Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibia has never lacked ambition. Through vision 2030, the Harambee Prosperity Plans, and the National Development Plans (NDPs), the country has set out bold aspirations in housing, infrastructure, energy, mining and industrialisation.
But ambition alone does not deliver results.
Across multiple sectors, we have seen projects that stall, budgets that spiral, and citizens who wait too long for promises to materialise.
Meanwhile, our regional peers – Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana – are strengthening their delivery systems, securing investments and accelerating transformation.
Namibia is at risk of being left behind. What we need is not another strategy but the capacity to carry out the existing ones.
The solution lies in establishing a National Portfolio Management Office (PfMO), the missing execution platform that connects strategy to results.
A portfolio office is not an extra layer of bureaucracy. It’s a centralised structure with executive authority to oversee, prioritise and coordinate all national projects and programmes.
Specifically, a PfMO would:
– Align projects and programmes directly with national priorities such as Vision 2030 and NDP6.
– Prioritise high value, high-impact initiatives that transform lives and the economy.
– Refine government-funded projects for speed and accountability, ensuring public funds deliver visible results.
– Provide real-time visibility on progress, risks and resources to Cabinet, parliament and citizens.
– Eliminate duplication across ministries and foster cross-sector collaboration.
In short, a PfMO would serve Namibia’s execution platform, turning plans on paper into outcomes on the ground.
TIMING IS URGENT
Namibia is at a critical juncture. Several high-stakes opportunities are emerging simultaneously:
– Green hydrogen projects position the country as a future energy hub.
– Oil and gas discoveries attracting global attention and investment.
– Mining expansion continues to anchor economic growth.
– Infrastructure corridors vital for unlocking trade with the Southern African Development Community and beyond.
– Housing backlogs demanding integrated, scalable solutions.
These opportunities are interconnected and complex. Managing them in isolation risks duplication, delays and loss of impact.
Competitiveness is increasingly determined by execution speed and Namibia must act decisively to remain attractive to investors and responsive to citizens.
LESSONS AND EXAMPLES
Namibia does not need to start from scratch. Valuable lessons can be drawn from peers.
Rwanda has developed delivery units that ensure national priorities are executed with discipline and precision.
South Africa established an infrastructure centre of excellence and is established as a single point of entry for infrastructure planning, management, and delivery.
It is a catalyst for closing the infrastructure investment gap and meeting the infrastructure target set out in the National Development Plan.
It provides best practices in project preparation, leadership on infrastructure planning, technical and financial support for nationally prioritised infrastructure projects and programmes.
The United Kingdom created an Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), which directly oversees all major government projects and programmes.
It also provides guidance, expertise and tools to support the successful delivery of major government projects and programmes, ranging from schools, railways, information technology and other transformational programmes.
The UK’s IPA provides parliament and the cabinet with transparency, independent assurance and accountability.
It ensures taxpayer funds are well spent and that critical national projects – from transport to healthcare – are delivered on time and within budget.
This is the kind of oversight Namibia urgently needs to manage transformative portfolios like green hydrogen, oil and gas, housing and other critical infrastructure with rigour and credibility.
Namibia has already shown foresight by establishing specialised units under the the president’s office, such as the Green Hydrogen Programme, and an Oil and Gas Unit.
These initiatives demonstrate the importance of anchoring strategic sectors at the highest executive level, where visibility and authority are strongest.
Therefore, a national PfMO will complement these sector specific units as it would serve as an umbrella execution office, creating a wider national portfolio of prioritised projects and programmes.
DELIBERATE POSITIONING
In every successful organisation, the project management office reports directly to the chief executive or top executive.
This positioning is deliberate as this kind of execution requires executive authority to enforce alignment, prioritise decisions and ensure accountability across offices, ministries and agencies.
For Namibia, the same principle applies. A national PfMO must be located in the Office of the President because:
– Executive power is crucial to break down silos and enforce cross-ministerial collaboration.
– It guarantees strategic visibility at the highest level, keeping projects tied to Vision 2030 and NDP6 as well as any other existing strategic plans the country is pursuing for its transformative agenda.
– Accountability to the president signals seriousness to both citizens and investors.
– It protects the PfMO from being captured by a single ministry’s agenda, preserving its nationwide mandate.
Just as organisations succeed when PMOs are placed at the highest executive level, Namibia’s PfMO must be embedded in the Office of the President to be effective.
Without that authority, it risks becoming advisory rather than transformational.
MULTIPLE BENEFITS
A PfMO will transform Namibia’s bold strategies into tangible results by continuously aligning every project and programme with national priorities, ensuring public funds are invested with speed, discipline, and accountability.
It will give our government executive power and the agility to cut across silos, blockers and turn 2030 into lived progress.
– Victor Mutonga is Namibia’s only portfolio management professional (PfMP), also certified as PgMP, PMP and PMO-CP, and managing consultant, Welwitschia Project Managers. The views expressed here are entirely his own and are aimed at constructive dialogue.
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