Windhoek — The Government policy on black economic empowerment (BEE) is still not completed, although the process started a year ago and should have been completed last month.

Another N$1,4 million was required for that purpose in the new financial year, Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila said in the National Assembly last week. In the budget motivation for the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Amathila said the necessary consultancy and related work still had to be finalised. "Once that and the policy formulation for the Transformational Economic and Social Empowerment Framework (Tesef) is concluded, means will have to be found to implement it.

The Tesef policy proposals will be submitted for debate in Parliament for debate," Amathila added. According to her, Namibia's BEE policy would "revamp all future actions of socio-economic empowerment, so that policies and programmes targeting historically disadvantaged citizens are broad-based, inclusive, fair, transparent and sustainable".

The envisaged policy will bring changes like allowing previously disadvantaged Namibians to buy shares in white-owned companies, increasing the number of black managers in businesses, providing more training and increasing procurement of goods from small and medium enterprises owned by black people. In a separate development, the financial sector in Namibia has embarked on its own BEE policy, the Financial Services Charter, with similar goals.

Although the charter was supposed to be implemented at the start of this year, this has not yet happened.