In just six months in office, Minister of industries, mines and energy Modestus Amutse has overturned two major decisions by the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC), raising questions about regulatory independence and the future of competition oversight. Namibia Business Review (NBR) sat down with NaCC spokesperson Dina Gowases (DG) to unpack the commission’s position on the Nassan Energies–Vitol fuel supply agreement, the Ohorongo Cement sale to Whale Rock Cement, and other key issues.

NBR: Since being appointed Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy in December 2025, Minister Modestus Amutse has already overturned decisions relating to the Nasan Energies–Vitol fuel supply agreement and the Ohorongo Cement–Cheetah Cement merger. What is the commission’s reaction to these interventions?

Gowases: Thanks for the questions. Let me just briefly touch on the areas that you have indicated. With regard to the Minister overturning the decisions or determinations that we are making, it is actually within his power as mandated by the Competition Act number 2 of 2003 to do that.

He does an assessment in terms of Section 49 of the Act. He has the right and is empowered, and those are vested powers within him by the Competition Act, whereby he can either overturn our determination, reject it, confirm our determination, or make additional conditions to the determination or conditions that we set in that determination. That is within Section 49 of the Competition Act, which gives the Minister those powers. The manner in which we operate is that we operate within the mandate of the Competition Act.

We are mandated with the business of looking at the conduct of how businesses operate within the sector to ensure that there are no barriers to entry, that everyone is competing fairly, and that no one is being hindered from growing in whichever sector they choose to do so.

What the Minister does is that he looks at the holistic picture as the government entity tasked with a high-profile and major ministry, which is the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy. When the Minister does his assessments with regard to the major determinations that we undertake or the investigations that we undertake regarding any anti-competitive behaviour, he takes into account how the determinations we make are going to impact the economy, how they are going to impact the market structure, how they will impact small and medium enterprises, the historically disadvantaged people, and youth participation.

NBR: Critics argue that when ministerial decisionsSo whatever determination the Minister makes, it is within those parameters of economic growth that the Minister makes those determinations. We are not going to say that the Minister has too much power. It is within his mandate to do so, and I can rest assured that whatever decision he makes is within the interest, the national interest, of the country.

So, in short, we do not have that much of an issue with what the Minister is doing because he is mandated to do so. We have the government that has appointed him to the position that he holds now. What critics are saying is that the Minister is overturning decisions and therefore we might become powerless, and that is not the true stance of us.

What the Minister is doing is taking into account all of those factors, which form part of what the Competition Commission itself looks at, and looking at them holistically to see what type of impact a certain determination, measure, or conduct that businesses are engaging in would have on the national economy and on the economic growth of the country, as well as the choices that we, as consumers, will have at the end of the day.

Ultimately, the mandate of the commission trickles down to the fact that we would want consumers, as users of any services, goods, or products, to have that choice to go to any business entity where we see it fit, where we can afford it, or where we like the quality and so forth.

 repeatedly override the Namibia Competition Commission’s rulings, it risks making the commission appear toothless and unable to enforce its own decisions. How does the commission respond to this criticism that it’s toothless?

Gowases: These are things that are part of the Competition Act, which the Minister also considers.

NBR: Does the commission believe the current Competition Act provides ministers with too much discretion to overturn decisions made by an independent competition regulator? If not, why not?

Gowases: The Minister is not overreaching his mandate. He is within his powers that he is operating, but I would like to stress that the Minister’s office will be best placed to explore more on the determinations that they make with regard to our outcomes and our resolutions that the Board of Commissioners take with regard to the determinations that are brought to our table.

I would really like to also advise that you go on the government website, which is the Ministry of Justice, to see what cases, investigations, or determinations we have made that came out with a different determination by the Minister after the review process and assessment that he did.

It will give you a thorough analysis of how the Minister came to the decisions that he came to and what he wants to ultimately achieve through those determinations.

NBR: How many decisions made by the Namibia Competition Commission have been overturned by ministers since 21 March 2025? Please provide details of each matter, including the decision involved and the outcome after ministerial intervention.

Gowases: Please visit the Justice Ministry website. All our notices are gazetted there, and you will have a full picture of what it is that we put as conditions and how the Minister came to the conclusions that he did because his determinations are also gazetted as such.

The Commission is not a toothless institution. It is still carrying out its mandate within the parameters of the Competition Act, and therefore it will continue to do its work. It will continue to function as it is required until such time that amendments are done and approved by our government in certain areas of the Act.

We are going to continue to carry out our operations, and we would also like to call on our stakeholders not to engage in this issue whereby people are now feeling that we have become an entity because the Minister overturns our decisions.

As I have noted, in terms of Section 49, parties to any merger or investigation, after we have given them and also gazetted a certain determination, within 30 days they are allowed and mandated, as stipulated in Section 49, to lodge an appeal against the determination that we have made for the Minister to review.

The Minister then has four months within which he should assess that review application and make his determination, and also make that determination through a government gazetted notice.

If it takes a bit longer for the Minister to make that determination, it means that he is taking into account all the factors that surround that type of decision before he can make a final determination.

It requires consultations, it requires investigations of their own, and therefore it might take a bit longer. He is within his mandate, should it even go beyond the four months that are given, to ensure that the decision that he takes is going to be in the national interest of the country.

So, I would just like to call on our stakeholders that the Commission continues with its mandate to carry out its mandate. We do things procedurally and as per the guidelines stipulated within the Competition Act, and therefore we are going to continue to utilise those processes, such as stakeholder conferences and also representations and verbal, oral, or written submissions from any interested party.