Observer

Niël Terblanché The poor production of gold because of a limited mineral resource has caused the B2Gold to commence with a phased mine closure at its Otjikoto Mine near Otavi which will, unfortunately, affect a majority of mining and office staff. In a memo distributed by the top management of the company, the mine has been experiencing some uncertainty about the future of the Otjikoto Mine for several months already. “Despite our best efforts, B2Gold Namibia must commence with a phased mine closure process which will affect the mine site and Windhoek office staff,” Eric Barnard, the General Manager of…

President Hage Geingob has in recent months raised the issue of cutting the size of the bloated civil service. Statistics from the Public Service Commission show that Namibia has 71 000 civil servants but the number increases to 107 000, with the inclusion of members of the Namibian police and other security wings. The civil service has increased by 10 000, ten years ago to the current 71 000. An Economist at Simonis Storm Securities, Theo Klein believes the issue is a sensitive one politically, given that a lot of public servants are also SWAPO voters, according to local political…

With the Covid-19 pandemic all but over, the port of Walvis Bay can be expected to receive more visits by passenger vessels this year. The port’s container terminal offers a dedicated cruise-vessel berth, facilitating an expansion of the cruise tourism market. The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) estimates that approximately 21 cruise liners visit Namibia each year. Namport expects to receive six passenger vessels between now and May before the cruise season ends in November. This week, the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner docked at Walvis Bay, bringing with it 2000 guests. The vessel is on its way to the Canary…

The International Monetary Fund wants to close the subsidy gap to low income countries by providing pledges of US$1.6 billion and a second one worth $4.7 billion to close the loan resource gap. “Remember, each US$1 of subsidy mobilizes US$5 of zero interest loans, and that is what countries rely on for us to be able to support them,” Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva said. She said this during the opening of a high-level roundtable discussion on low-income countries’ challenges and concessional financing in Washington this week. “We have to work together to close this gap and I have no doubt…

The market value of the Deposit Guarantee Fund stood at N$16.2 million in 2022, representing a significant increase from N$10.3 million the year before, Head of the Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority, Florette Nakusera revealed this week. The high returns for 2022 are attributed primarily to N$5.2 million received in premiums, as well as interest earnings of N$790 963 during 2022. The Authority was established in terms of the Deposit Guarantee Act, with the main objective of providing depositors, particularly small depositors, with the required safety net and protection. The Authority is mandated to manage a deposit guarantee scheme that provides…

Pyronam Biochar, a Namibian subsidiary of a German company that is producing biochar is working to expand its facilities in Namibia. This investment was confirmed by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board. Biochar is a charcoal-like material that is produced from plant materials such as grass, agricultural and forest residues that are decomposed at high temperatures, often during renewable energy production. The company is expecting to employ 5600 permanent workers and 5600 seasonal workers at full production. The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development also disclosed that the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) is being consulted to bring…

Martin Endjala A new window of opportunity has opened for more entities seeking accreditation and access to climate change projects, as four entities have been nominated by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) project. This comes after the National Designated Authority (NDA) for climate finance, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism strengthened national capacity to coordinate the implementation of the Green Climate Fund funding in the country. The nominated entities are Bank Windhoek, Development Bank of Namibia, Agricultural Bank and Namibia Nature Foundation. With the accreditation of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) to the Green Climate Fund in…