Observer Money

CHAMWE KAIRA The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has given Namwater an environmental clearance certificate to upgrade the Rundu Purification Plant, Namwater has announced. The project aims to upgrade the existing water supply schemes at Rundu and Nkarapamwe (inclusive of construction of a new water treatment plant at Rundu, upgrading of water supply abstraction, reservoirs and conveyance systems and the decommissioning of the old water treatment plant and associated redundant infrastructure at Rundu. Projects documents obtained by Observer Money showed that both NamWater schemes have difficulties in coping with the water demand at Rundu Town. The reservoirs’ levels are…

Namibia’s diamond production decreased by 4% to 600 000 carats in the fourth quarter of 2023, due to marginally lower grades at the land operations, the De Beers Group announced. Overall, De Beers rough diamond production decreased by 3% to 7.9 million carats, primarily due to the planned reduction in South Africa as Venetia transitions to underground operations, partly offset by higher production from Botswana. In Botswana, production increased by 6% to 6.1 million carats, principally driven by increased plant throughput at Orapa due to planned lower maintenance. In South Africa, production decreased by 54% to 0.4 million carats, due…

FNB Namibia announced this week the dual listing of the FirstRand Bank Limited Exchange Traded Note (ETN) programme on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). The ten listed instruments will provide ordinary Namibians the ability to invest in quality international companies like Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft with for as little as N$10. FNB said International diversification is important to any investment portfolio and the FNB ETN’s provide an easy and cost-effective manner to start diversifying your investment portfolio. “The ETN note programme makes use of the concept of micro investing thus promoting financial inclusion. Because the programme is listed on…

CHAMWE KAIRA Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd (Namdia), the diamond marketing and sales company, has, through its Namdia Foundation, granted life-changing opportunities to 14 young Namibians from all 14 regions in the country. The recipients of the 2024 academic intake of the Namdia Foundation Bursary Scheme have described the bursaries as transformative. Tommy Shaningwa, from the Ohangwena Region, has been awarded a bursary to pursue a degree in electronic and computer studies at the University of Namibia. He expressed gratitude, stating, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I feel deeply honored and privileged to receive such a sophisticated bursary. Namdia is…

Nichlas Mbingeneeko The previous article focused on preparing small stock for mating and selecting an appropriate lambing or kidding season. This article focuses on preparing the ewes for lambing or kidding. In preparing the ewes for lambing or kidding, the farmer needs to vaccinate the ewes against gangrene of the uterus (baarmoeder sponssiekte) two to three months prior to lambing or kidding. Also, inoculate against scabby mouth (vuilbek) one month prior to lambing or kidding so as to prevent udder infection. Literally, ¾ of the growth of the fetus takes place during the last three weeks of pregnancy. The pregnant…

Martin Endjala The beginning of 2024 has witnessed a significant uptick in vehicle sales, achieving the highest January figures since 2016. A total of 1,369 vehicles were sold, with 950 of these being new units. This marks a notable increase of 13.0 percent from December's 841 units and a 17.7 percent increase from January of the previous year, where 807 units were sold. A report from Simonis Storm Securities highlights this consistent growth, projecting an optimistic outlook for vehicle sales in 2024. The data reveals that rental agencies contributed to this surge by purchasing 41 vehicles, including a mix of…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Bank Windhoek Board of Directors, Chairperson Johan Swanepoel, has yesterday announced the appointment of Justina Alders-Sheya as a member of the Board effective Monday, 12 February 2024. Swanepoel said Alders-Sheya is a highly accomplished Namibian professional with an impressive background in the financial sector. “She has over 20 years of international experience in the financial services sector, particularly in Banking, Corporate Finance and Asset Management,” Swanepoel said. Adding that Alders-Sheya has held key positions at renowned institutions such as Triodos Bank Group in the Netherlands, EY and ING Group in Amsterdam. Apart from her working experience, Alders-Sheya holds…

Martin Endjala According to a Simonis Storms Securities economic report, Namibia’s annual inflation rate for January 2024 stood at 5.4 percent, down from 7.0 percent recorded in January 2023 but slightly up from 5.3 percent recorded in December 2023. This is the second-highest inflation rate recorded at the beginning of the year since January 2017. The report states that furthermore, the monthly inflation for January 2024 rose to 1.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent deflation reported in December 2023. This increase represents the highest month-on-month figure since April 2022. In January 2024, Zone 1 (Northern regions) saw an annual…

Nichlas Mbingeneeko First and foremost, on behalf of the Mbingeneeko & Seonduru family and indeed on my own behalf, I herewith extend my deepest condolences to Madame Monica Geingos, the Geingob family and the entire bereaved Namibian nation on the passing of our President, H.E. Dr Hage G Geingob. May his soul rest in power and his legacy fortify the Namibian House. This article focuses on preparing small stock for mating and selecting an appropriate lambing or kidding season. Every facet of farming requires strategic planning, starting with the end in mind. Mating relates to the act of animals coming…

The US is implementing sanction regulations that may significantly harm the US diamond trade, Rapaport.com reported this week. The Rapaport said US Diamond Protocol has three continuous points including that importers and exporters of diamonds into the US must sign a declaration that the diamonds being imported are not sourced from Russian or other US-sanctioned entities. The second point is that US government agencies that require Source Verification should select and use blockchains of their choice to identify and trace the source of US diamond imports. The third point is that once diamonds are in the US, no restrictions or…