Observer Money

Stefanus Nashama Chairperson of the Board of Namibia Breweries, Sven Thieme who resigned last Friday after the company was sold to Heineken N.V. said in an interview with the Windhoek Observer that it is normal to pocket over N$ 1 billion. He, last week Friday received over N$1 billion after Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) paid out a massive amount of money to its shareholders. Thieme said the whole Board resigned because of the change of ownership of the company. Thieme indicated that there will be no further job losses because the company is running well and efficiently. “No one will…

Chamwe Kaira The Botswana-headquartered supermarket chain, Choppies Group is planning to have up to 50 stores in Namibia in the next five years, the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ramachandran Ottapathu revealed. “Our long-term objective for the next five years is to have 45 to 50 stores in Namibia. We are looking at smaller format stores and believe this will enable us to penetrate smaller areas with better financial results due to lower expense base,” Ottapathu told Observer Money. Choppies currently own 12 stores in Namibia. The company employs 650 workers in Namibia. Choppies in Namibia mostly operates in the Northern…

This week, Observer Money asked Florette Nakusera, Head of the Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority about the operations of the Authority. Nakusera says the SME Bank failure provides valuable lessons as far as the need to ensure that an effective deposit insurance is in place. Observer Money (OM): The Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority’s 2022 Annual Report said deposit schemes have been implemented in many countries to protect bank depositors either fully or in part from losses caused by a bank’s failure. In view of this, how protected are Namibian bank depositors in case of a bank failure? Florette Nakusera (FN): The…

Chamwe Kaira Letshego Holdings Namibia Ltd and Letshego Bank Namibia Ltd, CEO, Ester Kali, says it is truly a humbling experience to be recognised for a prestigious award by the United Nations and hopes this recognition award has inspired others more than it has inspired herself. Kali was recently awarded ‘A woman of Distinction’ Award by the United Nations Global Women Foundation. “The responses and feedback from my friends and colleagues have been overwhelming to say the least, but what I have realised through receiving this award, is that one does not necessarily realise the impact one makes in the…

Martin Endjala Namibia is stepping up its readiness to ensure that the country develops strong alternative energy projects which will enable a smooth-sailing green economy that will be a global driver for green energy. This comes after the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia under the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism as the National Designated Authority (NDA) successfully secured funds from the Green Climate Change (GCF) to the value of USD300 000 for a Readiness Funding project titled Green, Resilient Recovery Rapid Readiness Support in Namibia. This was confirmed yesterday by EIF Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager, Lot Ndamanomhata, who…

Chamwe Kaira The Covid -19 pandemic had a negative effect on the Namibian economy but the Slowtown Coffee, as the homegrown Namibian company emerged stronger from the crisis. “We have been very fortunate to have always been supported by our locals. The Lord has blessed us with His favor. Therefore, even during the pandemic, we had great support and once all restrictions were lifted, we could see the joy of people just being able to get back to their favorite neighborhood coffee shops. Now that the tourism sector is going at full blast, we are also very fortunate to be…

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…