The Government of the Republic of Namibia has to make a strategic decision about permitting large-scale multi-billion dollar operations for the extraction of oil and gas in the Kavango Region.

The Government of the Republic of Namibia has to make a strategic decision about permitting large-scale multi-billion dollar operations for the extraction of oil and gas in the Kavango Region. The operations will include the building of a 1000 km railway, upgrading of infrastructure, and the relocation of local communities in the region. As a member of the advisory team to the Government of the Republic of Namibia, it falls upon you to contribute to the drafting of a “positions-in-principle” paper that would support the mine contract negotiations with identified multinational corporations in the business of oil & gas extraction. Assume that the Government of the Republic of Namibia is keen to go ahead with the proposed operations, including the construction of the railroad and the upgrading of the infrastructure in the local community. The Government of the Republic of Namibia will need any risks to be addressed in the mining agreement with the multinational corporations successfully pitching to obtain the mining contract. You know that the negotiations will likely have to address the following issues (hereafter “focus areas”), among others:

i. Prevention of corruption.

ii. Environmental concerns;