President Geingob Declares 2023 a “Year of Revival”

President Hage H. Geingob delivered his New Year’s Message to the Namibian nation on 31 December 2022 in Windhoek.

In his New Year message, President Geingob stated that as the nation says goodbye to the year 2022, the Year of Reimaging, and welcomes the year 2023, the Year of Revival, which is about reigniting the strength of a resurgent nation, a nation that looks into the future with renewed hope and optimism. President Geingob urged Namibians to pull together in order to achieve inclusive and shared prosperity.

“Theming the year 2023 as the Year of Revival, the Head of State challenged Namibians to endeavour to think anew as a nation and move forward with renewed enthusiasm and vision.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

The Head of State informed the nation that the New Year comes with new thoughts, new ideas and new goals. It is also a time to reflect and look back on the year that was.

President Geingob stated that Namibia as a country for the past two years has battled with COVID-19 and prevailed with the assistance of international partners and was able to lift all COVID-19 restrictions in August 2022, which brought to an end to the most devastating challenges Namibia has faced since its Independence and thanked all Namibians for their heroic efforts and partner countries for their display of international solidarity.

“A sense of melancholy still lingers as we remind ourselves of the many Namibians who succumbed to the deadly COVID-19, although as a nation we rejoice for overcoming what seemed like an absolute catastrophe.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

The Head of State stated that he is proud to say that throughout the Year of Reimaging, Namibians across the country have demonstrated the maturity, patience and understanding required to maintain peace.

“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved through understanding. Understanding leads to diplomacy and dialogue; for where diplomacy fails and people stop talking to each other, conflict begins.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

“As the Namibian nation celebrates the conclusion of the year 2022 and looks forward to the year 2023, let us be cognisant of the fact that we live in a peaceful country and not take peace for granted. Let us, therefore, maintain it by behaving responsibly and celebrating the dawn of the New Year in a spirit of love, compassion and understanding, keeping in mind that one person’s freedom ends where another person’s freedom begins.

As a nation, we should therefore go into the year 2023 knowing that in this land endowed with endless mineral resources, unity is one of our most precious treasures and it is Namibians’ collective responsibility to protect our resources.”

-President

Hage G. Geingob

President Geingob stated that Namibia has experienced a period characterised by protracted economic headwinds and persistent droughts, but there are positive signs that the Namibian economy is on the rebound and that 2023 promises to bring with it better fortunes.

“With a projected 5.6% growth in the second quarter of the year 2023, our economy is expected to perform better this year than in the past two years. Agriculture, mining and ICT are the main drivers of this growth, and given the fact that our Tourism Sector is experiencing a postCOVID-19 rebound, there is room for more optimism in the future.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

“It is for these reasons that, as we conclude 2022, we have cause to look forward with optimism and a renewed sense of an improving economic situation at the dawn of 2023 and beyond. In this regard, Namibia is now economically healthier and with brighter prospects than in the recent past.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

The Head of State stated that Namibia is playing a major role and holds the potential answer through Green Hydrogen in its efforts to find solutions to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate global warming.

“Therefore, the Namibian Government, together with national and international role-players has taken the lead to unlock the massive potential of Green Hydrogen. The establishment of the Green Hydrogen Council has worked tirelessly in the past three years and, as a result, positioned Namibia as one of the leading major players in the global market for Green Hydrogen.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

President Geingob noted that the discovery of potential oil reserves in the form of the Graff and Venus reservoirs, offshore Namibia in the Orange Basin, by Qatar Energy Shell and Total Energies, is set to positively transform the Namibian economic landscape and the well-being of Namibians.

“These discoveries are ranked among the top 20 globally in the last decade. Namibia stands to receive N$500 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in this regards, according to International experts (Wood Mackenzie).”

-President Hage G. Geingob

President Geingob further stated that with an estimated production of 6.5 billion barrels of oil, discoveries could earn Namibia between N$ 60 and N$ 95 billion annually in taxes and royalties. The two oil projects are estimated to generate over 3600 jobs at peak production and double Namibia’s GDP by 2040 to about N$636 billion.

President Geingob informed Namibians that the nation has a good reason to cease looking backwards and rather look ahead and pull forward in the direction of inclusive prosperity.

“Welcome to 2023, the Year of Revival, which is about reigniting the strength of a resurgent nation, a nation that looks into the future with renewed hope and optimism.”

-President Hage G. Geingob