Gaborone - The Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) says the new stringent visa regulations have created a bureaucratic hurdle.
The new regulations require South African citizens to acquire business travel visas at the Namibian High Commission in Pretoria prior to visiting the country.
The chamber say these requirements have cost the business sector millions in potential export earnings since they came into force in March.
Under the new regulations, South Africans who wish to travel to Namibia for business purposes are required to obtain travel visas to the country from the Namibian High Commission in Pretoria three days prior to the visit.
NCCI CEO Taranah Shaanika told the Namibian daily newspaper that members of the chamber were both surprised and disappointed that Namibia had decided to impose visa restrictions on the country's largest trading partner and export destination at a time when the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) was pushing for the removal of regulations seen as barriers to the growth of bilateral trade between members states.
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“The political leadership does not seem to understand the implications this visa regulations have on business people. South Africa is our biggest investor, our largest trading partner and also our biggest export destination. Therefore, regular business consultations and conferences have to take place between the two countries.
“The visa restrictions are directly causing us to lose out huge amounts of money. We ask government to be reasonable each time they impose visa restrictions.
“It is unfortunate that this decision is enforced at a time when SADC is making progress in deepening regional economic integration in a bid to increase intra-regional trade and commercial activities. For Namibia, which has been a strong proponent of deeper regional economic integration, to enforce such a decision is not only surprising but also deeply disappointing,” Shaanika said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has flatly denied the existence of any visa restrictions for business travelers from South Africa.
But Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN) CEO Gitta Paetzoldt said several South African business travelers had been forced to cancel their visits for consultations, while the few who managed had done so by falsifying the purpose of their visits to obtain visas to enter Namibia.
“Many business clients from South Africa have called and informed us that they were denied entrance to Namibia and that they are going to cancel their consultations. This, of course, came as a shock to us as we were not consulted and informed about this visa requirement. The Ministry of Home Affairs was supposed to communicate with us before taking this huge step.
“When [The ministry of] Home Affairs is contacted, they communicate differently, while officials at the airport have a completely different stance on the visa restrictions. There is no constant communication between players in the business sector and the immigration department. We need a committee to make it possible for consultations to be done on how visa restrictions may or may not affect the economy. HAN has written to government to raise our concerns,” Paetzoldt said.
Further, the NCCI expressed fears that trade relations between the two countries could get complicated if South Africa retaliated by imposing similar business visa restrictions on Namibians travelling to South Africa.
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