Namibia Economy Profile - Doing Business 2019
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Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Economy Profile
Namibia
Page 1
Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Economy Profile of Namibia
Doing Business 2019 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality
control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the
electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration
system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as
well as post-filing processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the
legal framework for insolvency
Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality
Page 2Doing Business 2019 Namibia
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected
cities at the subnational and regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying
to them through their life cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative
indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit,
protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also
measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market
regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time,
Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves
as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and
regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve
performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region
and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets
and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that
have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the
Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these
11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from
governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving
the regulatory environment for business around the world.
More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)
Page 3Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Ease of Doing Business in DB 2019 Rank
Region Sub-Saharan Africa
190 1
Namibia
Income Category Upper middle income 107
DB 2019 Ease of doing business score
Population 2,533,794
0 100
City Covered Windhoek 60.53
DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score
0 100
79.58: Mauritius (Rank: 20)
66.03: South Africa (Rank: 82)
65.40: Botswana (Rank: 86)
60.53: Namibia (Rank: 107)
59.59: Malawi (Rank: 111)
51.61: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies
in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100
represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Namibia
1
28
58
55
71 73
83 81
82
Rank
99
109
125
136
136
163 172 174
190
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Namibia
100
78.25
80 74.52
69.06 69.79
61.47 63.44
60.00
Score
60
51.67
40.19
40 36.97
20
0
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Page 4Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has
start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10
and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two
types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the
other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or
reservation, notarization)
The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
city
of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
• Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office.
- Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a
business or to leave the home to register the also collected for the second largest business city.
company - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
- Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
• Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least
company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita.
identification card
- Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
Time required to complete each procedure
activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
(calendar days)
liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per
capita.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2
procedures cannot start on the same day) - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
- Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• Procedure is considered completed once final
document is received The owners:
• No prior contact with officials - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
assumed to be 30 years old.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
- Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
• Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
• No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.
law or commonly used in practice
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per
capita)
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party
before registration or up to 3 months after
incorporation
Page 5Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Starting a Business - Namibia
Standardized Company
Legal form Private Limited Liability Company
Paid-in minimum capital requirement NAD 0
City Covered Windhoek
Indicator Namibia Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 10 7.4 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Men (days) 66 23.3 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 10.0 44.4 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Procedure – Women (number) 10 7.6 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Women (days) 66 23.4 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 10.0 44.4 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 10.0 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Namibia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Starting a Business Score
0 100
94.34: Mauritius (Rank: 21)
81.22: South Africa (Rank: 134)
78.52: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
77.18: Malawi (Rank: 153)
76.22: Botswana (Rank: 157)
69.06: Namibia (Rank: 172)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Figure – Starting a Business in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
10
60
Cost (% of income per capita)
8
50
Time (days)
40 6
30
4
20
2
10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 *8 9 * 10
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 7Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Details – Starting a Business in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Reserve a unique company name 18 days included in the cost of
Agency : Business and Intellectual Property Authority registration
Company name search and reservation is done at the Registrar of Companies
within the Ministry of Trade and Industry. If the proposed name is acceptable, it
will be reserved for 60 days. The Registrar of Companies is working on an online
service platform, and the system is in phase 1.
2 Pay the registration fees and buy revenue stamps at the Receiver of 1 day ND 230 - ND 250
Revenue
Agency : Receiver of Revenue
Annual duty varies depending on number of shares per Companies Act. The fee
is ND 4 per 10,000 share capital and ranges between a minimum fee of ND 80
and maximum fee of ND 100. There is also a stamp duty of ND 100 to buy the
annual return form CM23.
Subject to the provisions of Section 10 (1) (a) and (b) of the Companies Act,
fees, additional fees, annual duty, or other moneys payable to the Registrar,
may, except where otherwise provided in these regulations, be paid to any
receiver of revenue. Proof of payment of such fees, additional fees, annual duty,
or other moneys must be affixed to the relevant form or document by spreading
adhesive paste or glue over the entire surface of the reverse side of the
acknowledgement of receipt form. Fees for inspection or copies of documents
may be paid on an account, subject to such conditions as the Registrar may
stipulate.
3 Hire an attorney to register the company with the Business and Intellectual 14 days about ND 5,750+ ND
Property Authority and obtain the certificate of incorporation and the 556 notary fees
certificate of business commencement
Agency : Business and Intellectual Property Authority
Section 63 of the Companies Act stipulates that the memorandum and articles of
association must be filed and uplifted by a subscriber or by a local accountant or
company attorney.
The following documents must be filed for the registration and incorporation of a
company:
- The original and two notarized copies of the memorandum and articles of
incorporation referred to in regulations 17 and 18, bound as prescribed in
regulation 4 (1)
- Form CM5: Application for Reservation of Name or Shortened Form or
Defensive Name, containing particulars of the name reserved for a company, as
approved by the Registrar, together with other forms, if any, containing
particulars of the shortened form of the name of the company, as approved by
the Registrar (ND 50)
- Form CM22: Notice of Registered Office and Postal Address of Company,
containing a notice of the company’s registered office and postal address within
the geographical boundaries of Namibia (ND 10)
- A power of attorney, signed by the subscribers to the memorandum, in favor of
the person filing the documents
- Form CM29: Contents of Register of Directors, Auditors, and Officers (ND 10)
- Form CM31: Notice of, Consent to Appointment, Change of Name, or
Resignation by Auditor or Removal of Auditor, containing the acceptance of
appointment of an auditor (ND 10)
- Form CM46: Application and Certificate to Commence Business (ND 60 plus
annual duty)
- Form CM1: Certificate of Incorporation of a Company Having a Share Capital
- Form CM2: Memorandum of Association of a Company Having a Share Capital.
Proof of payment of the registration fee under Section 63 (2) of the Companies
Act must be affixed to the original Form CM2 (ND 100)
- CM47: Statement by Each Director Regarding Adequacy of Capital of
Company. This is a statement, as prescribed by Section 172(3)(a) of the
Companies Act, of the opinion of each director to the effect that the capital of the
company is adequate for the company’s purpose and its business, or, if the
director believes that it is inadequate, the reasons and the manner in which and
the sources from which the company is to be financed and the extent thereof.
(ND 25)
The Business and Intellectual Property Authority automatically forwards a copy of
the memorandum and articles of association to the Receiver of Revenue, which
in turns registers the company as a taxpayer and issues a tax identification
number. Taxation of 33% of all profit is payable to the Receiver of Revenue.
Page 8Doing Business 2019 Namibia
4 Deposit the initial capital in a bank account 1 day no charge
Agency : Bank
The funds for the initial capital deposit must be paid into a bank account.
- Authorized share capital: 4,000 ordinary shares of ND 1 each.
- Issued share capital: 100 ordinary shares of ND 1 each.
No legal requirements are mandated for the minimum startup capital for a private
company.
5 Receive fire and health inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality
The company should not apply for a town planning certificate unless it is the
owner of the premises. Companies must have a registered address in Namibia
and must apply to receive fire and health inspection in order to obtain the
certificate for fitness prior to the commencement of business operations. Local
Authorities Act gives Municipalities authority to regulate, though Fire Regulations
and Healthy Regulations, that the municipal fire chief and healthy division should
inspect the business premises for safety and health of working environment. The
municipality carries out municipal inspection and approves business premise
occupancy after reviewing applications for receiving health and fire inspection.
The inspector typically conducts inspection no later than the second day of
application receipt.
6 Obtain the certificate of fitness from the local municipality 1 day ND 47.00 to ND 350
Agency : Municipality depending on the
Upon satisfactory inspection of the company premises, the inspector provides the type of business
entrepreneur with a letter stating that the workplace has successfully passed
inspection. The entrepreneur then returns to the local municipality in order to
obtain the certificate of fitness with this proof. The certificate is annually
renewable.
According to the “Healthy Regulation (Inspection Fees for Premises)” by
Department of Economic Development & Environment Division: Health Services,
the fees for formal non-food premises (per annum) per Schedule C (c A) (iii) is
ND 172.17 of tariff plus ND 25.83 VAT, which is equal to a total of ND 198.
7 Register for VAT with the Receiver of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance 9 days no charge
Agency : Receiver of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance
Any person, as defined by the law, who has carried on a taxable activity on or
since November 27, 2000, and whose taxable turnover in any 12 month period
exceeds or is likely to exceed ND 200,000 must register for VAT. The applicant
submits Form VAT I to the Receiver of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance and
receives the registration number within 1–4 weeks depending on the application
date. The VAT number once issued is validated at the beginning of the month
following the month of application.
Manufacturing companies must register for VAT. It is not compulsory for other
types of businesses to register for VAT if their profit is less than ND 500,000. In
order to register for VAT, the company must have a local bank account and a
certificate of fitness.
8 Register for Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax with the Receiver of Revenue 4 days no charge
Agency : Receiver of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance (simultaneous with
The registration for pay-as-you-earn tax is separate from registration for VAT, but previous procedure)
both are registered by the Receiver of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance.
9 Register employees with the Social Security Commission 21 days ND 10 per employee
Agency : Social Security Commission
A percentage of 1.8% is deducted from the basic salary of all employees, shared
on a 50/50 basis by the employee (0.9%) and employer (0.9%), with a maximum
of ND 81 and a minimum of ND 2.70. The figures reflect the social security
contribution of 0.9% on minimum payroll of ND 300 and maximum payroll of ND
9000. SCC has a computerized system in place. The workers will receive one
social security card (one card per person) via post after as a confirmation in
about 1 month.
Register employees with the Workmen’s Compensation Commission 20 days no charge
10
Agency : Workmen’s Compensation Commission (simultaneous with
The employer must file an application with the Workmen's Compensation procedure 9)
Commission for all employees earning less than ND 72,000 a year, with special
circumstances for those employees earning above that amount. The annual
amount payable is based on a wage rate scale and on the company industry.
Registration types are divided into farming (agriculture) and confirming
companies.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 9Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all
required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with
Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of
quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of
data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city.
all necessary inspections
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
• Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its
completion topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion.
(calendar days)
The warehouse:
• Does not include time spent gathering
information - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
- Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
• Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
though procedures that can be fully completed
meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
online are an exception to this rule
929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
• Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
• No prior contact with officials
documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of as procedures.
income per capita) - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
regulatory requirements).
• Official costs only, no bribes
The water and sewerage connections:
Building quality control index (0-15)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
• Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
• Quality control before construction (0-1) no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
installed or built.
• Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
• Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day.
• Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
the sewerage connection.
Page 10Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Dealing with Construction Permits - Namibia
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse NAD 3,431,717
City Covered Windhoek
Indicator Namibia Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 12 14.7 12.7 None in 2017/18
Time (days) 160 145.7 153.1 None in 2017/18
Cost (% of warehouse value) 2.2 8.8 1.5 None in 2017/18
Building quality control index (0-15) 8.5 8.5 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Namibia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
82.51: Mauritius (Rank: 15)
76.58: Botswana (Rank: 31)
69.79: Namibia (Rank: 83)
68.25: South Africa (Rank: 96)
61.17: Malawi (Rank: 136)
58.59: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with
construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
160 1.6
140 1.4
Cost (% of warehouse value)
120 1.2
Time (days)
100 1
80 0.8
60 0.6
40 0.4
20 0.2
0 0
1 2 *3 *4 *5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 11Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Namibia and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
15 14.0
12.0
10.5
Index score 9.5
10
8.5 8.5
5
0
Namibia Botswana Malawi Mauritius South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Verify with the Town Planning Department if the land is in the appropriate 1 day no charge
zoning area
Agency : Town Planning Department of the City of Windhoek
A computerized system stores the use of every piece of land and is accessible by
all agencies. The check can be conducted either on the telephone or in person.
2 Request and obtain results of geo-technical study 25 days NAD 50,000
Agency : Private companies
While a soil test is not specifically provided for in the Building regulations, in
practice professionals will request a soil test before designing the foundation
plans.
3 Request and obtain a topographic survey of the land plot 7 days NAD 10,000
Agency : Private land surveying companies
A topographic map is not a legal requirement to obtain a building permit.
However, in practice it is needed by the professionals to design the building
plans.
4 Obtain clearance from the Electrical Department 1 day no charge
Agency : Electrical Department of the City of Windhoek
5 Obtain clearance from the Department of Infrastructure, Water and 1 day no charge
Wastewater Management
Agency : Department of Infrastructure, Water and Wastewater Management of
the City of Windhoek
6 Request a building permit from the Building Control Division of the City of 60 days NAD 11,000
Windhoek
Agency : Building Control Division of the City of Windhoek
The application should be accompanied by the architectural plans. BuildCo
submits all the information to the Building Control Division. This division then
forwards the information to the relevant agencies -- to the departments of fire and
safety, architecture, road planning (storm water and transportation policy), town
planning (to comply with the maximum land coverage requirements), health
(ventilation, windows, and air), roads construction, and water and sewerage.
Each agency stamps the architectural plans to indicate that they are cleared.
In practice, the applicant goes to the Building Control Division only. Additional
documents may be requested. If done in person, approvals could be received
within 4 days.
The applicant receives a building permit and one stamped copy of the
architectural plans.
For complex projects it is common to hold informal consultations with the
approving authorities to make sure that the architectural plans are in order prior
to the formal submission of the building permit application.
According to the fee schedule, for a 1,300.6 sq. m. building BuildCo would qualify
into category "Buildings exceeding 1,000 sq. m. but not exceeding 2000 sq. m.
and comprising less than three floors". The base tariff is NAD 11,000.00.
7 Request and receive inspection to pass foundations 2 days NAD 200
Agency : Building Control Division of the City of Windhoek
There are phased inspections in Windhoek. Upon obtaining the building permit
BuildCo will receive a schedule of inspections. Notification is done on special
forms; however it can be done via fax. The inspector conducts the inspection on
the same day or the following day. Upon concluding the inspection, the inspector
signs the notice. BuildCo keeps it as proof that the inspection took place.
Page 12Doing Business 2019 Namibia
8 Request and receive inspection to pass damp-proof course (DPC) 2 days NAD 200
Agency : Building Control Division of the City of Windhoek
There are phased inspections in Windhoek. Upon obtaining the building permit
BuildCo will receive a schedule of inspections. Notification is done on special
forms; however it can be done via fax. The inspector conducts the inspection on
the same day or the following day. Upon concluding the inspection, the inspector
signs the notice. BuildCo keeps it as proof that the inspection took place.
9 Request and receive open sewer inspection 2 days NAD 200
Agency : Building Control Division of the City of Windhoek
There are phased inspections in Windhoek. Upon obtaining the building permit
BuildCo will receive a schedule of inspections. Notification is done on special
forms; however it can be done via fax. The inspector conducts the inspection on
the same day or the following day. Upon concluding the inspection, the inspector
signs the notice. BuildCo keeps it as proof that the inspection took place. After
this inspection, there can be an inspection on drains when they are ready for the
final inspection.
10 Request and receive water connection 60 days NAD 2,970
Agency : Department of Infrastructure, Water and Wastewater Management of
the City of Windhoek
The request for water connection is made at the Department of Infrastructure,
Water & Waste Water Management. Usually there is no inspection required,
unless the location of the building is in an area where is no service readily
available.
11 Receive final inspection by the Building Control Division 1 day NAD 200
Agency : Building Control Division of the City of Windhoek
When BuildCo is ready to receive the final inspection, it submits a notice of
completion of the building. Upon concluding the inspection, the inspector signs
the notice. BuildCo keeps it as proof that the inspection took place.
12 Obtain completion certificate 7 days no charge
Agency : City of Windhoek
The completion certificate is issued within one week after the final inspection.
BuildCo collects it from the City of Windhoek.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 13Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Namibia – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 8.5
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online. 1.0
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 1.0
regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees
to be paid;
Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0
compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) engineer.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections at 1.0
(0-2) various phases.
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0
inspections are
always done in
practice;
Mandatory
inspections are
done most of the
time during
construction;
Inspections are
not mandated by
law but
commonly occur
in practice during
construction.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0
with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is
done by
government
agency; Final
inspection is not
required by law.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0
always occurs in
practice.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.5
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building Construction 0.5
once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) company.
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 0.0
structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law
or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain
insurance .
Professional certifications index (0-4) 0.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the University degree 0.0
architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) in architecture or
engineering.
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction There are no 0.0
on the ground? (0-2) specific
requirements.
Page 14Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly
constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of
tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology
for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse:
all necessary clearances and permits
- Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
• Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
receiving all necessary inspections
also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an
purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and
obtaining final supply - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters
(14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters
Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet).
(calendar days)
The electricity connection:
• Is at least 1 calendar day
- Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed
• Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1
• Does not include time spent gathering kilowatt (kW).
information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage
distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve
follow-up and no prior contact with officials
the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property
income per capita) because the warehouse has access to a road.
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has
• Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or
• Value added tax excluded switchboard and the meter base.
The reliability of supply and transparency of The monthly consumption:
tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy
consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance supplier.
(0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of
electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used.
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial
warehouse in case study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing
business score nor the ranking on the ease of
getting electricity.
Page 15Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Getting Electricity - Namibia
Standardized Connection
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 13.5
Name of utility City of Windhoek
City Covered Windhoek
Indicator Namibia Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 6 5.2 4.5 3 (25 Economies)
Time (days) 37 112.0 77.2 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 304.4 3456.5 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 6 1.6 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies)
index (0-8)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Namibia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
86.24: Mauritius (Rank: 34)
78.25: Namibia (Rank: 71)
68.79: South Africa (Rank: 109)
59.43: Botswana (Rank: 133)
49.00: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
44.40: Malawi (Rank: 169)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are
the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
Page 16Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Figure – Getting Electricity in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
350
35
300
Cost (% of income per capita)
30
250
25
Time (days)
200
20
150
15
10 100
5 50
0 0
1 2 3 4 *5 6
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Namibia and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8
7
6 6
6
Index score
5
4
4
3
2 1.6
1
0 0
0
Namibia Botswana Malawi Mauritius South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
Page 17Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Details – Getting Electricity in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Hire licensed electrical contractor registered with utility 1 calendar day NAD 0
Agency : Electrical Contractor
For all service connections, including connections up to 3 x 60 amp need a
licensed electrical contractor registered with the utility to apply for a new
electricity connection on behalf of the customers.
2 Submit application to City of Windhoek and await estimate 6 calendar days NAD 0
Agency : City of Windhoek
Application cannot be submitted online. It has to be submitted to the office the
Strategic Executive – Electricity. The application form is free of charge, and has
be to submitted along with a on-scale site plan, clearly indicating the position of
the main board, as well as the schematic lay out of the main circuitry. Up to date
cadastral plans and aerial view photos are available with the utility, and from
these pretty good estimates for lengths of cables can be done. In some cases
where uncertainties exist, a site visit may be arranged.
3 Receive estimate, register as customer and await external works 5 calendar days NAD 208,556.21
Agency : City of Windhoek
Costs include network contribution (revised annually and based on the total cost
to install a 200 KVA mini substation; cost of cables; trenching; breaker;
accessories; installation; administration fee; and contingencies.) The electrical
contractor must register the customer in a book with the Department of Electricity
with proof of payment and additional information such as ERF number, contractor
name and address
4 Receive external works from City of Windhoek 18 calendar days NAD 0
Agency : City of Windhoek
5 Purchase transformer and main board and have electrical contractor install 2 calendar days NAD 385
meter
Agency : Customer
Current Transformers (CT) for the meter have to be purchased by the customer,
and the meter installation is done by the electrical contractor.
6 Request and receive inspection and certification of installation and turn-on 7 calendar days NAD 0
of electricity
Agency : City of Windhoek
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 18Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Details – Getting Electricity in Namibia – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 6
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 3
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 0.7
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 0.2
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 5.0
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of No
supply?
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages No
exceed a certain cap?
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online http://www.windhoek
cc.org.na/info_tariffs.
php
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff
index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 19Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to
purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land
administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency
of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for
the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller):
checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
- Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities.
Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller):
(calendar days)
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller.
information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - 10 years.
though procedures that can be fully completed - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
- Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
• Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
document is received
located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
• No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety.
property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees, - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
duties and taxes). any kind.
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
payments are excluded activities, are required.
- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
Quality of land administration index (0-30)
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 20Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Registering Property - Namibia
Indicator Namibia Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory
Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 8 6.2 4.7 1 (4 Economies)
Time (days) 44 53.9 20.1 1 (New Zealand)
Cost (% of property value) 13.8 7.6 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 9.5 8.8 23.0 None in 2017/18
Figure – Registering Property in Namibia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Registering Property Score
0 100
78.74: Mauritius (Rank: 35)
65.43: Botswana (Rank: 80)
65.12: Malawi (Rank: 83)
59.32: South Africa (Rank: 106)
52.62: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)
40.19: Namibia (Rank: 174)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Registering Property in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
14
40
12
Cost (% of property value)
35
10
30
Time (days)
25 8
20
6
15
4
10
2
5
0 0
1 *2 *3 4 5 6 7 8
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 21Doing Business 2019 Namibia
Figure – Registering Property in Namibia and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
30
25
Index score
20 18.0
15.0
15
9.5 10.0 10.5
10 8.8
5
0
Namibia Botswana Malawi Mauritius South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
Details – Registering Property in Namibia – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain building compliance certificate 21 days NAD 500
Agency : Municipality, Ministry of Land
Pursuant to the the Building Regulations amendments by the City of Windhoek
(published on 19 August 2011 in Government Gazette 4779), a building
compliance certificate must be obtained by the building owner prior to a property
transfer. Upon application for the certificate, the Municipality will dispatch an
expert to conduct an inspection of the building. The inspector will ensure that the
concerned property and the building and/or land upon which it is constructed
complies with the provisions of the Local Authorities Act, the establishment,
subdivision or consolidations conditions imposed in terms of the town planning
scheme and also the City’s Building Regulations. A rates and taxes clearance
certificate will not be issued prior to the issuance of a building clearance
certificate. The building inspector can either issue a building certificate upon
compliance or in the event of the inspector establishing that there is non-
compliance, the inspector must instruct the owner to rectify the non-compliance,
where after, upon proof of compliance, a building clearance certificate can be
issued.
2 Conveyancer collects required documentation and drafts the deed of 7 days NAD 19,726.87;
transfer (According to the fee
Agency : Conveyancer schedule published
The conveyancer collects all the necessary documentation: For Companies: (i)
on page number 17 in
Copies of Memorandum and Articles of Association, (ii) Certificate of
Government Gazette
Incorporation and any amendments to it, (iii) Certificate to commence business,
No. 3155 published
CM 29, and (iv) copy of authorized person’s ID, necessary resolutions for the
ability to transfer or take transfer. A deed of sale signed by both parties is a on 17 February,
statutory prerequisite for the sale of landed property. These documents include a 2004, the fee is
power of attorney to transfer, transfer duty application form, transfer duty determined as
declarations for both transferor and transferee, as well as statement of transfer follows:
cost with provisions for (i) stamp duties and (ii) transfer duties. Conveyance’s
fees are calculated according to an official fixed scale depending on the For property value
purchase value of the property. Fees are ad valorem on a diminishing curve over N$500 000 (the
(from 25% to 0.01%). Doing Business
case), the formula is:
N$6,000 for the first
N$500,000 plus
N$800 per
N$100,000 or part
thereof above that up
to and including
N$1,000,000
whereafter the fee is
N$400 per
N$100,000 or part
thereof up to and
including
N$5,000,000,
whereafter
the fee shall be
N$200 per N$100
000 or
part thereof.)
3 Conveyancer conducts a Deed Search at the Deeds Office in Windhoek 3 days NAD 100
Agency : Deeds Registry
A conveyancer conducts a search in the Deeds Office in Windhoek to obtain the
correct description of the owner of the land and the property description.
Page 22Doing Business 2019 Namibia
4 Provide up-to-date rate payment receipt as of the transaction date 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality
The conveyancer must inform the Municipality 7 days in advance that there will
be a transfer of a property. As a normal rule, payment for utilities is made in
advance for these 3 months. Calculation is made based on the previous payment
of the utilities and this amount is multiplied by 3. The conveyancer will pay on
behalf of the seller. This certificate is required to proceed with transfer and states
that rates and taxes to the applicable authority were paid in full. Proof of payment
in the form of a clearance certificate must be obtained from the applicable
authority where the property is located.
5 Parties sign the transfer deed at conveyancer’s office 1 day Included in Procedure
Agency : Conveyancer 2
Parties sign the transfer deed at the conveyancer's office
6 The conveyancer applies to the Receiver of Revenue for a transfer duty 7 days NAD 452,990.04;
receipt (Based on the
Agency : Receiver of Revenue Transfer Duty
Parties sign the documentation at conveyancer’s office. The purchasing company
Amendment Act no. 6
pays the transfer costs and the seller furnishes the conveyancer with the original
of 2013 and Stamp
title deed of the property. Once the draft deed is prepared, it is signed by the
Duty Amendment Act
selling and purchasing parties (either owner or authorized representatives). The
amount for transfer duties and stamp duties is paid to the conveyancer. If the no. 7 of 2013
property to be transferred includes commercial buildings, VAT (15%) is charged (Government Gazette
on the purchase price. of the Republic of
Namibia No 5208 and
Transfer duty is a government tax which is payable on the value of the No 5209 respectively)
immovable property acquired. As of June 2010, the transfer duty when following duties
companies are involved was increased to 12%. Who is responsible to pay for the apply:
Transfer duty and the stamp duty must be clearly stated in the deed of sale. If not
clearly said, then the seller must pay for the transfer duty. Stamp Duty is payable
Transfer Duty: "12
to the Receiver of Revenue on a deed of transfer. The Conveyancer will deliver
per cent of the said
all documents to the Receiver of Revenue for processing. This office will check
value or the said
that the calculation of the Transfer duty and stamp duty are accurate and will
amount, as the case
issue a receipt for the Transfer duty and another one for the Stamp duty. The
conveyancer will collect both receipts to proceed to registration. may be, if the person
by whom the property
is acquired or in
whose favour or for
whose benefit the
said interest or
restriction is
renounced is a
person other than a
natural person.”
Stamp Duty: "For a
person (including a
trust) other than a
natural person - On
the value or
consideration for
every N$1 000 or part
thereof: N$12")
7 The conveyancer lodges the transfer deed at the Deeds Office 7 days NAD 300
Agency : Deeds Registry
The conveyancer lodges the transfer deed with the Deed office. There, the
documents will be examined, endorsed and the Registrar’s seal applied to the
documents. Information will be entered in the land registry. Usually it takes about
7 working days for all the checking to be completed. Once all checks are done,
the conveyancer will be informed and will sign the deed of transfer in the
presence of the Registrar of Deeds.
8 The deed of transfer is signed in the presence of the Registrar of Deeds 7 days no charge
and ownership of the property is transferred
Agency : Deeds Registry
Once the Deeds Registry has completed reviewing the transfer deed, the
conveyancer will be notified to appear and sign the final deed to be registered on
behalf of the parties.
After the deed is signed, the Deeds Registry scans the document and proceeds
to store the instrument in their records. Once the deed has been included in the
records, the conveyancer can either pick up or receive by mail the registered
deed proving that the transaction has been finally registered.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
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