Namibia is arguing about who should control its oil before the oil arrives. The Petroleum Exploration and Production Amendment Bill 2025, debated in the National Assembly this week, would modernise legislation dating from 1991 and create an Upstream Petroleum Unit inside the Office of the President, centralising licensing and oversight as the country prepares for commercial production from offshore discoveries announced since 2022.
Government supporters framed the unit as a capacity fix. Deputy minister Evelyn Nawases Taeyele urged speedy passage, arguing the unit would reduce bureaucratic delays, strengthen governance and improve investor confidence, with anti corruption safeguards including annual reporting and asset disclosures by its leadership, alongside a national local content policy for Namibian businesses, goods, services and training. Swapo MPs Ephraim Nekongo and Tobie Aupindi backed the design, with Aupindi warning that the regulator should not become a commercial partner and setting out principles including rules based decisions and parliamentary oversight.
Opposition MPs from the Popular Democratic Movement attacked the same design from the other side. Winnie Moongo argued the bill centralises power, weakens checks and balances and dilutes financial accountability, objecting that senior officials would declare assets and interests to the president rather than publicly, and that a reduced finance ministry role in royalty remissions, refunds and deferrals weakens revenue safeguards. Inna Hengari called for public hearings, a clause by clause review, stronger parliamentary oversight of licences and royalties, and legally enforceable local content targets.
The fault line is familiar in new petroleum states: speed and central expertise against dispersed accountability. What is decided here will govern how licences are awarded and how much of the value chain Namibians capture when production starts. Status: proposed bill under debate; no vote reported.