Developers of the Green Hydrogen Project have a responsibility to ensure that local content aspirations are taken seriously and achieved, especially by creating links to build a local value chain.
This was said by ||Kharas Governor, Aletha Frederick while addressing the launch of the social economic development framework for green hydrogen here Monday.
The framework for Namibia’s first gigawatt-scale Green Hydrogen Project was launched by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy and the Namibian Government.
Frederick said leaders and frontrunners of the project must guard against unprincipled conduct, which has the potential to cause many undesirable socio-economic outcomes, which could deny local people to benefit from resources at their doorsteps.
She appealed to the pioneers of the project to be mindful of the effective governance pillar that encourages not only better service delivery, but also places emphasis on improved accountability by establishing a benchmark for good governance, which is centred on compliance to all governance instruments without fear or favour.
“It is important that opportunities provided by the development of the project should reflect a well-balanced, inclusive, and fair regional representation of all Namibians as Namibia does not encourage regionalism, racial discrimination or ethnicity, but charity should start at home,” she said.
Frederick further said the youth and small and medium enterprises from the ||Kharas and Hardap regions are given fair opportunities to fully participate in the development.
Also speaking was Keetmanshoop Mayor McDonald Hanse, who urged the government, the green hydrogen council and Hyphen give preference to Southerners in terms of employment and procurement during the green hydrogen project.
“It is an open secret that the people of the south have been excluded from the mainstream economy of the county. We understand and respects government’s principal of one Namibia, one nation, but equally do we have other frameworks like equity and affirmative action, which can be applicable in this instance so the southerner’s benefit?” he said.
Hyphen, the company that was awarded the contract to spearhead green hydrogen production, is undertaking a feasibility study of the project over a period of two and a half years, while the construction of the facilities is expected to start in 2026.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency