Alweendo asks for more local ownership of valuable resources

Niël Terblanché Tom Alweendo, the Minister of Mines and Energy, has requested that a state-funded mineral exploration fund be established to create increased local ownership in the mining sector. The mines Minister was officiating at a parliamentary oversight workshop on maximising the potential of the oil, gas, and mineral sector in Namibia when he made the request. “There is growing criticism from the public about the fact that the exploitation of our mineral and petroleum resources is dominated by foreigners. I wholeheartedly agree with this view, and may I add that the status quo is untenable; it is indefensible. We…