2030 from the business-as-usual baseline level. Namibia aims to achieve this goal mainly through reducing deforestation and restoring grasslands and forest, with additional contributions coming from updating old industrial equipment and using cleaner energy fuels. Namibia has declared it aims to be the first African country to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Namibia does not yet have official regulatory or other government policy incentives to help it achieve its climate policy outcomes.With the second highest solar radiation in the world, plentiful wind resources, and ample land, Namibia is well placed to develop a renewable energy industry. Namibia is looking to use its renewable resources to transition from its current dependency on coal generated electricity from South Africa to becoming a net energy renewable energy exporter to the region. Namibia also has bold plans to become a world green hydrogen leader and in 2021 awarded its first international tender for development of a green hydrogen plant that could begin production for international export in 2026. Namibia plans to form partnerships with private sector international firms to continue rolling out its green hydrogen industry over the next several years. The government has also created a website devoted to its green hydrogen plans:  https://gh2namibia.com/  .																																												9. Corruption						    																						The Anti-Corruption Act of 2003 created an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which began operations in 2006. The ACC attempts to complement civil society’s anti-corruption programs and support existing institutions such as the Ombudsman’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General. Anti-corruption legislation is in place to combat public corruption, but often is not well-implemented due to budgetary constraints. In a nationwide survey commissioned by the ACC and released in 2016, corruption was listed at the third-most important development challenge facing Namibia (6 percent, after unemployment at 37 percent and poverty at 30 percent). 78 percent of survey respondents rated corruption as “very high” in Namibia. The highest result comes from those in rural areas. Although Namibia’s score remained unchanged at 49/100 on the 2022 Corruption Perception Index, the country fell one spot to 59 out of 180 countries on the global indicator of public sector corruption. Afrobarometer has also reported a downward trend regarding perception of corruption in Namibia over the past decade.In 2019, Namibia was embroiled in a fishing industry corruption scandal in which government ministers and business leaders were charged and imprisoned for allegedly co-opting the national fishing quota system for personal gain. The scandal allegedly cost Namibia billions of U.S. dollars and has tarnished the reputation of the ruling political party. The accused are in prison awaiting trial as of early 2023. The scandal has resulted in Namibia and its ACC taking a closer look at other industries susceptible to corruption, but many Namibians criticize the government for not doing enough to combat corruption.Namibia has signed and ratified the UN Convention against Corruption and the African Union’s African Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. Namibia has also signed the Southern African Development Community’s Protocol against Corruption.																										Resources to Report Corruption										Paulus NoaDirectorNamibia Anti-Corruption CommissionCorner of Montblanc &amp; Groot Tiras Street, Windhoek+264-61-370-600 anticorruption@accnamibia.org Contact at a “watchdog” organization:Graham HopwoodDirectorNamibia Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)70-72 Frans Indongo Street, Windhoek+264-61-240-514  info@ippr.org.na National anti-corruption network Integrity Namibia operated by IPPR hosts an online Whistleblower reporting portal:   info@integritynamibia.org 																																												10. Political and Security Environment						    																						Namibia has been a stable multiparty and multiracial democracy since becoming independent in 1990. The protection of human rights is enshrined in the Namibian Constitution, and the government generally respects those rights. Political violence is rare and damage to commercial projects and/or installations as a result of political violence is unlikely. The State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights for Namibia provides additional information.																																		11. Labor Policies and Practices						    																						Namibian law allows for the formation of independent trade unions to protect workers’ rights and to promote sound labor relations and fair employment practices. The law provides for the right to form and join independent unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively on specific issues; however, the law prohibits workers in certain sectors, such as the police, military, and correctional facilities, from joining unions. Except for workers in services designated as essential, such as public health and safety, workers may strike once mandatory conciliation procedures are exhausted and 48 hours’ notice is given to the employer and labor commissioner. Workers may take strike actions only in disputes involving specific worker interests, such as pay raises.Namibia has ratified all of the International Labor Organization’s fundamental conventions. Businesses operating within export processing zones are required to adhere to the Labor Act. The 2007 Labor Act contained a provision that prohibited the hiring of temporary or contract workers (“labor hire”), but the provision was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The Labor Amendment Act of 2012 introduced strict regulations with respect to the use of temporary workers, according to which temporary workers must generally receive equal compensation and benefits as non-temporary workers.Child labor in Namibia occurs in certain sectors, such as domestic and agricultural work, and its occurrence and prevalence are difficult to verify. Although Namibia has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor, there continue to be gaps in Namibia’s domestic legal framework.There is a shortage of specialized skilled labor in Namibia. Employers often cite labor productivity and the shortage of skilled labor as the biggest obstacles to business growth. The most recent Global Competitiveness Report (2020) ranked Namibia 94th out of 141 economies. An inadequately educated workforce, access to financing, and low innovation capability are listed in the report as the most problematic factors for doing business.The government offers manufacturing companies special tax deductions of up to 25 percent if they provide technical training to employees. The government will also reimburse companies for costs directly related to employee training under approved conditions.As of April 1, 2014, the Namibian government implemented a Vocational Education and Training (VET) levy to facilitate and encourage vocational education and training. The levy, which is payable to the Namibia Training Authority (NTA), is imposed on every employer with an annual payroll of at least NAD 1,000,000 (approximately USD 54,000), at the rate of one percent of the employer’s total annual payroll. The NTA will collect and administer the levy and will use the funds to provide financial and technical assistance to employers, vocational training providers, employees, students, and other bodies to promote vocational education and training. In addition, companies can get a rebate from NTA of up to 50 percent of training costs for their employees.The role of the informal economy in Namibia cannot be underestimated, as it provides integral support to more formal business activities. According to the most recent Namibian Labour Force Survey (2018), the informal economy employs more than half of employed Namibians. Informal economic activity includes small-scale entrepreneurs, traders, and service providers such as cleaners, cooks, and laborers. Informal economic activity is the primary employment means of women in rural areas. Namibian economic analysts posit that informal sector activities contribute around 70 percent of GDP in any given year.																																		12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs						    																						The United States has had an Investment Incentive Agreement with Namibia since 1990. The Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is the U.S. Government entity that provides political risk insurance and credit facilities to qualified U.S. investors in Namibia. Namibia is also a member of the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). DFC has a current investment in the table grape industry.																																		13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics						    																						Table 2: Key Macroeconomic Data, U.S. FDI in Host Country/EconomyHost Country Statistical source*USG or international statistical sourceUSG or International Source of Data:BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, OtherEconomic DataYearAmountYearAmountHost Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ($B USD)2021$12.22021$12.3www.worldbank.org/en/countryForeign Direct InvestmentHost Country Statistical source*USG or international statistical sourceUSG or international Source of data:BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, OtherU.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, stock positions)2017$-782017$-78BEA data available athttps://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheet/Host country’s FDI in the United States ($M USD, stock positions)2020$02021$0BEA data available at https://www.bea.gov/international/direct-investment-and-multinational-enterprises-comprehensive-dataTotal inbound stock of FDI as % host GDP202149.3%202151.4%UNCTAD data available athttps://unctad.org/topic/investment/world-investment-report * Source for Host Country Data: Namibia Statistics Agency and Bank of NamibiaThe International Monetary Foundation’s (IMF) report on inward direct investment to Namibia does not list China as a top investor, while the Bank of Namibia reports Chinese FDI constituted 42.4% of Namibia’s total FDI in 2021 and 39.5% in 2020.  China is included in the Bank of Namibia’s report but is omitted from the IMF reports.  The Embassy assesses that China’s investment in Namibia is increasing not decreasing.  British Virgin Islands is a notable top source for inward direct investment sources into Namibia.  There are some other discrepancies between the information reported in the IMF report and the Bank of Namibia’s report, such as the inclusion of Botswana in 2020.Table 3: Sources and Destination of FDIDirect Investment from/in Counterpart Economy Data (2021)From Top Five Sources/To Top Five Destinations (US Dollars, Millions)Inward Direct InvestmentOutward Direct InvestmentTotal Inward$6,678100%Data Not AvailableSouth Africa$1,86828%Mauritius$4126%United Kingdom$4356.5%British Virgin Islands$1352.0%&#8220;0&#8221; reflects amounts rounded to +/- USD 500,000.Source: IMF Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS) https://data.imf.org/?sk=40313609-F037-48C1-84B1-E1F1CE54D6D5&amp;sId=1482331048410 and the Bank of Namibia’s 2021 Annual Report.																																		14. Contacts for More Information:						    																						Geoff KeoghEconomic and Commercial Officer14 Lossen Street, Windhoek, Namibia+264-61-295-8500 KeoghGL@state.gov  Econ_Comm_Windhoek@state.gov Buti HambiraEconomic-Commercial Specialist14 Lossen Street, Windhoek, Namibia+264-61-295-8500 HambiraBT@state.gov 																										    							View report by:																				Albania											Algeria											Andorra											Angola											Antigua and Barbuda											Argentina											Armenia											Australia											Austria											Azerbaijan											The Bahamas											Bahrain											Bangladesh											Barbados											Belarus											Belgium											Belize											Benin											Bolivia											Bosnia and Herzegovina											Botswana											Brazil											Brunei											Bulgaria											Burkina Faso											Burma											Burundi											Cabo Verde											Cambodia											Cameroon											Canada											Chile											China											Colombia											Costa Rica											Côte d’Ivoire											Croatia											Cyprus											Czechia											Democratic Republic of the Congo											Denmark											Djibouti											Dominica											Dominican Republic											Ecuador											Egypt											El Salvador											Equatorial Guinea											Eritrea											Estonia											Eswatini											Ethiopia											Fiji											Finland											France and Monaco											The Gambia											Gabon											Georgia											Germany											Ghana											Greece											Grenada											Guatemala											Guinea											Guyana											Honduras											Haiti											Hong Kong											Hungary											Iceland											India											Indonesia											Iraq											Ireland											Israel											Italy											Jamaica											Japan											Jordan											Kazakhstan											Kenya											Kosovo											Kyrgyz Republic											Laos											Latvia											Lebanon											Lesotho											Liberia											Libya											Lithuania											Luxembourg											Macau											Madagascar											Malawi											Malaysia											Maldives											Mali											Malta											Marshall Islands											Mauritania											Mauritius											Mexico											Micronesia											Moldova											Mongolia											Montenegro											Morocco											Mozambique											Namibia											Netherlands											Nepal											New Zealand											Nicaragua											Niger											Nigeria											North Macedonia											Norway											Oman											Pakistan											Palau											Panama											Papua New Guinea											Paraguay											Peru											Philippines											Poland											Portugal											Qatar											Republic of the Congo											Romania											Rwanda											Saint Kitts and Nevis											Saint Lucia											Saint Vincent and the Grenadines											Samoa											Sao Tome and Principe											Saudi Arabia											Senegal											Serbia											Seychelles											Sierra Leone											Singapore											Slovakia											Slovenia											Somalia											South Africa											South Korea											South Sudan											Spain											Sri Lanka											Suriname											Sweden											Switzerland											Taiwan											Tajikistan											Tanzania											Thailand											Timor-Leste											Togo											Trinidad and Tobago											Tunisia											Türkiye											United Arab Emirates											Uganda											Ukraine											United Kingdom											Uruguay											Uzbekistan											Vietnam											West Bank and Gaza											Zambia											Zimbabwe															Build A Custom Report																						On This Page				search													>																										EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment																																							Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment																																																						Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment																																																						Other Investment Policy Reviews																																																						Business Facilitation																																																						Outward Investment																																																			2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties																3. Legal Regime																																							Transparency of the Regulatory System																																																						International Regulatory Considerations																																																						Legal System and Judicial Independence																																																						Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment																																																						Competition and Antitrust Laws																																																						Expropriation and Compensation																																																						Dispute Settlement																																																				ICSID Convention and New York Convention																																												Investor-State Dispute Settlement																																												International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts																																																																																				Bankruptcy Regulations																																																			4. Industrial Policies																																							Investment Incentives																																																						Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation																																																						Performance and Data Localization Requirements																																																			5. Protection of Property Rights																																							Real Property																																																						Intellectual Property Rights																																																			6. Financial Sector																																							Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment																																																						Money and Banking System																																																						Foreign Exchange and Remittances																																																				Foreign Exchange																																												Remittance Policies																																																																																				Sovereign Wealth Funds																																																			7. State-Owned Enterprises																																							Privatization Program																																																			8. Responsible Business Conduct																																							Additional Resources																																																						Climate Issues																																																			9. Corruption																																							Resources to Report Corruption																																																			10. Political and Security Environment																11. Labor Policies and Practices																12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs																13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics																14. Contacts for More Information:																						Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs																								Namibia