NCCI and NamPol strengthen business security
The Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) have taken steps towards formalising a cooperation framework aimed at strengthening business security and supporting economic growth.
The two institutions hosted a high-level corporate engagement in Windhoek last Thursday, bringing together senior business executives, entrepreneurs, government officials and law enforcement leaders for discussions on crime prevention and public-private collaboration.
The meeting builds on talks in March this year in which both parties identified gaps in coordination between the private sector and policing structures. It also forms part of preparations for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that is expected to set out formal cooperation on security, compliance, information sharing and crime prevention.
Opening the engagement, NCCI president Vetumbuavi Mungunda said fragmented responses to crime and security challenges were no longer sufficient in a changing economic environment.
He called for a structured and unified approach between business and law enforcement, arguing that only coordinated action could effectively protect Namibia’s commercial environment and support long-term growth.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security minister Lucia Iipumbu, executive director Nghidinua Daniel said economic development and security were closely linked.
Closely linked
“Security and economic growth are inseparable,” he said, adding that businesses could only thrive in conditions of stability, safety and respect for the rule of law.
He warned that crimes such as theft, fraud, cybercrime, burglary, vandalism, illicit trade and organised criminal activity were placing a direct burden on the economy by increasing costs, undermining investor confidence and threatening jobs.
Crime prevention, he said, should be treated as a national development priority rather than a purely law enforcement issue.
A central feature of the engagement was a presentation by acting inspector general of NamPol, Major General Anne-Marie Nainda, who outlined the force’s operational priorities under the theme Enhancing safety to unlock and enable investment and entrepreneurship.
She provided updates on NamPol’s capabilities while acknowledging challenges, including limited resources, increasingly sophisticated criminal networks, cyber-related crime and the need for improved technology, specialised training and enhanced intelligence-sharing systems.
Business leaders were also briefed on efforts to modernise policing responses to emerging security threats, particularly in digital environments.
Closing the event, NCCI chief executive Titus Nampala said the chamber would serve as a permanent coordination platform between the private sector and national security institutions.
He said institutionalising cooperation would ensure more effective prevention of crime, adding that proactive engagement was more cost-effective than reactive responses once businesses had already been affected.
