The Chamber of Commerce of Namibia (COM) has called for the review of the country’s Immigration Act to resolve problems of Immigration Services Board quorum, saying such a move would help the mining industry to import skills.

The Immigration Services Board (ISB) is mandated to regulate and monitor the entry, residence, employment and exit of all foreigners. COM President Otto Shikongo says the country’s mining industry is still lacking adequate skills and foreign skills remain a critical element to the industry’s prosperity.
The COM has further proposed that three-year work permits replace one-year work permits currently on offer to foreign workers. “The increase of skills migrating from Namibia is noteworthy,” Shikongo said. At present, South Africa grants five-year work permits to foreign employees.
The COM’s outcry comes just weeks after the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration increased the price of the country’s multiple-entry visas by 2,260%, from N$138 to a whopping N$3,120.
The move received mixed feelings from the country’s corporate sector, including the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and the Namibia Employers Federation (NEF), who both felt that such fees could affect negatively on the country’s ambition for skill importation.
A survey commissioned by COM in 2007 to determine the level of skill in the mining industry highlighted acute shortages especially with regard to professionals (37 percent) and critical artisan trades (15 percent). In an attempt to expand its skills pool, the mining industry has awarded a total of 383 bursaries to students studying in various areas related to mining.