Observer Money

Daures Green Hydrogen Village in the Erongo Region expects to kick off its operations in October. The project will include the planting of carbon-free tomatoes. Daures expect to produce ammonia and hydrogen during the first quarter of 2024. Funding for the project worth, N$220 million, has come through a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), for a period of 18 months, through Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL). In 2023, Daures Green Hydrogen signed its first offtake agreement with Zimbabwean ammonium nitrate fertilizer manufacturer, Sable Chemicals. The non-binding…

Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has launched its inaugural Sustainable Finance Framework (SFF). The Framework is aligned with the four core components of the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles 2021, Social Bond Principles 2021, Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021 as well as the Loan Market Association’s (LMA) Green Loan Principles 2023 and Social Loan Principles 2023. The Framework has seven green categories which aim to achieve the environmental objectives of climate change mitigation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems and four social categories which aim to achieve the…

The proposed Rosh Pinah Solar Park (RPSP) will generate 5,4 MW for the operational energy requirements of Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation (RPZC). RPZC is in the process of expanding its operations and will require additional supplies of electricity. The establishment of Rosh Pinah Solar Park is expected to reduce the cost of energy to run the mine, diversify its sources of energy and improve its sustainability. RPSP is owned and will be managed by two Namibian entities, Otesa Energy Projects, the majority shareholder, and Emesco Energy (Namibia). Otesa Energy Projects will construct the plant and Emesco developed the plant. Director…

One of Namibia’s green energy prospects, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy has signed non-binding Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two major industrial companies with the aim of Hyphen providing them with up to 750 000 tonnes of green ammonia annually. The agreements with a major chemical company and Approtium, a South Korean hydrogen producer, are targeting offtake of up to 500,000 tonnes and 250 000 tonnes a year respectively. The agreements follow Hyphen’s recently signed MoU with RWE Supply and Trading (RWEST), the German multinational utility company for supply of up to 300 000 tonnes annually of green ammonia from 2027. Hyphen…

Nampower says since the commencement of the Green Hydrogen Project, the focus and impact of the combined magnitude of between 5 000 to 7 000 MW of renewable power to be generated for the project, as well as what may be available for off-take, have become critical considerations for its business. The company says collaboration with the government and ensuring representation for NamPower’s future sustainability is therefore essential. As part of its Integrated Strategy and Business Plan (ISBP) 2020-2025, NamPower intends to move towards a cleaner fuel mix for electricity generation by increasing generation from renewable energy sources by 100…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Sustainable Development Advisory Council during the 2021/ 2023 financial year has faced numerous operational challenges amongst them finances and a lack of limited awareness of the council. The council which was inaugurated in 2015 by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, is a body of eight members appointed by the minister to advise him and to promote cooperation and coordination on environmental issues relating to sustainable development amongst organs of state. According to the council’s annual report, while specific challenges were also faced during the reporting period, the situational analysis carried out as part of…

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…