1 Dec 2022
November was a very hot month with little rainfall as relief, except in the southern parts.
The Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings has started flights from Frankfurt via Windhoek to the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Namibia has secured huge loans and grants during the international climate summit (Conference of Parties 27 – COP 27) in Egypt to develop its green hydrogen industry. At the same time Namibia launched a new financing platform and signed a new economic agreement with the EU. (See article)
With Namibia entering the oil and gas industry soon after recent announcements about economically viable offshore discoveries, the country has officially become a member of the African Petroleum Producers‘ Association (APPO) this month.
The government has announced that it intends to introduce toll fees on several major roads in the country over the medium term.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has ranked Namibia among the top ten most industrialised African countries.
The Bank of Namibia has established a financial industry cyber security council in November against cyber crime and money laundering.
The Bank of Namibia has increased its repo rate by 50 basis points to 6.75 percent on 30 November. The announcement came two weeks earlier than usual due to the start of the holiday season.
Namibia’s inflation rate remained at 7.1 percent at the end of October, the same as in September according to the Namibia Statistics Agency.
Financial sector sets up cyber security council
Namibia’s central bank has inaugurated a cyber security council for the financial sector of the country. The council will develop tactical strategies to combat cyber fraud within the finance industry. The central bank's deputy governor, Leonie Dunn said the formation of the council has been made necessary, as the risk of information leaks, security breaches, hacks, and other cyber-security threats has increased due to more internet connectivity. While this is a sector-based intervention, it will also embrace developments at a national level geared towards building resilience and capabilities in cyber security.
The government is currently drafting a national cyber security response plan under the ministry of information and communication technology. Furthermore, a draft cybercrime bill and the draft data protection bill are also in the pipeline. Once the legislative framework is complete, the sector-based intervention of the financial sector will be aligned to the national one.
Namibia among top 10 industrialised African nations
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released its latest index on industrial progress by 52 African states and Namibia is among the top ten. However, the country dropped two places, after it had remained on rank eight for ten years from 2010 onwards.
In 2010, Namibia's industrial development score stood at 0,6106 and dropped to 0,6014 in 2021. The rankings are based on the Africa Industrialisation Index, which rates progress across 19 key indicators covering manufacturing performance, business environment, capital, labour, infrastructure, and macroeconomic stability. In addition, industrialization is rated across three criteria: performance, and direct and indirect determinants. The direct determinants include capital and labour and how these are deployed to drive industrial development. The indirect determinants are enabling environmental conditions such as macroeconomic stability, sound institutions and infrastructure among others.
Namibia launches a strategy for continental trade
The Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) has launched Namibia’s national African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation strategy and action plan for 2022 until 2027. The strategy is eighty pages long and is a comprehensive document with up to date facts and statistics about Namibia's economy and trade, its challenges and how to manage them to trade across Africa. Local and international investors find interesting information in the strategy.
The document will serve as a guideline for both government and the private sector until 2027. It also takes into account small businesses (SMEs), especially those run by women and young Namibians, in order to prepare them for export trade under the umbrella of the AfCFTA.
Namibia signed the AfCFTA agreement on 02 July 2018 and deposited the instruments of ratification on 01 February 2019. Trading under the AfCFTA kicked off in January 2021.
More than 50% of households in urban areas
In Namibia, more people are now living in towns than in rural areas. According to the latest census mapping survey published by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) in November 52,5 percent or 529,734 housing structures were situated in urban areas while 435,474 were mapped in rural areas.
A total amount of 507,249 households in Namibia was mapped. “Most households were found in urban areas (52,5%), while rural areas recorded 47,5%,” the report stated.
Some 42,6 percent of households countrywide have no toilet facilities and use the bush, riverbeds and fields, and this is common in rural areas (64,6 %) compared to urban areas (22,6 %)”, the report said.
Khomas in central Namibia is the most populated region with 90,834 households, followed by 55,438 households in the Omusati Region in the central north. Kavango West (3,1%) and Kunene (3,2%) have the lowest amount of households.
Entrance fees for Dune 7 visit near Walvis Bay
Locals and foreign tourists who want to climb the famous Dune 7 at the coast near Walvis Bay have to pay for it from 01 December 2022, the ministry of environment and tourism has announced. Namibians under the age of 16 will enter free of charge, and regional visitors from SADC countries between the ages of 8 and 16 years must pay N$50. International visitors in the same age category will pay N$100.
Namibian adults will be charged N$50, SADC adults N$100, and international visiting adults N$150.
The environment and tourism ministry announced that the management of this recreational area has been difficult for them due to vandalism and littering being the main problems.
The ministry’s spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said the ablution facilities and other infrastructure at the recreational area were vandalised to such an extent that they are non-functional, and became costly for the ministry in terms of repairs.
Eurowings offers Windhoek-Kruger National Park flights
The Eurowings subsidiary of Germany’s national Lufthansa Group, has started three flights per week from Frankfurt via Windhoek to Mbombela near the Kruger National Park in South Africa. From Mbombela it is a mere 50-minute drive to Kruger Parks' Numbi Gate.
The flights depart Frankfurt every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evening, with a short stop in Windhoek, arriving in Mbombela KNP the following afternoon. The return flights from Mbombela KNP will depart every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoon with a short stop in Windhoek, arriving in Frankfurt the following morning.
Brigitte Weidlich
Sorry, we can’t seem to find any matches for your search. Have a look at our popular searches below.
