Presidency assumes control of petroleum local content regulation in Namibia

This move follows the Cabinet's approval of a new local content policy on August 4. The UPU, led by Kornelia Shilunga, is tasked with coordinating, implementing, monitoring, and enforcing the policy's requirements, including compliance, reporting, and regulatory oversight. This represents a shift from a previous version of the policy, which had assigned these powers to the Ministry of Industrialisation, Mines and Energy.

The UPU was established by the petroleum amendment bill, which is still awaiting parliamentary approval. Parliamentarians have expressed concerns that transferring these powers from the energy ministry to the presidency could diminish parliamentary oversight of this significant natural resource. The policy also mandates the UPU to create a permanent inter-agency technical committee, which will include representatives from ministries, Petrofund, the private sector, and civil society organizations, to coordinate multi-sectoral local content interventions and financing.

Public policy analyst Marius Kudumo and Institute for Public Policy Research executive director Graham Hopwood have raised questions regarding the transparency and governance implications of the presidency's involvement in operational matters within the petroleum sector, suggesting that the UPU itself needs to be transparent for the new a