Keypoints:
- Leaders push cross-border manufacturing
- Seven cooperation agreements signed
- Unemployment adds urgency to plans
NAMIBIA and South Africa are betting that joint manufacturing and regional value chains can create badly needed jobs while allowing both countries to earn more from their minerals, energy resources and agricultural production.
The industrial push emerged from the fourth Namibia–South Africa Bi-National Commission in Pretoria, co-chaired by Presidents Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Cyril Ramaphosa. Both governments are under pressure to turn their skilled workforces and natural resources into sustainable employment rather than continuing to export largely unprocessed commodities.
Joblessness drives new urgency
In an NBC News report, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the neighbouring countries could no longer afford to pursue industrial development in isolation when they faced many of the same economic and social pressures.
Among those challenges is the growing number of trained and qualified people who are unable to find decent work.
Namibia’s latest official unemployment rate stands at 36.9 percent. However, the figure was published by the Namibia Statistics Agency in January 2025 using employment data gathered through the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
In South Africa, unemployment rose from 31.4 percent to 32.7 percent during the first quarter of 2026.
Statistics South Africa said employment declined by 345,000 to 16.8m, while the number of unemployed people increased by 301,000 to 8.1m. Manufacturing was one of the few brighter areas, adding 38,000 jobs during the quarter.
Factories instead of raw exports
The commission’s joint communiqué commits both governments to expanding cross-border value chains, private-sector partnerships, mineral beneficiation and joint industrial development.
The proposed cooperation covers mining, petroleum, natural gas, skills development, technology, research and local processing.
Ramaphosa said Southern Africa needed to move away from exporting raw materials and importing expensive finished goods made from those same resources.
That challenge is reflected across the continent, where intra-African trade is growing but industrial capacity remains weak. It also speaks to Africa’s continuing dependence on unprocessed commodity exports.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, in her official opening statement, called for practical decisions that could be implemented and measured. She said interconnected energy infrastructure would be essential to regional industrialisation, market integration and long-term economic growth.
Energy could anchor cooperation
The two leaders identified the Orange Basin, green hydrogen, electricity transmission, critical minerals and transport corridors as possible foundations for a more integrated industrial economy.
Ramaphosa proposed cooperation across exploration, engineering, refining, petrochemicals, logistics, maritime services and advanced manufacturing.
South Africa’s Boegoebaai port and green hydrogen plans could eventually form part of a cross-border industrial corridor. However, financing and project execution continue to slow African green hydrogen developments.
Seven agreements were signed during the commission. They cover employment and labour, air services, legal cooperation, correctional services, public-sector training, gender equality and cooperation between the countries’ national chambers of commerce.
Delivery remains the real test
The communiqué requires ministries and public agencies to prepare implementation plans with deadlines and clearly assigned responsibilities. Senior officials are expected to monitor progress, with a mid-term review designed to identify delays and resolve obstacles.
That scrutiny will matter. Regional value chains need reliable electricity, efficient border systems, transport infrastructure, financing and industrial policies that work across national boundaries.
South Africa says more than 50 of its companies invested about $1.2bn in Namibia between 2023 and 2025, creating roughly 4,900 jobs.
The deeper test is whether the new agreements can produce more factories, local suppliers and skilled jobs on a scale large enough to make a visible difference to unemployment.
