Did I mention that Windhoek is one of the nicer African cities? If I didn't then it is an incredible omission. I was last there about seven years ago and it has changed so much since then – huge buildings have gone up, there are malls and fantastic hotels. It still hasn't lost its old charm and Joe's Beerhall is still a hit.
Obed de Swardt and I went up there at the request of a few Namibian companies to go and talk to them about BEE/TESEF and the like. It was a fantastic experience, the hospitality and warmth is something we all should experience.
This is what we learned.
- TESEF falls under the Office of the Prime Minister. It would appear that the Prime Minister is somewhat alone in this process. There is a school of thought that it should fall within the Namibian DTI.
- The issue between the Office of the Prime Minister and the DTI might be the reason as to why TESEF still remains a strategy. It might just be that the Prime Minister is pushing for TESEF on his own and not getting a great deal of support from the rest of the Namibian government.
- A rumour suggests that TESEF will be replaced by the New Framework on Equality & Empowerment (perhaps the new acronym might be NFEE).
- The Namibian Financial Sector was tabled in 2009. This is a great document that focuses on the Namibianisation of the financial sector, it speaks of BBEE (broad based economic empowerment). Namibianisation should be a greater priority than BEE – a startling percentage of the Namibian economy is in foreign hands.
I'll be back soon.