DECEMBER, 2020
The Namibia
ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY News & Analysis
TAKING THE LEAD Is It Time?
IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE: Can Namibia be a Leader?
“Click A Button and Get Fuel Delivered to You” – Refuel
Namibia Seeks Independence in Testing for Bush Biomass
Aftermath – Will there be a Covid-19 Tax? Is there such a thing as a "Good Crisis"?
The NAMIBIA Country Briefing of RDJ Consulting
C O N T E N T S 4
5
From The Editor
Quick Facts
6
12
Economy at Large
Oil & Gas
18 Electricity
18 Environment & Sustainability
24 Telecommunications
26
28
"Women in Industry"
"Youth In Action"
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31
Tenders and Careers
Contributing Authors
DECEMBER, 2020
From the Editor TAKING THE LEAD Is It Time?
Dear Reader,
RDJ Consulting Services CC is an advisory consultancy to the Energy, Water and Transport Sectors with a focus on sustainable operations and renewable energy.
PO Box 23738 Windhoek, NAMIBIA Telephone +264 61 400 171
I believe you can agree that we had the most uncertain year in a “lifetime”! and it has definitely been a unique journey. As 2020 draws to a close, individuals and the country at large must take a moment to look back and weigh the success versus disappointments encountered during this “special” leap year, and also take the opportunity from the “wins” to look forward to hope for a prosperous new year. It can be generally accepted that the challenges faced are usually the ones that bring about innovative ideas which then lead to success and new pathways. One of the greatest challenges that the world faced this year was the impacts of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), which shook the world’s economy to the core, breaking down many societal norms and negatively affecting life as we knew it. In comparison to some countries, Namibia reacted quickly in implementing measures curbing the spread of Covid-19, despite the consequential impacts leading to slowing down the tourism and hospitality sector especially, which is currently being revived. Setting such a clear example amongst African countries, Namibia has other untouched potentials and dare say, new opportunities to bring the economy roaring back running, and in this way taking the lead for other countries to follow. These opportunities include looking at new sustainable approaches to tourism, construction, oil and gas, education and other sectors for development. Thus, we can clearly ask,
EMAIL briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za WEBSITE www.rdjconsulting.co.za
Is it Time for Namibia to take the lead? To find out more, please enjoy reading this Publication which was carefully prepared for you by our interns and do join our conversations on Twitter and Wordpress . And, if you are new to the RDJ Briefing, subscribe to this FREE Publication briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za and freely share the link with others that will benefit from its contents.
at
Enjoy, #StaySafe! Comments are welcome and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!….
(David A. Jarrett) Editor
Authors RDJ Interns*
This report is a FREE Publication and was prepared by RDJ Consulting Services CC based in Windhoek, Namibia. The content is collected from publicly available information and so its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
89%
Literacy Rate
-1.1%
GDP Growth (2019)
3.75% Repo Rate
66.6%
Employment
2.3M
7.50%
Interest rate (Prime)
2.2%
Population Size
Inflation (CPI)- July 2020
quick facts
8.8M
LTE
Telecom (sophistication)
Tourism, Mining, Fishing Industries
2.575
Million Mobile(cell phones) Subscribers
Water availability (cubic litres/capita)
484.000
Electricity Gen. in MW (Local)
629.000
Electricity Demand in MW (all)
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DECEMBER, 2020
ECONOMY AT LARGE Can Namibia be a L eader? AUTHOR: Mr. David Jarrett Managing Consultant @ RDJ Consulting
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t may seem a strange question but with a world that has been racked with turmoil, the question
is timely. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) ran a piece in 2018 that asked, “How can you measure what makes a country great?”. They examined and discussed a number of metrics such as Social Progress, Governance, Wealth (GDP per capita) and Unemployment from which it points that all of the metrics have a flaw. The definition of a leader is based on the principle of those who step into the fray and provide direction to those around them. Sadly, the definition focuses on individuals of whom history has well documented their actions and not entire sovereign states. Examine any country and there will be gaps or capability inadequacies that stymie these metrics and promote another. Namibia thus can assess its gaps having seen the world placed on “pause” by Covid-19 issues and measures, so that the any uptick in activity has to be maximized within the “New Normal” rules. Namibia however is well placed based on its people, governance, geographical, geological, and other natural features to reset its economy and developmental track. Using some of the metrics covered by the BBC, Namibia has done well pre-Covid and thus can rely on that resilience to do the same in the post-Covid era. Many
countries have dominated admiration manufacturing and space discoveries.
globally
for
their
scientific,
What can happen is for a new paradigm to take place where Namibia resets the way that countries operate, setting the trend for others to follow. This is possible through moves such as climate resilience measures led by smart agriculture, sustainable transportation, water, and energy security that is mainstreamed throughout the economy. These will then be supported by viable agencies that are profit centres inclusive of central, regional and local levels through good governance. Being aware that these are the high-level points, the conversation continues briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za
Readings: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180111-how-can-you-measure-what-makes-acountry-great
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
DID YOU KNOW? that Namibia is the first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution; some 14% of the land is protected, including virtually the entire Namib Desert coastal strip.
#DidYouKnow Source: www.un.int/namibia
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DECEMBER, 2020
Is there such a thing as a "Good Crisis"? As with all discussion today, #Covid_19 is the basis for the matter under discussion. It is clear by now that all the World's systems are thrown into turmoil and providing fertile ground for disruption to existing lifestyles and theories. One lifestyle that is under scrutiny is the need for large office complex's where rows and rows of individuals sit staring at computer screens all day. The ability to use "remote" workstations and allow these individuals to work mostly from home is now more credible. The impact of these individuals not having to commute is apparent in both time, monetary and environmental measures.
Not withstanding, there are millions of support jobs that depend on this "mobile" work force such as office cleaners, newspaper kiosks, snack counters and coffee shops to name a few. However, as with all transitions, it is sure that new ventures and ways of working could be the future. Imagine a future where your morning coffee is brought to you via delivery instead of you in a line at a coffee counter? The conversation continues: www.rdjconsulting.co.za
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
DECEMBER, 2020
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Aftermath – Will there be a Covid-19 Tax?
Photo1 by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com
To “battle” #Covid-19, the resources of national #budgets have had to be realigned to meet the sudden and unexpected demand for unplanned #resources. This means that budgets will have to run huge #deficits so much so that #donations and #volunteers have been requested. The USA is making trillions available in one form of response package or the other. Singapore has three budget statements in two months (Singapore Times) running into billions of Singaporean Dollars.
In past times, once governments had started to expend such huge sums of money, the next natural response is to raise fresh funds. This will be done by taxation as a first step as has been done through the centuries to raise funds and rebuild. We have Value added taxes, Income tax, Carbon tax, Mining tax and environmental taxes so why not a Covid19 Tax? It seems to be inevitable. The big question really is when and how will it be applied and implemented? The conversation continues: www.rdjconsulting.co.za
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
10 DECEMBER, 2020
Fishing the Future?
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he fishing industry globally is receiving a lot of attention as the world moves now into further recovery although “second wave” impacts are now
coming through. Most of this attention is occurring under the theme Blue Economies where the sustainability needs to be maintained. Despite the negative impact caused to the Namibian Fishing industry through the ‘Fishrot’ scandal, the industry is reported as maintaining its potential to the economy. In November 2020, the Namibia Hake trawl and longline fishery meeting of the Marine Stewardship Council Standard for sustainability, made history being the first in Namibia and the second in Africa to meet the standard for sustainable fishing globally. The certification is set by a non-profit environmental firm called Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and achieves the blue MSC label which in essence ensures that the product is Wild, traceable, sustainable: the blue fish label is only applied to wild fish or seafood from fisheries that have been certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard, a sciencebased set of requirements for sustainable fishing.
The MSC points out that for a fishery to obtain this standard, the “fishery has been independently assessed on its specific impacts to wild fish populations and the ecosystems they're part of”. The impact of this certification will allow the Namibian fishery to continue to export to southern Europe and also help it to expand to retail markets in Northern Europe. The fishing sector in Namibia is one of the major contributors to the economy and employees over 10 000 people. The local Hake fishery will add up to 160,000 tonnes of hake to the supply chain. According to the Hon. Albert Kawana, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, the certification of Namibian Hake is an independent endorsement which shows that efforts to rebuild hake stock that were historically overfished are now working.
Readings: https://www.msc.org/media-centre/news-opinion/2020/11/17/asustainable-and-bright-future-for-namibian-hake https://economist.com.na/57394/general-news/namibia-hake-andlongline-fishery-certified-as-sustainable-ranked-second-in-africa/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishrot_Files https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/our-approach/whatdoes-the-blue-msc-label-mean
Credit: Credit: RDJ RDJ Photo Photo
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
12 DECEMBER, 2020
OIL AND GAS "Press a Button and Get Fuel Delivered to You" - Refuel
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id you forget that you are running low on fuel or have you simply not gotten the time to pass by a fuel station?” Fear not, with technology rapidly
evolving for the better as this is now a worry for the past. With a click of a button, those in South Africa can now order fuel as if they are ordering fast food and have it delivered to their place of business or work. In Namibia, we know of ‘dial-a-meal’, which with the current global pandemic has become a common method used to getting fast food to your home by simply placing an order via a mobile phone. Well, our neighbouring country now knows of ‘dial-a-fuel’, all thanks to ‘Refuel’, an application developed by Ricky Luntz and Craig Dogon – two South African entrepreneurs. With ‘Refuel’, one can fill up their tanks without having to go to a filling station, this is because Fuel trucks are made available to directly deliver fuel to vehicles at the same fuel price as that of a filling station, with an extra charge of R20 delivery fee each time the service is rendered. This development is said to have been fully operating just before the lockdown this year, and with the covid-19 regulations, limiting the movement of people unless it is absolutely necessary, it can be said that the technology came just at the right time. With the application only operational in Johannesburg and Pretoria, but already proving successful, the company intends to expand to Cape Town and Durban. The
company’s tanks are also certified by the South African National Standards (SANS) and the City of Johannesburg’s fire department and hence, a plan to increase services such as tyre pressure and oil checks are also underway. Being a neighbouring country of South Africa, this remains as challenge to Namibia as well in order to ensure service delivery to everyone. According to information from the Namibia Oil Industry Association, the country consumes over a billion litres of fuel per year. The number of motorists is on the rise and so is the construction of fuelling stations to cater for the possible increase in fuel demand. Unfortunately, whenever technology seems to take the lead, the labour pool tend to suffer, leading to the discussion regarding employment/unemployment of those working various filling stations. As we embrace such a technology, what happens to human capital / labour force? Let’s discuss at briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za (www.rdjconsulting.co.za)
Readings: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/you-can-order-petrol-on-thisapp-and-have-it-delivered-to-your-car-heres-how-it-works-2020-12 https://www.namibian.com.na/97222/read/SA-company-runs-dialfor-fuel-service
www.rdjconsulting.co.za Image Credit: www.businessinsider.co.za
AUGUST, 2020
NOVEMBER 2020 FUEL PRICES
N$ 11.35 per litre 95 Octane Unleaded Petrol
N$ 11.38 per litre Diesel 50ppm
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14 DECEMBER, 2020
ELECTRICITY ECB Vs Other African Regulators
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he Electricity Control Board (ECB), Namibia’s Electricity Regulator, has the vision to be a leading regulator for achieving optimum viability
and competition in the Namibian Energy Industry, whilst upholding the principles of fairness, integrity & transparency. Being ranked the second-best Electricity Regulator in Africa, out of thirty-six (36) countries, and just after the top contender – the Uganda Energy Regulatory Authority, should be considered a very significant achievement for Namibia. In 2019 the Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) for Africa only covered thirty-four (34) countries for its analysis and ranking, which is an increase from the total of fifteen (15) countries previously hosted in their first edition in 2018. Now (2020), the Regulatory Index incorporates a total of thirty-six (36) countries in total. The announcement that brought to light ECB’s ranking was made during the 2020 annual ERI launch for Africa on November 5, 2020. The launch which is held by the African Development Bank on an annual basis also revealed that African countries such as Tanzania, Zambia and Kenya were part of the top 5 electricity regulators list. In fact, the ERI is made up of specific pillars, also
regarded as subindices as follows; the Regulatory Governance Index (RGI), the Regulatory Substance Index (RSI) and Regulatory Outcome Index (ROI). The RGI had the responsibility of assessing how well the regulatory framework of a country helps the performance of the operators while the ROI has the responsibility to assess the outcomes of regulatory processes from the regulated entities and power consumers’ point of view. Even though Uganda took the first position, Namibia outshined it as the top performing country on the ROI ranks all thanks to the existence of regulatory targets set by legislation and Quality of Service (QoS) indicators. The third edition (2020) of the ERI for Africa provided a good platform for African countries to compare their electricity regulation environments in order to make changes in their systems where needed.
Readings: https://www.ecb.org.na/ https://www.ecb.org.na/images/docs/Noticeboard/2020%20AfDB% 20ERI.jpg https://www.nbc.na/news/ecb-ranked-second-best-electricityregulator-africa.37594 https://www.erongo.com.na/news/namibias-ecb-second-best-inafrica2020-1114#:~:text=Namibia's%20Electricity%20Control%20Board%20(ECB, ERI)%20for%20Africa%20every%20year. https://africa-energy-portal.org/reports/electricity-regulatoryindex-2020
Credit: RDJ Photo Credit: RDJ Photo
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
DECEMBER, 2020
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Credit: RDJ Photo
Can Electricity Move Us Forward? AUTHOR: Mr. David Jarrett Managing Consultant @ RDJ Consulting
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to clean energy. With rural electrification rates estimated to be under 25%, there is real room for growth. Coupled with the natural increase in demand that comes with increased disposable income and increased quality of life, this will be apparent.
lectricity will dominate the Covid-19 recovery efforts due in part to its “clean” and ease of use nature making it favourable to economic activity.
The (IEA) points out that “global electricity demand recovers and surpasses pre-Covid-19 levels in 2021” and so the thought and practicality of this happening is well founded. Even more, the IEA sees electricity outpacing all other fuels which we agree with in the face of technological changes that are placing electricity at the focus of productive use, transport, cooling, and household use. Namibia and Africa by extension will be part of this electricity consumptive pattern but in the case of Namibia, the opportunities for this growth are two-fold. It is common knowledge that the rate of electrification in Namibia, generally mimics that of Southern Africa and based on its low rate provides a need for increased access
The other area of growth will come from new initiatives that create improved output from existing and new industries along with paradigm changes. To achieve these, increased energy sources will be needed to meet overall electricity demand going forward. These potential sectors will as have been stated over and over, come from desalination and Green Hydrogen. Electric vehicles and electric mobility coupled interactions also feature in demand realities. Thus, the sector needs to be ready as this will be disruptive in many ways such as with the economic reality-based tariff expectations and the regulatory mismatches to name two. The conversation continues: briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za
Readings: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2020/outlook-forelectricity#abstract
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
18 DECEMBER, 2020
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY Namibia Seeks Independence in Testing for Bush Biomass
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hen it comes to the issue of testing local products in foreign countries, Namibia is now envisioning a change that would allow for local
testing. Previously, the country had to send off its various biomass products for testing to mainly South Africa and Germany, but now Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and its associates have announced that the country’s plentiful bush biomass will be tested locally going forward. GIZ provides advisory services in sustainable matters, and in this case advises on how to capitalize on bush biomass and create employment in the process. With support received through GIZ’s Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation Project (BCBU) as well as the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), has developed, and now launched (in November 2020) its much-anticipated bush biomass laboratory which will specifically assist the growing sector with research and development on the subject. In addition to this, the supporting partners also provided four different pieces of laboratory equipment worth about N$1.3 million, for the analysis of bush-biomass and the development of woodplastic composites. The particular laboratory will not only supply sound
scientific evidence acquired through research and analysis for bush biomass to test ingenious, climatefriendly technologies to help with bush control, but it also aims at evolving changes that will permit a boost in the Namibian bush-based biomass sector. The laboratory is assigned to develop and apply technologies that escalate the utilisation of local materials to ensure efficiency and affordability, keeping in mind the use of technologies that reduce possible environment damages. The aspect of locally testing biomass products came to place after carefully analyzing the costs involved in testing the same outside the country, as well as the losses incurred by the country in doing so. Another burning reason was the existing potential of locally producing stock feed, fertilizer/soil enhancer and energy to grow this sector. As a result, it was concluded that Namibian bush-encroached farmland has the potential in generating these three factors, and hence promoting competitiveness, independence, and reduction in importing of goods, if implemented.
Readings: https://www.giz.de/en/workingwithgiz/91230.html https://neweralive.na/posts/nust-receives-n13-million-lab-equipment https://www.namibian.com.na/97142/read/Nam-to-test-its-own-bushbiomass-products
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
DECEMBER, 2020
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Will the Conservancies be conserved?
Conservancies and in particular "Communal Conservancies" are fixed boundary areas of #Namibia that provide #legal frameworks for the #protection of people and the wildlife within that area. The protection was mutual once the conservancy was formalized in that the wildlife was no longer poached but protected on the basis that greater value was accrued through #tourism. Namibia currently has 86 such conservancy areas covering 20% of its geographic area with an estimated 228 000 people resident in these areas which represents some 9% of Namibia's population. As of last year (2019), conservancy management was allocating 50% of revenue to local development projects that are aimed at enriching the lives of the community inhabitants. Jobs numbering some 4 900, range from tour guides to hospitality positions such as front desk clerks, cooks and bar staff. There are disputes as to how much revenue is created through conservancy operations country-wide but figures ranging from N$500 million upwards are not numbers to be sneezed at.
#Covid_19 has as we know disrupted everything and thus the conservancies have not been spared. These conservancies and the resultant communities now have zero income with the global #lockdowns and resultant border closures that have put tourism and thus incomes into sleep modes. In response, the government has created a conservation relief, recovery and resilience fund to be administered by the Environmental Investment Fund as the secretariat. The fund currently sits at N$125 million but is this enough to weather the pandemic storm?? The conversation continues: www.rdjconsulting.co.za
Readings: http://www.nacso.org.na/conservancies https://www.namibian.com.na/185849/archive-read/Give-50pct-tomembers https://www.namibian.com.na/90829/read/Conservancies-could-loseN$125-million
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
20 DECEMBER, 2020
ROADS AND TRANSPORT Air Namibia Then and Now! AUTHOR: Mr. David Jarrett Managing Consultant @ RDJ Consulting
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ational airlines and the devastation that Covid-19 has created, is well publicized and commented on. Scores of national airlines globally, inclusive of
both private, government and public/private partnerships (PPP) have since March 2020 started to buckle under the containment measures imposed by Governments to:
Suppress community transmission through contextappropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, population level physical distancing measures and appropriate and proportionate restrictions on non-essential domestic and international travel. WHO (Critical preparedness, readiness and response actions for COVID-19, Interim guidance – 4 November 2020.)
Air Namibia started business in 1946 as South West Air Transport, then South West Airways. This saw government acquiring majority shareholding of the company by 1982 and elevates it to be the principal airline of the country. Following Namibia's Independence in 1990/1991, the airline is renamed Air Namibia. The company is currently operated under the Namibian Companies Act (Act 28 of 2004) and still with a 100% government shareholding.
The company states that its business is air transport and cargo with a subsidiary (Air Namibia Ground Handling (Pty) Limited to focus on the services needed at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA). Their fleet comprises Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Airbus A319-100 aircraft and Embraer ERJ 135 with each aircraft class dedicated to a specific operational characteristic. This gives Air Namibia the capability for International, Regional and local routes with the necessary interconnections. The tradition has over time seen Europe as the focus for International travel, with West Africa being an addition over time. The company lists its mandate from its shareholder to be focused on “attracting and promoting” tourism, as well as “promotion and facilitation” of trade. This mandate is clear in intent but sadly in the absence a business plan that incorporates this through stakeholder wide engagement and business principles questions will still arise. Air Namibia has indicated that its contribution to the Namibian economy and employment is immense as Tourism is the third largest contributor to GDP. The Bank of Namibia in its October 2020 Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) related that global economic activity contracted and is expected to still contract further. Bearing in mind that Namibia’s key tourist origins are from advanced economies and either in “lockdown” or restrictive measures, this translates into very reduced travel. Under the then Board, Air Namibia developed a Strategic Plan that covered the 2016/2017 to 2020/2021 period. This led to Performance Agreements (PAs) signed by executives in a signing ceremony 19 April 2017. These PAS were supposed to reflect “accountability” and help ensure financial sustainability. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in its IPPR Public Enterprise Annual Rankings (March 2020) reviewing pre-lockdown, ranked Air Namibia as 18th out of 21 public enterprises with a score of 10%.
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
DECEMBER, 2020
The IPPR noted sadly that: 1. Air Namibia has failed to publish an Annual Report for well over a decade. 2. The company has clearly made consistent losses 3. Failed to pay taxes or dividends to Government 4. [needed] sizeable transfers from the National Budget as well as loan guarantees in order to continue to operate. 5. Senior managers with little or no experience of the airline industry continue to be appointed 6. unexpected changes in both the company Board and senior management have taken place throughout the past year. 7. The only positive thing that can be said is that no serious cases of corruption came to light in 2019. With one of its mission points being to be a “profitable airline”, the company has a lot of hurdles historically to overcome, not least of which is the Company Act’s, Section 294 Duty to make out annual financial statements and to present them before annual general meeting and
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the added burdens of court cases such as the Challenge Air issue and Covid-19 makes the future questionable against the odds.
Readings: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus2019/technical-guidance-publications https://archive.vn/20120718154357/http://www.airnamibia.com.na/node/7 The Namibian Companies Act was amended by the Companies Amendment Act 9 of 2007 (GG 3969), brought into force on 1 November 2010 by GN 237/2010 (GG 4595) and the Business and Intellectual Property Authority Act 8 of 2016 (GG 6105) https://www.bon.com.na/CMSTemplates/Bon/Files/bon.com.na/9f/9ff16e76 -460f-4d8b-b499-f3f1e094a6ba.pdf http://www.airnamibia.com/category/press-releases/page/2/ https://ippr.org.na/wpcontent/uploads/2020/03/Public_Enterprise_Rankings2020_WEB-1.pdf http://www.airnamibia.com/about/ https://www.namibiansun.com/news/challenge-air-eyes-transnamibassets2020-10-08 https://neweralive.na/posts/air-namibia-liquidation-applicationpostponed
Credit: RDJ Photo
www.rdjconsulting.co.za
22 DECEMBER, 2020
WOMEN IN INDUSTRY
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hen we rolled out our Women in Industry section, it was designed to provide a clear section of the RDJ Briefing to celebrate female achievements. However, it is our view that the participation of women in the decision-making process should not need highlighting but become a natural way to arrive at solutions. The discussions around the issue of “gender parity”, equality and equity, range from the acknowledgement of inalienable human rights to the move for “fairness” in everyday life. Numerous reports therefore have been written by men and women, trying to encapsulate the challenges faced, financial burdens, societal indifference, pay scale anomalies (for want of a better description) and down right disregard for decision making. Arguments have even brewed relating to how the matter should be dealt with and what are
Society Gender roles / Perception of self / Awareness raising Home Life balance (particularly around child rearing/pregnancy but not exclusively) Financing (Loan bias) Adequate laws
some of the causal factors that need mitigating to provide harmony. Dealing with gender disparity will require clear linkages that address three main areas being: 1. Society 2. Work 3. Education All these are detailed more in the digram below. Namibia, enshrined in the Namibian Constitution for equality, has a number of laws, agencies and nongovernmental actors that help drive the push of gender parity. This has been documented through various studies and reports which identify that equality is being practically dealt with and can be clearly seen at country leadership level. Sadly, the Achilles heel to Namibia which is not unique is the scourge of
Work Share of women in leadership Pay gaps Share of women in workforces Harassment / Workplace Policies Leadership barriers
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the dreaded GBV, genderbased violence. As we close out 2020, we want to therefore use the opportunity to remind all that 2021 should see women not just being a part of the decision-making process being given pride of place that they have earned. One that makes female participation normal and not in need of protection and thus making Namibia and the world truly Independent.
Source documents: IRENA (2019), Renewable Energy: A Gender Perspective. IRENA, Abu Dhabi. https://www.unwomen.org/en/get -involved/step-itup/commitments/namibia https://www.na.undp.org/content /namibia/en/home/sustainabledevelopment-goals/goal-5gender-equality.html
Education Skill gaps and Education, particularly in the STEM areas Financing (Cost Point) Menstrual poverty
24 DECEMBER, 2020
YOUTH IN ACTION Interview with Mr. Reinhold Shiwagala Interviewed by Ms. Kina Indongo (Communications Specialist - RDJ Consulting)
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n this month's briefing we had the honour of speaking to a young business innovator Mr. Reinhold Shiwagala founder of Taxiconnet Namibia an online transport service..
Personal Journey Mr. Shiwagala describes himself as an ambitious individual with an eagerness to learn. Starting his primary school education at Van Rhyn Primary School, where he says he received a normal education. He attended secondary school at Khomas High School and later transferred to Concordia College where he ran for Learners Representative Council. Mr. Shiwagala then attended the University of Namibia where he first completed a Diploma in Business Administration before pursuing his honours degree in Business Administration. True to his entrepreneurial nature Mr. Shiwagala’s first nonofficial job started as a youth at the age of thirteen where he would take out the trash bins for his neighbours for a fee, he then moved on to cleaning his entire apartment complex at the age of fourteen. His first official job was in inventory at a Jet store. He then worked as a waiter and event organiser at the Windhoek Country Club Resort & Casino. In his final year as a diploma student Mr. Shiwagala worked at Divine Realtors cc as a real estate Agent. “These jobs taught a powerful lesson: To never look down on what looks like a small opportunity.” Said Mr. Shiwagala
Never look down on what looks like a small opportunity. www.rdjconsulting.co.za
DECEMBER, 2020
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Taxi Connect Namibia
Motivation
Today Mr. Shiwagala runs a tech startup, TaxiConnect Namibia. Which is a locally envisioned, developed and programmed ride-hailing company founded in April 2020. TaxiConnect offers an interactive and smart technology for ride booking. Additionally it offers taxi on track management for taxi owners. “We recognize that every time people open our TaxiConnect app, they're putting their trust in our technology—to not only connect them with a safe & reliable taxi, but to also give them resources in case of emergency.” Said Mr Shiwagala. Before any taxi can register to be a driver with TaxiConnect, they must undergo a multi-step safety screening, including checking if the driver and car is registered with all relevant authorities, criminal record and other checks. In addition, TaxiConnect rescreens drivers every six months.
Mr Shiwagala attributes his passion to his Christian beliefs “God has created each and every one of us with a purpose to fulfil in our time on this earth, our purpose translates and becomes our dreams and that is why you find so much strength, passion and determinations when you do what you love.” He adds that although motivation is a great tool for achieving goals it can at times run out and thus what keeps him going is his vision to better the world and humanity. “Happiness for me is truly adding value to wherever I am.” Said Mr. Shiwagala
Despite the afore mentioned challenge Mr. Shiwagala is still hopeful for the future of Namibian youth. As he would love to see more Namibians especially startups acknowledging the global marketplace and tapping into it. “We have so much potential but sometimes we bound ourselves to the Namibian marketplace.” Mr. Shiwagala is a firm believer in the power of exposure and how it can open up your mind to see things from a different perspective.
Challenges
Mr. Shiwagala's parting words are in the form of advice to other youths “In the words of my mentor: "You are a finished product, everything you are looking for is within you." Said Mr. Shiwagala. His personal advice being “don't do it for the money because money will always be a byproduct of the impact you make thus rather seek to make an impact that will change people's lives for the better. And, a very important reminder is that we have a global marketplace, so think and dream beyond the Namibian borders.” Said Mr Shiwagala
The business was inspired by Mr. Shiwagla’s own experience as a student at the University of Namibia, where he struggled to find safe and reliable transport to take him home after late part-time classes. “One evening I came home early due to classes being canceled and I started brainstorming on how I can do something to make our taxi sector safer and more convenient but yet very affordable for everyone.” Said Mr. Shiwagala “I worked on finding the solution for two years funding my research and development, trials and errors with money I got from my tshirt printing side hustle business called David Slay Lifestyle " He added. Mr Shiwagala kept researching and the more he worked on it, the clearer it became and in that journey of finding a solution, the more passionate he became about improving the safety and convenience of our public transportation sector.
As we are well aware there is no success without struggle, this is true for Mr. Shiwagala who says the biggest challenges he faced was the fear of the unknown. This is a challenge that threatens to kill dreams, it is one that births doubt, timidness, loss of passion ect. He adds that this challenge is not only found in his industry but every other industry. “The best way to overcome the fear of the unknown is to give it your very best and stay grounded to why you're doing what you decided to
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do.” said Mr. Shiwagala
Conclusion
Meet Our 2020 Team
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Mr. David Jarrett Director / Managing Consultant RDJ Consulting
Ms. Lahja Amaambo Advisor / Policy Specialist RDJ Consulting
Ms. Misozi Mugala Economist & Researcher RDJ Consulting
Ms. Priscila Chilombo Olga Manager Operations / Internships RDJ Consulting
Mr. Malakia Haikali Research Intern (UNAM) RDJ Consulting
Ms. Lydia Kalilo Research Intern (UNAM) RDJ Consulting
Meet Our 2020 Team
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Mrs. Renee Jarrett Director RDJ Consulting
Ms. Naemi Shoopala Research Head RDJ Consulting
Ms. Monique Jarrett Envionmental Intern (UNAM) RDJ Consulting
Ms. Teresia Simon Research Intern (NUST) RDJ Consulting
Ms. Kina Indongo Communications Specialist RDJ Consulting
Ms. Immaculate Paulus Mrketing Intern RDJ Consulting
DECEMBER, 2020
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
David Jarrett (Managing Consultant) RDJ Consulting Services CC Chilombo Olga Priscila (Operations Manager) RDJ Consulting Services CC Misozi Mugala (Research Intern) RDJ Consulting Services CC Kina Indongo (Communications Specialist) RDJ Consulting Services CC Lydia Kalilo Namutenya (Research intern) RDJ Consulting Services CC
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