Country Brief – & NAMIBIA ENERGY
SUSTAINABILITY News & Analysis
December 2018
Namibia December 2018
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Country Briefing
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Exploring the right Zones?
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
Population size Employment Literacy
December 2018
2.30 million 62.7%1 89.00%
GDP Growth 2018(P) 1.4% Repo Rate 6.75% Interest rate (Prime) 10.50% Inflation rate 5.60% Budget (Current) N$65.0 Billion2
Geographic size 824,292 km²
Free vector map of Namibia outline - by One Stop Map
Industries Telecom (sophistication) Mobile - cell phones Water Availability / capita3 Electricity Gen. (Local) Electricity Demand (all)
Tourism, Mining, Fishing LTE 2.575 million subscribers 8, 800, 000Litres/capita 484.000 MW 629.000 MW
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Namibia Labour Force Survey (NLFS) of the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) http://www.mof.gov.na/documents/27827/506801/Budget+Speech+2018.pdf/3f0b42f6-2c2d-4502-bca8b84f5d6951cc 3 2005 Figures https://www.greenfacts.org/en/water-resources/figtableboxes/aquastat123.htm
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018 COVER PAGE IMAGE RDJ Photo
This report is a FREE Publication and was prepared by RDJ Consulting Services CC based in Windhoek, Namibia. The content is collated from publicly available information and so its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Advertising aligned with our objectives of Sustainable Resource usage is welcome. Contact Details; RDJ Consulting Services CC PO Box 23738 Windhoek, NAMIBIA
Editor: David Jarrett Author: RDJ Consulting Interns*
Telephone: +264 61 400 171 Email – briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za RDJ Consulting Services CC is an advisory consultancy to the Energy, Water and Transport Sectors with a focus on sustainable operations and renewable energy.
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Visit our website www.rdjconsulting.co.za for more information.
*see editor information for full details!
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
............................................................................................................................... 9 National Economics Fast Facts .......................................................................................................... 10 Inflation Status .................................................................................................................................. 11 NamPower pays government its 2018 dividend ............................................................................... 11 A glimpse at Namibia’s Economic Growth over time ....................................................................... 12 NUST and SSC support Namibian Unemployed Youth...................................................................... 13 ............................................................................................................................................... 14 November 2018 Fuel price ................................................................................................................ 15 Time for Oil in Namibia? ................................................................................................................... 16 Oil smuggling and tax revenues ........................................................................................................ 18 ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Uranium Mining and its market in Namibia...................................................................................... 21 ............................................................................................................................................... 23 Tariff Charges explained ................................................................................................................... 24 Namibia’s Electricity access .............................................................................................................. 25 ................................................................................................................................ 27 .................................................................................................................................................... 28 Water sustainability .......................................................................................................................... 29 Water Management Grant for Keetmanshoop Municipality ........................................................... 30 Schools’ Water and Electricity debts ................................................................................................ 30 ..................................................................................................... 31 Namibia stops timber harvesting ...................................................................................................... 32 ............................................................................................................................. 33 Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) ................................................................................. 34 ............................................................................................................................. 35 A new Agreement between Namibia and Botswana rail entities ..................................................... 36 ............................................................................................................................................... 37 ................................................................................................................................................. 38 Highway Road Tenders ..................................................................................................................... 39
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December 2018
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EDITORIAL TEAM ............................................................................................................................ 41
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
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December 2018
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Letshego Bank Namibia Limited
Bank BIC Namibia Limited
Banco Atlantico (branch of foreign banking institution)
Trustco Bank Namibia Limited
Standard Bank Namibia Limited
Nedbank Namibia Limited
First National Bank Namibia Limited
Bank Windhoek Limited
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Figure 1: Licensed Commercial Banks in Namibia - Bank of Namibia
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
1 Namibian dollar (N$) = 100 cents
Monetary Unit
1 April - 31 March
Fiscal Year
diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium; cattle, processed fish, karakul skins
Major Exports
foodstuffs; petroleum products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Major imports
National Economics Fast Facts4
“This budget calls on the collective support for all Namibians, and, more than ever before, the contribution of the private sector to the national development objectives.” Hon. Minister of Finance, Calle Schlettwein – Budget Speech: 7 March 2018
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https://www.asycuda.org/dispcountry.asp?name=Namibia
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Inflation Status5
T
he Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) indicate through its latest Consumer Price Index and inflation rate estimates for the month of October 2018 that the annual inflation rate slowed to 5.1 percent compared to 5.2 percent recorded in October 2017, registering a decrease of 0.1 percentage points. Based on October 2018 price movements, the monthly inflation rate stood at 0.4 percent compared to 0.8 percent registered a month earlier. NSA reports that the decrease in annual inflation was due to gradual decrease in the general price levels of:
housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (from 8.6 percent to 3.8 percent); hotels, cafes and restaurants (from 6.9 percent to 3.5 percent); furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (from 2.0 percent to 0.9 percent); alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 5.7 percent to 4.9 percent); health (from 5.8 percent to 4.8 percent) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (from 3.7 percent to 3.0 percent)
Despite the general gradual decrease in inflation recorded over the year, higher fuel prices have resulted in higher transport inflation and have already led to price increases for transport services and some consumer products, noted Local economist, Klaus Schade.
NamPower pays government its 2018 dividend With many parastatals always looking to the government for bailouts, it was welcome news yesterday when NamPower declared a dividend of N$60.7 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2018. According to its Annual Reports, this was the first time in 13 years, since 2005 that NamPower had declared a dividend. Read more here.
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https://neweralive.na/posts/slowdown-in-housing-prices-brings-inflation-down-slightly
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
A glimpse at Namibia’s Economic Growth over time
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he last time Namibia had a negative economic growth was in 1993, where it stood at a value of -1.58%. This was then followed by a less than 5% growth over the following years, till it reached to the highest record of 12.27% growth in 2005. However, a negative trend occurred in 2017, where the economy faced a downfall, ending up with a negative growth of -0.77%. 14 Economic Growth (%)
12 10
Ecomomic Growth (%)
8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4
Years
Figure 2: Namibia’s Economic Growth (the rate of change of real GDP) for the past 36 years - Data source theglobaleconomy.com
According to a local economist Rowland Brown, a large part of the past economic growth was linked to debt. Hence, the government will not be able to borrow at the same rates as previously in future due to the ongoing unstable debts levels. He pointed out however, that if the country has to experience any long run growth, it would not be government-driven, but rather private sector-driven. “The bottom-line when it comes to this is that the government and households are unlikely to be the big drivers of growth. Thus, we will have to look at other avenues for growth”. Although it looks like foreign investments in the country are likely to grow the economy in the longterm, Brown noted that Namibia should create an environment that is open for these investments.
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In line with this, Finance Minister, Schlettwein highlighted the fact that the country, being a mixed economy where the private sector should be driving economic growth, he called on “discussions and commitments to an effective partnership between the government, industry and the development partners of a more inclusive, home-grown sustainable economic growth trajectory. The defining principle of economic order is that we are a mixed economy, with the private sector supposed to serve as the engine of growth and job-creation.”
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
NUST and SSC support Namibian Unemployed Youth6
N
UST and the Social Security Commission (SSC), signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which will see thirty unemployed youth in Keetmanshoop receiving training in Gemmology and Jewellery Design. NUST will facilitate the training, whilst the SSC will avail funding for this Agreement. In fact, the aim of this training programme is to empower unemployed youth with the necessary skills to either find employment or start their own businesses. The SSC’s Development Fund (SSC-DF), was established for the benefit of socio-economically disadvantaged persons who are unemployed. Therefore, grants, bursaries, loans and other forms of financial aid are provided to students. It is through this Fund that N$2 million will be availed for the training.
Figure 3: The RDJ Internship Program
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http://www.nust.na/?q=news/n2-million-reserved-unemployed-youth
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December 2018
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Figure 4: Expiration - Image source http://www.nigerianeye.com
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
November 2018 Fuel price7
T
he Ministry of Mines and Energy has announced that the fuel pump prices for December decreased as of the 5th December 2018. Prices in Walvis Bay and countrywide are now as follows: Petrol (95 Octane) - N$ 12.95 /L Diesel (500 PPM) - N$ 14.08 / L Diesel (50 PPM) - N$ 14.13 / L
2018 Monthly Change in Fuel Prices 6.00 %
4.00 %
Percetage change in price
2.00 %
0.00 %
-2.00 %
-4.00 %
-6.00 %
-8.00 %
Petrol (95 Octane)
Diesel (500 PPM)
Diesel (50 PPM)
Figure 5: Author’s compilation of Namibia Fuel prices trend over the year 2018, based on Ministry of Mines and Energy data
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http://www.mme.gov.na
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Time for Oil in Namibia? Author: David Jarrett, RDJ Consulting (December 2018)
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he worldwide Oil and Gas sector has been an exclusive, powerful “club” over the years. Provision for this dominance is market driven with there being more oil consumer countries than oil producers. Also, oil and gas are finite resources making their increased consumption lead to a need for increased new finds. Scarcity ultimately leads to increase in cost and value. No wonder then, Namibia like any other country in its position, desires to join the oil and gas producers club. Entrance would provide for not only energy security but also revenue generation if found in sufficient quantity and quality. Many oil and gas explorers have come and gone since Namibia’s Independence in 1990. NAMCOR8 indicates that the first wells were explored in the 1960’s9. So far, the Kudu gas field which was discovered in 197410 is the only primary petroleum based find that has been declared proven and ready for commercialization. This has not daunted companies however and thus explorations continue into 2019. It can be further attributed to the fact that as stated by one company11, Namibia is a;
a frontier region for exploration with evidence of a working petroleum system. Namibia therefore is seen as a possible investment hot spot for oil and gas going forward. Interestingly enough, the indications from the news releases of the various companies that have attempted to explore wells so far indicate that the southern coastline emanating from the South African Border favours gas, while venturing further north towards Angola should yield oil. Sadly, it will take deep funding pockets to continue the needed exploratory work in the region if the wells explored keep coming back with “non-commercial12” results. 8
National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia http://www.namcor.com.na/upstream/history 10 http://www.namcor.com.na/upstream/history 11 http://www.chariotoilandgas.com/operations/namibia/ accessed 7 December 2018 (21h36 RSA Time) 12 https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=1323-13801062-0KC8D3LLRJ2KQP7R9D4SJ8TDV2 accessed 8 December 2018 (22h00 RSA Time)
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December 2018
Figure 6: Image showing similar resources found in both
Southern Africa (Namibia) and South America (Brazil) Source
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https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2010/11/2/410007 -128872438707918-Robert-Kientz_origin.jpg
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Oil smuggling and tax revenues
O
il smuggling has undoubtedly been identified to shrink government tax revenues as activities that are taxed such as oil become eroded. One of the notable drivers of oil smuggling is the formal difference in price between countries, this also means that if the oil price of the exporting country is lower than that of the oil importing country, the smuggling of this commodity is highly exacerbated. Consequently, the importing country’s revenues will shrink as a result of tax base that ends up going down. Seemingly, this is the case for Namibia, which is neighbour to an oil exporting country, Angola. The fuel price in Angolan is lower for all fuel grades (petrol: N$6 per litre in Angola and N$12.95, in Namibia and Diesel: N$7.30 per litre and N$14.12 in Namibia, this amounts to differences of N$6.95 for petrol and N$6.82 for diesel). This has led to oil smuggling in the northern part of the country and the Ministry of Mines and Energy has brought this to light. However, with Namibia’s real economy not doing well, this may not be a practice to allow. From the revenue side, this may give pressure to government finances as it may cause revenues shortfall as a result of eroded tax base. Oil trading and imported fuel’s impact on domestic vehicles. The current policy/law stipulates that only wholesalers and retailers are allowed to import and resell fuel. Fuel types are mostly declared/processed for particular purposes. This highlights that they cannot be consumed for any other consumption other than what they were processed for, hence it may not be a prudent move to smuggle fuel13.
“The fuel smuggled from other countries does not meet the specifications prescribed for all the vehicles currently operating on Namibian roads.” Source: Namibia Mines and Energy
What can be done to keep this from going any further? Enough and strict border control may be one of the solutions to the ministry’s plea of concerted efforts to engage stakeholders in addressing the issue. Furthermore, both countries’ oil price policies may as well need to be reformed as they are either less stringent or ignored by either side. Is the December price decrease going to slow this practice down? Oil prices are now trading at N$ 12.95 for 95 Octane Unleaded petrol, N$ 14.08 for 500 ppm diesel and N$ 14.13 for 50 diesel ppm, as per the Ministry of Mines.
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for more info, please visit https://neweralive.na/posts/growing-concern-over-angolan-fuel-smuggling-atoshikango
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
The Langer Heinrich Mine is located at the foot of the Langer Heinrich Mountain in the Namib Desert in western Namibia
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Figure 7: Image courtesy of https://neweralive.na
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Uranium Mining and its market in Namibia History of Uranium in Namibia
U
ranium was discovered in the Namib Desert in 1928, but it was not until intensive exploration in the late 1950s that much interest was shown in the area. After discovering numerous uranium occurrences, Rio Tinto secured the rights to the low-grade Rössing deposit in 1966. Ten years later, in 1976, Rössing Uranium, Namibia’s first commercial uranium mine, began operating and celebrated its 40th year of production in 201614.
Country
% OF 2017 WORLD URANIUM PRODUCTION
Today, Namibia has two significant uranium mines namely Rössing Uranium and Husab Uranium, which together provide 6.8 per cent of the world’s uranium oxide output.
Kazakhstan Canada Australia Namibia Niger Russia Uzbekistan (est) China (est) USA Ukraine (est) India (est) South Africa Pakistan (est) Malawi Germany France Brazil (est) Romania (est) Czech Republic 0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
Percentage of World Total Uranium Production Figure 9: Author's representation based on World Nuclear Association Data Namibia was ranked World's 4th largest uranium producer in 2017
Uraniun (Tonnes)
NAMIBIA URANIUM PRODUCTION 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Years Figure 8: Namibia Uranium Production over 10 years - 2007 to 2017 - World Nuclear Association Data
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https://www.rossing.com/history.htm
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA The Rössing Uranium scenario
December 2018 % STAKE IN RÖSSING MINE
Located 12 km from the town of Arandis, which lies Government of 10% 70 km inland from the coastal town of Namibia Swakopmund in Namibia’s Erongo Region, Rössing 10% Other local Uranium Mine is the longest-running and one of the interests 48% largest open pit uranium mines in the world. The Industrial mine has a nameplate capacity of 4,500 tonnes of Corporation of 32% South African uranium oxide per year and, by the end of 2017, Iranian Foreign had supplied a total of 132,610 tonnes of uranium Investment Company oxide to the world. The mine alone produces about 3 per cent of the world’s uranium oxide output. Figure 10: Rössing Uranium Shareholders’ stake Despite the mine’s good advancement and notable output, some inconvenience arose over the years, causing Rio Tinto to now sell its shares. The inconveniences included the ongoing downturn in uranium prices following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. This has negatively affected most of Namibia's uranium industry – Rössing included. As a result, many workers were laid off to reduce the number of the mine's workforce and thus, cut costs. Also, Rio Tinto's other operations at Ranger (Australia) and Roughrider (Canada) have also ended, with impairment losses (that is, the value of the mine's estimated future cash flow is less than the book value of the asset) being in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Because of the above, Rio Tinto decided to enter into a binding agreement with China National Uranium Corporation Limited ("CNUC") for the sale of its entire 68.62 per cent stake in Rössing Uranium Limited ("Rössing"), owners of the Rössing mine in Namibia15, for up to $106.5 million, depending on the profitability of the mine and the price of uranium between now and 2025. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto reported that it will work closely with CNUC to ensure a smooth transition and ongoing sustainable operation at Rössing." the transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2019.
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15
http://riotinto.msgfocus.com/q/1mGQYP4rDPFfNjnoHdRs/wv
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
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Figure 11: RDJ Photo showing electricity distribution in Namibia
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Tariff Charges explained16 CHARGE TYPE
Service Charge
CHARGE DESCRIPTION AND USE The service charge (traditionally referred to also as basic charge) is a fixed charge that has the purpose of covering all administrative costs of the particular type of power supply point. The charge often designed to recover some of the fixed network costs relating to the type of supply point in question, e.g. the cable costs for house connections or the overhead lines for farm connections.
Capacity The capacity charge is a fixed charge that has the purpose of covering all fixed costs related to the size of the particular type of power supply for small to medium power Charge users (i.e. related to how much capacity is made available to the customer). Demand Charge Energy Charge
ECB Levy
The demand charge is a partly variable charge (with a minimum amount based on 70% of the notified demand of the supply point) that has the purpose of covering all fixed costs related to the size of the particular type of power supply for large power users. The energy charge is a variable charge, depending on actual consumption, and has the purpose of covering at least all variable costs in the power supply system attributed towards the particular power supply. This is a levy payable directly to the Electricity Control Board (ECB) of Namibia, which SERVES AS THE Namibian electricity supply industry regulator. The ECB also approves all electricity tariffs applicable in Namibia and licenses electricity distribution & supply.
GENERAL At present CENORED is trying to simplify and harmonize tariffs in its license area. This process cannot be completed within a year. For instance, local authority surcharges apply in certain areas and not in others. Also, the various types of charges represent a mix of the above charges. As such CENORED is working with the ECB to harmonise tariffs over a period, typically 3 years.
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https://www.cenored.com.na/tariffs/tariff-charges-explained/522/
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Namibia’s Electricity access
T
he World Bank has reported that, globally, countries are at a slow pace to achieving broad based electricity access by the year 2030. Thus, calls for increased efforts and finances to make the latter plea a reality. This is seen in, the country’s population with access to electricity, the per capita consumption in a country, electricity policies, regulations and incentives. Namibia has 38 percent of its population electrified. Electricity Control Board (2016) annual report indicates that the country’s consumption of electricity per person stood at 1433 kWh in 2016 with 1400 kWh reported in the preceding year and outlined that the increase was driven by an increase of electrification efforts. Windhoek, which makes up 93 percent of electricity consumption annually, anticipates that it is going to have 1300 households of its informal settlements electrified by the end of 2018, of which 900 will be selected in Havana, and the remaining 400 will be from Okahanja Park. The city commissioned an electrical load centre in Lafrenz area which will provide electricity to the Tobias Hainyeko and Moses //Garoeb constituencies17.
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Supplementary reading can be found at https://neweralive.na/posts/1300-windhoek-informal-houses-toget-electricity
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
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Figure 12: Source - ECB
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December 2018
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Figure 13: RDJ Photo showing a Cloth Iron that uses Biomass. The use of this technic is commonly found in rural areas of Namibia where there is a low electricity access rate of no electricity access at all.
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Water demand in Namibia is met via surface and artesian sources.
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Figure 14: RDJ Photo showing a water tank in Namibia
Country Brief – NAMIBIA Water sustainability
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hen water is utilised excessively or wasted by areas with abundant water sources, areas with limited water sources may become susceptible to diseases and agricultural scarcity as they do not get the clean water needed to drink, clean, cook or grow food, this makes it environmentally unpleasant. Quora (2016) highlighted two notable reasons why wasting water is such a bad thing: 1. Biocentrically: households use too much water and this may lead to less water available to other living things that relay on water other than at household level. 2. Ecocentrically: Despite surging water demands as population and living standards continue to rise, water is still being wasted. This leads to fresh water depletion, hence making us turn to aquifers and ground supplied water.
December 2018 This, is unsustainable as the natural growth rate of aquifers/ground water becomes less than the rate of extraction. “Water takes a lot of energy, time and money to filter and clean so that it’s drinkable. Wasting water or overusing household water means you’re wasting the energy-intensive process of filtration. The many steps of this process—extraction, transportation, filtration, etc.—require non-renewable fossil fuels and as these resources become depleted, their dangerous by-products such as carbon dioxide build up in the Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to your carbon footprint and the Earth’s rising temperatures.” Forbes18 In Namibia, it has been identified that schools, specifically in Windhoek are wasting water and it came as a result of poor water supply maintenance, for example, prolonged leaking water pipes. This, however, drivers up their water bills and results in water cuts when they fail to settle the bills.
Figure 15: Image http://rehydrate.org/water/
/why-wasting-water-is-a-much-bigger-problemthan-you-think/#ec768d75af2e
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/07/19
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA Water Management Grant for Keetmanshoop Municipality19
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he Keetmanshoop Municipality was recently offered a N$12 million grant from the local French embassy, with which they plan to upgrade its ageing water network system. NamWater and Altereo, a French Company a French company specialising in water engineering, the environment and sustainable development20, have signed an agreement for the management of water supply in the city of Keetmanshoop by using this grant. The project will be carried out over a period of 18 months, with Altereo being thee contracted technical partner. Speaking during the ceremony on 22 November 2018, where details of the deal were revealed, Keetmanshoop Mayor said that with the help of the FASEP grant - Fund for Private-sector Aid and Studies (term translated from French Fonds d'étude et d'Aide au Secteur Privé), the N$12 million will be used to address the obsolete state of the supply and distribution water network at the town and to rehabilitate the Naute dam-Keetmanshoop pipeline. The repair of the water network system was is considered priority because most pipes are 4050 years old, leading to not only frequent pipe bursts and subsequent water losses, but also a significant financial loss for the municipality.
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https://neweralive.na/posts/n12-million-shotin-the-arm-for-keetmans-water-network 20 https://www.afrik21.africa/en/namibia-altereoand-namwater-partner-for-water-management-inkeetmanshoop/
December 2018 Schools’ Water and Electricity debts21
W
ater and Electricity suspensions at Windhoek schools were put on hold after the Khomas education directorate made a down payment of N$17 million on the N$32 million it owes the City of Windhoek. Records provided by the municipality show that several schools in had outstanding water and electricity bills amounting to millions, with 22 secondary schools owing the City N$18.8 million and 38 primary schools owing a total of N$11 million. The records show that: Augustineum Secondary School has one of the highest arrears, owing the City more than N$2.8 million in unpaid water and electricity. Academia Secondary School has an outstanding debt, stretching back more than four months, of more than N$1.2 million. Windhoek High School's utility bill stands at more than N$1.6 million, and the Concordia account is in arrears by more than N$2 million. Eros Primary School is in arrears by over N$1.1 million, A. Shipena Secondary School by over N$1 million and Jan Mohr Secondary School by more than N$1.3 million. Reasons provided for such high bills were mainly associated to weak water-management practices and identified leaks that are not being fixed. In addition, offices and special schools made up the difference of more than N$2.5 million water and electricity debts.
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https://www.namibiansun.com/news/waterwoes-cripple-rundu2018-11-16/
December 2018
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Figure 16: Photo Curtesy - RDJ
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Namibia stops timber harvesting The Forestry Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) has officially ordered the suspension of the harvesting and trading in Namibia's timber.
O
n 23rd November 2018, the environment minister Pohamba Shifeta revealed that all the timber harvesting permits issued in the last three years were illegal because they had not received the requisite environmental clearance. Therefore, all permits should be withdrawn, and proof of withdrawal should be submitted to his Ministry. Shortly after his announcement, the Directorate of the MAWF also issued a memorandum on 26 November 2018 in which he instructed forestry officials to suspend all issued permits with immediate effect and to stop issuing new permits until further notice. In the memorandum the Director of Forestry instructed the following; “Please inform the clients that all timber activities are put on hold, hence they must not harvest, transport, market or export any timber products (logs, blocks, planks) to avoid confiscating their timber,�. Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Environment Ministries are busy discussing how to harmonise the regulation of timber harvesting in the country.
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Figure 17:"The Pervasive
Network, where connectivity is unobtrusive yet always available, is moving to its next phase of evolution; and Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are finding that scaling to new growth is a deliberate and perpetual change journey, not a single transformative event.�
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Source - https://www.accenture.com
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC)22 MTC’s active subscribers MTC, the country’s premier network and information technology Company, proudly announced that as of 09 November 2018, it has reached the 2.5 million active subscribers mark on its books. This represents a customer base growth of 500,000 more active subscribers since 28th February 2012 when it had only 2 million.
Number of Active Subscribers
Inrease in number of MTC Active Subscribers 3000000 2500000 2000000 1500000 1000000 500000 0
Timeline Figure 18: Author's Representation based on MTC Data
This is quite a remarkable achievement considering that Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) estimates a Namibian population of 2.413 million. MTC’s calculation is based on an active subscriber’s definition by global industry standards, meaning that an active SIM subscriber implies that the SIM card should have been active in the last three months to be defined as such.
“MTC secure cloud” service solutions MTC has reported to be determined in finding ways to deliver a comprehensive fiber internet and digital Cloud computing services for secure and reliable business solutions to government, public and private enterprises. This service(s) will be available to customers as of March 2019, and in order to achieve this goal, MTC Namibia has collaborated with the Chinese Global ICT Leader, Huawei to offer the market with cloud product solutions, the “MTC Secure Cloud.”
MTC and Huawei deploy the first LTE 4T6S solution in Africa MTC Namibia partnered with Huawei to put the 4T6S solution into large-scale commercial use. While this move is a conscious decision to efficiently improve network capacity and overall user experience while helping to slash site power consumption and total cost of operation, Windhoek Central Business District (CBD) is seen to be the benefiting area for this service.
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http://www.mtc.com.na/corporate/press-releases
December 2018
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Figure 19: RDJ Photo showing roads in Windhoek, Namibia
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
A new Agreement between Namibia and Botswana rail entities23
A
s a start of a beneficial relationship to develop and enhance trade between both countries, TransNamib Holdings and Botswana Railways have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Gaborone on 26 November 2018. This agreement will see a container terminal developed at Gobabis for their mutual benefits. According to both signatories, the agreement signed brigs a lot of benefits to both countries. They said that the cooperation will:
help open up import and export opportunities that will help unlock the value of the TransKalahari route, although the two countries have not yet been linked by rail serve as the short to medium-term partnership to connect the two rail companies via rail-road intermodal services between Walvis Bay and Gobabis, which will replace the road transportation return trip, which is about 1 200 kilometres serve as motivation to bring back life into rail again serves as a starting point to assist the two governments to develop the Trans-Kalahari Railway project help the two parties to collaborate in train plan automatization, signalling systems, level crossings, siding connectivity, human capital-related learning and growth
“The RDJ Internship Program” Still Shaping Professional Graduates!!!
_ 2019 Applications Opening Soon _
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https://www.namibian.com.na/73647/read/TransNamib-Botswana-Railways-sign-MoU
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Namibia is often described as Africa’s optimist –and with good reason. Not only does it enjoy one of the continent’s most pleasant, peaceful and politically stable environments, but also an infrastructure to rival many developed countries.
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Namibia Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Highway Road Tenders
I
n the previous edition of the RDJ Briefing (pg. 44), it was reported that the Minister of Finance had written to the Minister of Works requesting to extend closing date for applications of the rail and road tenders which were due on 10 and 12 October 2018, respectively in order to allow Namibian companies to bid for the same contracts. For now, this decision is still being discussed. Once again, the Central Procurement Board has told the Roads Authority to re-advertise two highway road tenders worth N$1.4 billion24. This includes the Windhoek to Okahandja road which will be extended by 21 kilometres for N$1 billion as well as the Swakopmund to Walvis Bay road which will be extended by eight kilometres for N$435 million. However, the Roads Authority, a parastatal tasked with constructing and managing national roads, believes that the procurement process for the Windhoek to Okahandja road, scheduled for completion by 2018 as part of the “Harambee road projects” goals, will delay the projects for more years.
NAMPOWER25 Construction of Transformers Accessories Shed at Brakwater Windhoek Bid Number
W/ONB/NPWR-09/2019
Bid Type
Open National Bidding
Clarification Closing Date
11 Jan 2019 at 00:00 Namibian Time
Bid Closing Date
25 Jan 2019 at 11:00 Namibian Time
Upgrading of Fire Water Tank and Water Reticulation at Brakwate Bid Number
W/ONB/NPWR-08/2019
Bid Type
Open National Bidding
Clarification Closing Date
11 Jan 2019 at 00:00 Namibian Time
Bid Closing Date
25 Jan 2019 at 11:00 Namibian Time
https://www.namibian.com.na/73564/read/RA-told-to-re-advertise-N$14b-tenders https://www.nampower.com.na
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
Unemployment and inequality remain Namibia's biggest challenges, with about
37%
of
the
working
unemployed in 2017.
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Status of the Namibian Economy 2017 Report
population
Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018
EDITORIAL TEAM RESEARCHERS: Fares Shipaxu Chilombo Olga Priscila
WRITER: Fares Shipaxu Chilombo Olga Priscila
LAYOUT: Chilombo Olga Priscila
EDITOR: Chilombo Olga Priscila David Jarrett
REVIEWER Lahja Amaambo
PUBLISHER: RDJ Consulting
CONTACT: RDJ Consulting Services CC PO Box 23738 Windhoek, NAMIBIA Telephone: +264 61 400 171 Email – Briefing@rdjconsulting.co.za RDJ Consulting Services CC is an advisory consultancy to the Energy, Water and Transport Sectors with a focus on sustainable operations and renewable energy.
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Visit our website www.rdjconsulting.co.za for more information.
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Country Brief – NAMIBIA
December 2018