Month: July 2024

The Bank of Namibia’s 2024 quarterly bulletin released on Friday showed that inflation slowed to 5.0 per cent, from 5.7 per cent registered in the previous quarter, mainly due to lower inflation rates for food and alcoholic beverages.

It indicated that annually, overall inflation eased by 2.1 percentage points, dropping from 7.1 per cent registered in the corresponding quarter of 2023, due to a decline in food and transport inflation.

In May 2024, the annual inflation rate stood at 4.9 per cent, an increase from 4.8 per cent registered in April 2024. Overall inflation is projected to slow to 4.9 per cent in 2024 and 4.5 per cent in 2025, compared to an average of 5.9 per cent in 2023, it said.

The domestic economy continued to grow, but at a slower pace during the first quarter of 2024, primarily due to weak performance in the primary and secondary industries.

The report further said the economy registered a growth rate of 4.7 per cent during the first quarter of 2024, down from the 5.3 per cent growth re
corded in the corresponding quarter of 2023. In the primary industry, the mining sector registered slower growth during the quarter under review, primarily due to weaker diamond production and a decline in uranium output, despite robust growth in oil and gas exploration activities.

‘The agricultural sector was sustained by the drought-induced marketing of cattle and small stock, despite the adverse climate impact on crop production. Furthermore, activity in the secondary industry slowed and was dragged down by a decline in the manufacturing sector, mainly driven by a contraction in diamond processing,’ it read.

It further indicated that on the fiscal front, the Central Government’s debt stock and loan guarantees as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined at the end of March 2024, compared to the same period a year ago. The Government debt stock declined to 66.0 per cent of GDP at the end of March 2024 from 67.2 per cent during the corresponding period in the previous year, owing to faster grow
th in nominal GDP compared to the rise in debt over the period under review.

‘In nominal terms, central Government debt rose by 8.0 per cent to N.dollars 153.8 billion at the end of March 2024 on the back of a rise in the issuance of both Treasury Bills (TBs) and Internal Registered Stock (IRS) as well as a rise in external debt,’ it indicated.

An increase in external public debt was caused by exchange rate depreciation, the disbursement of funding from the KFW Development Bank, and a loan from the African Development Bank.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

President Nangolo Mbumba has said that for Namibia to get a bigger share of its mineral wealth, its citizens must be properly trained and actively involved in mining operations.

During his visit to the Ministry of Mines and Energy here on Monday, Mbumba expressed the importance of encouraging young people to pursue critical courses that would enable them to participate in the mining sector.

‘Those of you close to those who are still attending universities, they must really study difficult things. It is not enough just to learn the easier things. To get minerals out of the ground, it is not a joke. To get petroleum out of the ground, which is under the sea, is not a joke. It demands the real people who think and are determined,’ he said during the meeting with the senior management of the ministry.

‘We are talking about wanting a bigger share of our resources. Yes the resources are yours but you only benefit once it is out of the ground. So unless you have enough people who are involved in these mining proj
ects – digging and processing – your share will definitely be small.’

Mbumba also reminded the executives of the Ministry of Mines and Energy that they have an important responsibility to oversee the national wealth.

‘You as officials, you are holding the value and the wealth of the nation. Your behaviour will determine whether our country will develop and will not develop,’ said the Head of State.

On his part, Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo said mining continues to be one of the most important sectors of the economy.

The minister told the president that it is the ministry’s mandate to ensure the continued importance of the mining sector. ‘We are preoccupied with figuring out how we accelerate the finding of minerals, because if we don’t find minerals, we will never have mines,’ said the minister.

Alweendo also said that the ministry is actively promoting value-addition in the mineral sector. ‘I think you all recall last year when we decided not to allow the exportation of some of the critical mi
nerals to be exported in raw form but rather to be value added before they are exported. That is something we are critically looking at and making sure that mining still takes place, but we are also adding value to those minerals,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The current water supply infrastructure in Rundu has surpassed its useful economic lifespan, making it increasingly difficult to meet the growing water demands of its population.

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Calle Schlettwein made these remarks during the official launch of the Rundu Water Treatment Plant Extension here on Monday.

‘As we all know Rundu, by population, is the second largest local authority in Namibia of about 118 000 people. It is one of the fastest growing towns and thus the strain on its water supply has been notable over the years,’ Schlettwein said.

He said as the town expands and the population grows, the strain on its existing systems intensifies.

‘We must act decisively to address these issues. Our access to potable water supply currently in the country stands at 87 per cent, and we are committed to closing the gap and extending water supply to the remaining 13 per cent in the shortest possible time,’ he stated.

The minister explained that water for the town of Ru
ndu is abtracted from the Kavango River using two different abstraction installations and conveyance pipelines, which pump the water to two distribution points – Rundu and Nkarapamwe, respectively.

At present, both water treatment plants at Rundu and the Nkarapamwe schemes are direct filtration systems and the total capacity of these schemes is about 840 m3/h.

These two schemes are old and have reached their full supply capacity. Components of the schemes have reached the end of their economic useful life.

Schlettwein pointed out that the contract for the construction of this infrastructure was awarded to a capable contractor, and the project will cost N.dollars 665 million.

‘While here, I should acknowledge that the N.dollars 665 million is part of the African Development Bank loan facility of about N.dollars 1.8 billion meant to finance projects under the Namibia Water Sector Support Program such as this (Rundu’s new purification plant), the Ohangwena II Wellfield Water Supply Schemes (WSS) Project, the
Oshakati new purification plant, and many other related projects,’ he noted.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency