namibia journal - gov march 2018_compressed (002).pdf · 2020. 6. 16. · quot alterum te eam, pro...

| MAY - JUNE 2017 | INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL 1

NAMIBIA, AFRICA’S TOURISM

SUCCESS STORY

INSIDE:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, his erat platonem te, cum in veritus aliquando.





Volume 1 Issue 1 | May-June 2017

Enhancing Investment for Job & Wealth CreationN A M I B I A J O U R N A L

Targeted policy formulation to

address economic challenges

Tourism sector opportunities open

for investment

President urges sustained efforts to promote good

governance

Industry Growth Strategies being

successfully implemented

Namibia leads in sustainable tourism Page23

Enhancing Investment to propel ‘Growth at Home’

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2018

TI N D E P E N D E N C E E D I T I O N

OURISM IN FOCUS

2 INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL | MARCH 2018

Enterprises and infrastructure are drivers of economic activity and development. By nurturing the ambitions of locally

registered enterprises, with flexible finance and support - in the fields of manufacturing, transport and logistics, tourism

and infrastructure development - the Development Bank of Namibia creates an economic future for Namibia,

and prosperity for its borrowers.

If you have a plan for an enterprise or infrastructure, call 061 - 290 8000, and expect more.

Expect more.Finance for enterprise

and infrastructure.

www.dbn.com.na

Expect more.

3INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL | MARCH 2018

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PublisherNamibia Investment Centre

EditorTunga-Eumbo H. Mboti

Graphic Design & LayoutIsack Kapembe

AdvertisingJulien Irion, Maria Stephanus & Kuda Mutuma

DistributionNamibia Investment CentreGlobe Communications Namibia

PrintersSolitaire Press

COVER PHOTO CAPTION AND CREDIT

The Namibia Business Journal is produced by Globe Communications Namibia cc, Unit 9 Tal Terrace, Windhoek, P.O. Box 23698, Windhoek,

Namibia Telephone: +264 61 247086Fax: +264 61 245287 Cell: +264 81 128 0784

Email: [email protected]

The Invest Namibia Journal is published byThe Namibia Investment Centre

Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Windhoek, Namibia,

Private Bag 13340 , Telephone: +264 61 283 7315 Fax: +264 61 220 278 Email: [email protected]

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IN THIS ISSUENo recusabo democritum

An ius graecis assentior

Id dicant commodo iuvaret pro

Te sed putent denique omittantur, aeterno delectus

His ex propriae mnesarchum

At duo animal iuvaret, ad quo magna accusata

At sale tantas fabellas ius, omnium tritani usu cu

His ex propriae mnesarchum, ad his munere

Consequat tincidunt repudiandae eu his

Quot alterum te eam, pro legimus voluptua inimicus


Nam nulla lucilius constituto ei







© Copyright by Namibia Investment Centre. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of the Publisher is prohibited. The views expressed in the Invest Namibia Journal are not necessarily those of the Publisher, and acceptance of editorial and advertising in the Invest Namibia Journal does not imply any endorsement or warranty in respect of goods or services therein described.

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COVER STORY Caption and Credit

www.dbn.com.na

No pollution. No environmental damage.

We want to keep it that way.

At the Development Bank of Namibia we understand the need to balance

economic development and the health of our future. We believe

that the health of the environment and the health of communities

are among Namibia’s greatest assets, now and for generations to come.

Our environmental and social management system considers each project

we finance in terms of environmental and social impacts,

and looks for ways to mitigate the risks so that all can enjoy the fruits

of development in a sustainable manner.

If you are involved in a sustainable enterprise or infrastructural project

with positive social outcomes and low environmental impact,

we want to hear from you.

Call 061 - 290 8000.

Good business is good for development.


EditorTunga Mboti

Editorial CommitteeDolly Amoomo

Tunga Mboti

Lwaba Jario

Tokkie Nchindo

Tabby Moyo

Editorial ContributorsNamibia Investment Centre

Ngoni Bopoto

Sandra Katengela

Kirstin Wiedow

Tabby Moyo

Graphic Design & LayoutGlobe Communications Namibia

Advertising Globe Communications Namibia

DistributionNamibia Investment Centre

PrintersPhoenix Welwitschia







and infrastructure.

www.dbn.com.na

Expect more.

ContentsIntroduction…..……..……………………………………......…………..……….......….4

Welcoming message for new Ministers…………………………………..…………….. 5

Economic challenges tackled through targeted policy formulation………...……….7-9

Namibia tourism presents opportunity to unlock rural development …………....10-11

Windhoek: The Gateway to Unlimited Opportunities………………………….….12-13

President urges sustained drive to promote investment……………………...……14-15

Namibia Plastics unveils N$95 million manufacturing plant……………………..….17

Namibia a popular destination for international conventions…………………….18-19

Conservancies earn international recognition……………………………..……….20-21

A global leader in sustainable tourism…………………………………………………23

Spotlight on some of Namibia’s Tourist Hotspots…………………………...……..24-25

Decoding Moody’s Rating Methodology……………………………………………26-27

Namibia still one of the least corrupt African countries…………………………...….29

Tourism a key driver of socio-economic progress……………………………………30

In the Limelight: Faster Registration of Businesses with BIPA………………………..31

Namibia takes lead in facilitating cross-border movement ……………………….32-33

Tackling poaching, stepping up drive to fully exploit wildlife resources………….34-35

Development Bank moves to fill gap left by SME Bank closure………………...…….36

Industry Growth Strategies successfully implemented…………………………..……37

The Innovation Scene - Emerging Local Start-ups…..……………………………..39-41

MITSMED Departmental Brief Description…………………………….…………….44

Commercial Counsellors Contact Details…………………………...………………...45

The Invest Namibia Journal is produced by Globe Communications Namibia cc,

Unit 9 Tal Terrace, Windhoek, P.O. Box 99113, Windhoek, Namibia

Telephone: +264 61 247086 Cell: +264 81 626 0010


Special Focus.....Namibia Tourism Sector


CON

TEN

TS



EditorTunga-Eumbo H. Mboti

Graphic Design & LayoutIsack Kapembe

AdvertisingJulien Irion, Maria Stephanus & Kuda Mutuma

DistributionNamibia Investment CentreGlobe Communications Namibia

PrintersSolitaire Press

COVER PHOTO CAPTION AND CREDIT

The Namibia Business Journal is produced by Globe Communications Namibia cc, Unit 9 Tal Terrace, Windhoek, P.O. Box 23698, Windhoek,

Namibia Telephone: +264 61 247086Fax: +264 61 245287 Cell: +264 81 128 0784


The Invest Namibia Journal is published byThe Namibia Investment Centre

Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Windhoek, Namibia,

Private Bag 13340 , Telephone: +264 61 283 7315 Fax: +264 61 220 278 Email: [email protected]

CO

NT

EN

TS

IN THIS ISSUENo recusabo democritum

An ius graecis assentior

Id dicant commodo iuvaret pro


His ex propriae mnesarchum

At duo animal iuvaret, ad quo magna accusata


His ex propriae mnesarchum, ad his munere




Nam nulla lucilius constituto ei







© Copyright by Namibia Investment Centre. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of the Publisher is prohibited. The views expressed in the Invest Namibia Journal are not necessarily those of the Publisher, and acceptance of editorial and advertising in the Invest Namibia Journal does not imply any endorsement or warranty in respect of goods or services therein described.

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6

8

13

15

16

18

20

21

22

24

27

30

32

33

34

35

35

COVER STORY Caption and Credit

www.dbn.com.na

No pollution. No environmental damage.

We want to keep it that way.

At the Development Bank of Namibia we understand the need to balance

economic development and the health of our future. We believe

that the health of the environment and the health of communities

are among Namibia’s greatest assets, now and for generations to come.

Our environmental and social management system considers each project

we finance in terms of environmental and social impacts,

and looks for ways to mitigate the risks so that all can enjoy the fruits

of development in a sustainable manner.

If you are involved in a sustainable enterprise or infrastructural project

with positive social outcomes and low environmental impact,

we want to hear from you.

Call 061 - 290 8000.

Good business is good for development.


EditorTunga Mboti

Editorial CommitteeDolly Amoomo

Tunga Mboti

Lwaba Jario

Tokkie Nchindo

Tabby Moyo

Editorial ContributorsNamibia Investment Centre

Ngoni Bopoto

Sandra Katengela

Kirstin Wiedow

Tabby Moyo

Graphic Design & LayoutGlobe Communications Namibia

Advertising Globe Communications Namibia

DistributionNamibia Investment Centre

PrintersPhoenix Welwitschia







and infrastructure.

www.dbn.com.na

Expect more.

ContentsIntroduction…..……..……………………………………......…………..……….......….4

Welcoming message for new Ministers…………………………………..…………….. 5

Economic challenges tackled through targeted policy formulation………...……….7-9

Namibia tourism presents opportunity to unlock rural development …………....10-11

Windhoek: The Gateway to Unlimited Opportunities………………………….….12-13

President urges sustained drive to promote investment……………………...……14-15

Namibia Plastics unveils N$95 million manufacturing plant……………………..….17

Namibia a popular destination for international conventions…………………….18-19

Conservancies earn international recognition……………………………..……….20-21

A global leader in sustainable tourism…………………………………………………23

Spotlight on some of Namibia’s Tourist Hotspots…………………………...……..24-25

Decoding Moody’s Rating Methodology……………………………………………26-27

Namibia still one of the least corrupt African countries…………………………...….29

Tourism a key driver of socio-economic progress……………………………………30

In the Limelight: Faster Registration of Businesses with BIPA………………………..31

Namibia takes lead in facilitating cross-border movement ……………………….32-33

Tackling poaching, stepping up drive to fully exploit wildlife resources………….34-35

Development Bank moves to fill gap left by SME Bank closure………………...…….36

Industry Growth Strategies successfully implemented…………………………..……37

The Innovation Scene - Emerging Local Start-ups…..……………………………..39-41

MITSMED Departmental Brief Description…………………………….…………….44

Commercial Counsellors Contact Details…………………………...………………...45

The Invest Namibia Journal is produced by Globe Communications Namibia cc,

Unit 9 Tal Terrace, Windhoek, P.O. Box 99113, Windhoek, Namibia

Telephone: +264 61 247086 Cell: +264 81 626 0010


Special Focus.....Namibia Tourism Sector


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Welcome to the 2nd edition of our young publication, the Invest Namibia Jour-nal (INJ). This edition is published at a time when we are marking 28 years of

our country’s Independence. If anything, it is a demon-stration that now more than ever, we are committed in our efforts to continuously showcase investment and trade opportunities in our country as we strive toward economic independence. Allow me, on behalf of our Honourable Minister, Deputy Minister and the entire staff of the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development and the Namibia Investment Centre (NIC), to wish every Namibian a happy 28th Independence Anniversary. As we mark yet another milestone, let us remember where we are coming from as we embark on the jour-ney that still lies ahead. Our Governments’ various trade and investment pro-motion initiatives, coupled with the Growth at Home agenda, remain key in ensuring that we meet the de-velopment goals set out in the National Development Plans, Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan. Through the INJ, we will continue to highlight the key areas for investment and trade in line with H.E. President Dr. Hage Geingob’s call for sustained efforts towards investment promotion and economic uplift-ment activities.

In this 2nd installment of the INJ, we zoom in on the Tourism Sector, an economic area that holds immense

opportunity for more investment and development activity. Namibia continues to gain world recognition for her efforts in tourism promotion, in particular sus-tainable tourism activities, but a lot still remains to be done to realise the full potential of this key sector of our economy, as highlighted in the National Tourism Investment Profile and Promotion Strategy (2016-2026) and the National Sustainable Tourism Growth Development Strategy (2016-2026). As the Environment and Tourism Minister, Hon. Po-hamba Shifeta explained, focus must be placed on addressing the constraints for growth in tourism to re-position the sector to become a key national eco-nomic and development sector of choice. Read more on these efforts, and other key developments in the local tourism sector and other value-addition sectors, in this edition. It is our sincere hope that the INJ will make a differ-ence in its drive to showcase Namibia’s investment and trade potential by availing relevant information that helps you the reader, the businessperson and/or the investor in your decision making process. We there-fore welcome any feedback from our readers within the borders of Namibia and abroad. Happy Reading!

Gabriel P. SinimboPermanent SecretaryMinistry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development

PEACEFUL TRANSITION: Namibia has seen a peaceful and constitutional transfer of power from Founding President and Father of the Namibian Nation, Dr. Sam Nujoma, to former President, Dr. Hifikepunye Pohamba and to the current President, H.E Dr. Hage G. Geingob

Time to accelerate efforts towards Economic Independence


WEL

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E CHANGE OF GUARD AT MITSMED

The Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development (MITSMED) welcomes back Hon. Tjekero Tweya as its new

Minister and Hon. Lucia Iipumbu as the new Deputy Minister.

Hon. Tweya is a familiar face at the Ministry having served as Deputy Minister from 2007-2012, before being reassigned to head the Ministry of Informa-tion, Communication and Technology.

In his first address to staff of MITSMED as the new Minister, Hon. Tweya reiterated that the year 2018 is a year of “RECKONING” and emphasised that “we need to examine ourselves to establish if we are the weak or strong link in development”.

The Hon. Minister underscored the importance of every member of staff, saying “we ought to pull to-gether in the same direction and take our job seri-ously in executing our mandate entrusted upon us in the Namibian House under the sub-theme ‘Think differently’”

He further stated that Namibia is a member of a glo-balised economy, hence the need to drive ‘Growth at Home’ to optimise the opportunities availed within the regional economy.

WELCOME

In her staff address Hon. Iipumbu said the MITSMED is pivotal in taking Namibia to prosperity as per the Vision 2030, NDP5 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan. She said the Ministry is responsible for spear-heading three very important sectors, namely - indus-trialisation, trade and SME development - which are not only wide in scope but also very critical for the realisation of the national socio-economic develop-ment goals.

The entire staff of the MITSMED wishes the Hon. Minister and Hon. Deputy Minister a rewarding working environment that will drive the Ministry’s Agenda forward.

Welcome Aboard!

Hon. Tjekero TweyaMinister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development

Hon. Lucia IipumbuDeputy Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development

Hon. Immanuel NgatjizekoFAREWELL

Hon. Piet van der Walt

At the same time, the entire staff bids farewell to Hon. Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko who served as Minis-ter of MITSMED from 2014-2017. Hon. Ngatjizeko had served in the same Ministry from 2005 to 2011 before he was reassigned to the Ministry of Labour. He also served briefly as Presidential Affairs Minis-ter prior to his retirement. We wish Hon. Ngatjizeko a new journey of good health and success in his re-tirement.

Hon. Piet van der Walt, former Deputy Minister of MITSMED has been reassigned to the National Plan-ning Commission in the same capacity. We also wish him success in his new and equally important role!


www.gipf.com.na

Ondangwa 065 – 241381/2 Swakopmund 064 – 461735

GIPF is a fund that provides pension benefits for civil servants and employees of member institutions. Please feel free to contact any of our offices.

keohdniW 061 awgnadnO 0001502 – 065 dnumpokawS 2/183142 – 064 sibaboG 24/537164 – 062 890465 – oliluM amitaK 066 ognorawijtO 322452/985452 – 067 poohsnamteeK 9/870703 – 063 udnuR 120622 – 066 – 256820/1

itakahsO 065 – 220587/42


The GIPF Circle of InvestmentHow do member funds contribute to the growth of their pension fund?

Here’s how GIPF makes your retirement money work for you.

ContributionsGIPF collects money from members and their respective employers in the form of monthly contributions.

InvestingThe Board of Trustees invests the contributions in unlisted and listed investments based on recommendations from the Investment Committee and an independent investment consultant.

GrowthOnce funds have been invested, they are allowed the opportunity to grow within the market and generate returns.

Guaranteed BenefitsThe money generated adds to the fund base that secures the guaranteed benefits of all GIPF members.

Claims PaidThe funds generated by GIPF are then used to process and pay the claims made by our members. Reinvestment

Any residual funds are then reinvested back into the investment fund, ready for another round of growth.

N$

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Structural economic challenges tackledthrough targeted

policy formulation

The past two years have been characterised by an extremely challenging economic en-vironment and we are by all indicators still in the thick of it. It is clear that government

spending has been the primary source of economic growth since the global financial meltdown.

The withdrawal of this stimulus, through govern-ment’s fiscal consolidation stance, has presented new challenges in the economy. The confluence of factors leading to the prevailing business operating environment all stem from structural economic is-sues which the government has begun to address, through targeted policy formu-lation. Our vulnerability to external fac-tors requires research-centric, inward-fo-cused sustainable solutions which will ultimately change the structure of the Namibian economy.

While this may be prolonged and un-comfortable for many, just like fiscal con-solidation it is a necessary evil and better off addressed sooner rather than later. In the near-term, treasury’s ability to allo-cate resources optimally, curb spending by State-owned Enterprises (SoEs) and move to commercialise select operations will determine the sustainability of an economic recovery.

The Namibian economy managed to reach GDP growth of 1.1% in 2016, based on quarterly estimates published by the Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA), which indicate that the economy con-tracted in the first three quarters of 2017. We will in all likelihood print a negative GDP reading for the year as a whole. This is consistent with high frequency indicators and reflective of the pain ex-perienced by businesses and individuals alike. This said, it is worth noting that the quarterly GDP estimates are subject to revision. The retail, construction and government-led social sectors have been most directly affected, however, the dom-ino effect has been inevitable.

The Bank of Namibia’s February 2018 economic outlook presented revised growth estimates indi-

Source: Bank of Namibia, NSA, INJ

Real GDP growth

Primary Industries real growth

• NGONI BOPOTO

cating that the economy contracted by 0.6% in 2017 is expected to improve to growth of 1.4% in 2018 and 2.1% in 2019. Despite local and regional growth

www.gipf.com.na

Ondangwa 065 – 241381/2 Swakopmund 064 – 461735

GIPF is a fund that provides pension benefits for civil servants and employees of member institutions. Please feel free to contact any of our offices.

keohdniW 061 awgnadnO 0001502 – 065 dnumpokawS 2/183142 – 064 sibaboG 24/537164 – 062 890465 – oliluM amitaK 066 ognorawijtO 322452/985452 – 067 poohsnamteeK 9/870703 – 063 udnuR 120622 – 066 – 256820/1

itakahsO 065 – 220587/42


The GIPF Circle of InvestmentHow do member funds contribute to the growth of their pension fund?

Here’s how GIPF makes your retirement money work for you.

ContributionsGIPF collects money from members and their respective employers in the form of monthly contributions.

InvestingThe Board of Trustees invests the contributions in unlisted and listed investments based on recommendations from the Investment Committee and an independent investment consultant.

GrowthOnce funds have been invested, they are allowed the opportunity to grow within the market and generate returns.

Guaranteed BenefitsThe money generated adds to the fund base that secures the guaranteed benefits of all GIPF members.

Claims PaidThe funds generated by GIPF are then used to process and pay the claims made by our members. Reinvestment

Any residual funds are then reinvested back into the investment fund, ready for another round of growth.

N$

N$

N$

N$N$

N$

N$

N$

N$

N$

N$

N$


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Source: Bank of Namibia, NSA, INJ

Secondary Industries real growth

Tertiary Industries real growth

constraints evidence of a recovery in the developed economies continues to gain credibility albeit prolonged. This will most like-ly stimulate emerging economy drivers over the medium-term and improve growth prospects for BRIC and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The assumptions underpinning the Bank of Namibia’s forecasts include:

• A recovering agricultural industry in 2017 following better rains experienced during the 2016/17 season. Crop produc-tion is however expected to recede in 2018 following a record harvest in 2017.

• A significant increase in diamond production during 2017, but this is expected to slow in 2018 due to closure of some

onshore mines.

• Uranium mining to remain under pressure due to low internation-al prices for uranium, while the volume of production is expected to increase in 2018 led by Husab mine prices are also expected to increase modestly this year.

• Production increases in the zinc and lead sub-sector is expected to drive growth for metal ores during 2018 and 2019.

• While construction is estimated to have contracted in 2017, the rate of contraction is expected to moderate in 2018.

• Government is expected to follow a fiscal consolidation path as reflected in the current Medium Term Ex-penditure Framework (MTEF).

While the private sector is expected to take the lead role in terms of driv-ing the economy a recession led weak demand-side constrains the business operating environment in general and impedes investment outlays. Investors must take note that while some near-term opportunities present themselves (particularly in the funding space) con-siderable value also lies in the medium to long term given an increased likeli-hood of discounted asset valuations in the prevailing economic environment.

The concept of mobilising domestic savings is noble and serves to address the capital deficit inherent in the do-mestic economy provided it is targeted and managed according to established best practices. Research shows that domestic investment has a strong in-fluence on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the host-economy, implying that domestic investment is a strong catalyst for FDI and also has the added benefit of increasing local equity participation.


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There are, however, concerns that limited appropriate investment opportunities in the domestic economy may result in too much money chasing a small pool of investments which could result in an asset price bubble. Furthermore, given that the bulk of savings are in the form of pension funds, it is necessary to find investments with a suitable risk/reward profile and avoid geographic concentration.

This presents a catch 22 situation as the level of local economic development requires early stage funding (seed and venture capital) while the risk profile of available capital leans to the conservative side of the spectrum. The traditional structure of the domestic financial services industry must evolve to accom-modate the wider range of independent investment support services such as deal origination and adviso-ry thereby improving the efficiency of our investment processes.

Despite these concerns, if well executed, the move will arguably accelerate development of the local cap-ital markets and fuel the ‘Growth at Home’ strategy which in turn seeks to address structural economic

issues such as the susceptibility to external events. While it can be argued that the private sector does not have sufficient scale at the moment to mean-ingfully impact GDP growth and drive an econom-ic recovery, it will move to resuscitate economic ac-tivity and absorb an increasingly idle labour force.

Surely economic development and improving living standards for the average Namibian is more sustainable than increasing economic activity with narrow benefits. Furthermore, the latter is ob-scured by factors such as the unequal distribution of wealth which result in skew per capita ratios and subsequently the misrepresentative middle income status. This misrepresentation is more a function of the lop-sided distribution of income rather than the small size of the population. Therefore, in order to measure the impact of policies aimed at address-ing structural deficiencies more accurately, it is critical that we select appropriate benchmarks of which GDP should be one but not considered the most important.

• Ngoni Bopoto is an Economic Analyst for Namibia Equity Brokers

WeDeliverMore.


NAMIBIA TOURISM PRESENTS OPPORTUNITYTO UNLOCK RURAL DEVELOPMENT – MINISTER SHIFETA

Namibia tourism needs to undergo a transformation for it to see tangible gains in the near future, the Minister of Environment and Tourism (MET)

Hon. Pohamba Shifeta outlines in an investment presentation document.

“Namibia’s tourism industry is an important sector and the third largest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sustained growth in tourism could raise its ranking to the second or even first position,” the Minister says.

In line with the country’s vision to make tourism a strategic sector - as also prescribed in Namibia De-velopment Programme and Vision 2030 - the MET developed two strategic documents: the National Tourism Investment Profile and Promotion Strate-gy (2016-2026) and the National Sustainable Tour-ism Growth Development Strategy (2016-2026).

The aims of the strategic documents, says Minister Shifeta, are to address constraints in the Namibia tourism sector, re-position the sector to become a key national economic and development sector of choice, and to transform the country into the most competitive tourism destination in Africa.

The Minister says investment opportunities lay in rural development in terms of building or improv-ing transport infrastructure, education, water and telecom facilities. “The Namibia tourism industry is a particularly important sector for rural develop-ment through its multiplier effect. The sector pres-ents enormous opportunities for job creation and economic development, particularly in remote ru-ral areas.

“It provides opportunities for creating self-employ-ment in small and medium sized income generating activities accommodation establishments (B&B), tour operator (shuttles), hand crafts and community based tourism enterprises.”

Other investment opportunities that have been iden-tified by MET are promotion of ship cruises, tourism dry ports, township tours, international convention centres, the Zambezi Waterfront Tourism Park at Katima Mulilo and the Kavango River Waterfront.

Opportunities for investment also exist in film tourism as Namibia has significant potential for developing this subsector, with the coastal town of Swakopmund and sounding areas ideally suited for film production.Prospective investors in the tourism sector are pre-sented with the nine guiding principles of the Namib-ian tourism policy which are: 1. Must serve government objectives and shall be for

the benefit of all Namibians and visitors;2. Tourism must be competitive;3. Must enable private sector to operate and compete

in global markets to generate responsible tourism;4. Increase local participation and equity to ensure

spread of benefits;5. Tourism development must be economically, so-

cially and environmentally sustainable;6. Sustainability should be linked to the protection

of natural resource base i.e. environment, wildlife and culture;

7. Government should play a facilitator and regula-tor role and not the operator;

8. Tourism investment, development and promotion should be market driven; and,

9. The human factor should be of prime importance.

INV

ESTM

ENT

Hon. Pohamba Shifeta Minister of Environment and Tourism


INV

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The local tourism industry is recognised as a valuable arm of the economy and as an important contributor to generation of foreign exchange earnings, invest-ment, revenue, employment (labour intensive), pov-erty reduction, and in turn reducing income inequal-ity (wealth distribution).

Tourism has become a popular leisure activity, and Namibian tourism is no different with statistics show-ing growth in foreign tourist arrivals over the years; from 220 000 tourists in 1992 to 984 099 tourists in 2010, 1 387 773 tourists in 2015 and over 1, 57 million in 2016.

Namibia tourism sector is based on wildlife, land-scapes and cultures. When inaugurating the new head office of the Namibia Tourism Board, President Hage Geingob bemoaned the lack of access to finance by tourism operators, the lack of national marketing and serviced land. The President said the sector must un-lock potential through aggressive promotion, market-ing, product development, and economic transforma-tion and empowerment of the historically excluded.

“This must be coupled with aggressive competitive and comparative advantages through the removal of unnecessary barriers, financial and technological or infrastructural,” said the head of state.

Other current challenges facing the tourism indus-try which need re-evaluation include the fact that Namibia’s tourism remains largely seasonal, mean-ing that income does not flow throughout the year but is compressed to 4-6 months per annum.

Secondly, the sector needs to improve on custom-er service delivery so that the country cultivates a reputation as a destination that offers superior cus-tomer service compared to other African countries.

Thirdly, the lack of skills still remains a challenge that needs addressing. Delving into the issue fur-ther Shifeta says: “Human resources have been identified as a major weakness to Namibia’s overall competitiveness as a tourism destination. The skill deficit situation is likely to worsen unless action is taken.”

The MET is also looking at tackling the lack of eco-nomic incentives in tourism; rehabilitation and upgrading of infrastructures in virgin tourist areas; attracting investment in communal conservancies which is a major challenge due to issues of access to finance, land tenure concerns, and human resourc-es capacity/training, amongst others.

Namibia wide open spaces


INV

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“SMART & Caring City by 2022”City of Windhoek

This Document was produced by:The Office of the Chief Executive Officer

Strategy & Perfomance Management UnitP.O.Box 59 Windhoek

www.cityofwindhoek.org.na

Windhoek, capital city of Namibia, is the economic, social, political, and cultural centre of Namibia. Nearly every Namibian national enterprise, governmental body, educational and cultural institution is headquartered here. With a population of over 340 000 residents, Windhoek is the most populated city and the heartbeat of Namibia. Ambitious businesses from all over the world look to Windhoek to shape their future. The reason being, Windhoek is a mesmerizing melting pot of various industries, be it, construction, retail, health and financial services, logistics and warehousing. Currently, the city offers attractive opportunities ranging from the servicing of land, low cost housing, renewable energy production, industrial parks development, warehousing and distribution, food processing, numerous tourism prospects including meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE), just to mention a few. With its pro-business attitude and a growing middle class, Windhoek is the place to live, play and do business.

The city is also strategically located at the epicenter of the country in the Khomas Region where it is linked by world-class road, rail and air networks to other towns, in Namibia and the rest of Africa. Windhoek is connected to the Trans-Kalahari and Trans-Caprivi highways, which link Namibia with the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries as well as access to all major world markets through the deep-sea harbour of Walvis Bay. Namibia’s political stability and first-rate amenities makes our city The Gateway to Unlimited Opportunities into Southern Africa and beyond.

For more information on how to invest in Windhoek, please contact us on [email protected] or alternatively call the Manager: Economic Development Division on telephone number +264 - 61 - 290 2163.

WINDHOEK:The Gateway To Unlimited Opportunities


Contact Details:

Department of Economic Development & Community ServicesManager: Economic Development Division

Tel: +264 61 290 2163Fax: +264 61 290 2546

E-mail: [email protected]

The Gateway To Unlimited Opportunities


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ENT urges sustained efforts

to promote investment, good governance

PRESIDENT GEINGOB

President Dr. Hage Geingob has urged sus-tained efforts to support investment promo-tion activities, improve the country’s gover-nance architecture and strengthen the fiscal

framework.

Addressing the first Cabinet meeting for 2018, the head of state said he was confident that it was only a matter of time before Namibia started to reap the full benefit of the intensive efforts made towards critical areas.

“In our resolve and determination to see immediate re-sults, we should not forget that development requires sustained efforts over a period of time. These sectors include: investment into o u r

governance architecture, including the performance management system; investment promotion activi-ties; strengthening the fiscal framework; expediting the rollout of quality vocational education and train-ing to curb youth unemployment; additional poverty reduction initiatives; strengthened measures to curb violence against women and children; investment into public health, including measures to reduce maternal and infant mortality; and upgrading of critical growth enabling physical infrastructure,” President Geingob said.

2017 was a difficult year in the economic realm and like other countries in the region – and globally – Na-mibia was confronted by turbulent economic head-winds that undermined the ability to fully implement the various development and poverty eradication plans.

“It is however pleasing that we have made good prog-ress in stabilizing the fiscal situation of our country, which is a pre-condition for sustained economic de-velopment. We took difficult decisions to effect some of the deepest expenditure cuts since Independence,” said Geingob.

“As Government reflects on how to ensure a diverse and inclusive growth model, based on fiscal prudence and sustainability to weather turbulent economic storms, I am of the view that there is need for entre-preneurs in our country to diversify their business models,” urged the head of state.

Geingob reminded his cabinet that economic crises were cyclical and recurring and that they needed to ensure that Namibia’s economic fundamentals were

H.E. President Dr. Hage Geingob


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resilient, so as to successfully weather future indepen-dent intervening variables.

“Key to this would be, to safeguard fiscal sovereignty through eliminating or at least reducing wasteful ex-penditure, avoiding expensive debt uptake and build-ing a sufficient fiscal and reserve buffer, to be able to intervene in the event of the unforeseen,” he said.

President Geingob has dubbed 2018 as Namibia’s Year of Reckoning, which will intensify the focus and efforts towards accountability, transparency and effective governance. As part of efforts to improve institution-al efficiencies, Namibia would conduct ‘Bureaucratic Bottleneck Audits’ as resolved by the African Union during the January summit.

The head of state expressed concern that Namibia continues to lose its standing on global competitive-ness rankings, which he said was partially attribut-able to inefficiencies, bureaucratic bottlenecks and the slow pace of reform.

“Consequently, our investment climate has been per-ceived to be not conducive, due to the lack of imple-mentation of agreed upon reform measures. This has become an impediment to investment and econom-

ic growth. I therefore request the Prime Minister to expedite the implementation of agreed upon reform measures and to conduct a Bureaucratic Bottleneck Audit, to decongest our systems and institutions,” he said.

Geingob further said government was committed to rooting out corruption. “This year we intend to inten-sify efforts to fight corruption and enhance transpar-ency and accountability. Our determination to fight and address corruption is not only based on the na-tional legislations and guidelines that are in place, but it is also informed by the International Community’s resolve to fight corruption. There is general consensus amongst the nations of the world, that corruption is a devastating crime which, if not addressed, erodes and damages any country’s gains, in all spheres of human endeavor,”

Namibia has put effective measures and established independent institutions, to fight corruption. Recently a Whistleblowers Protection Act was promulgated in order to enhance our effectiveness in fighting corrup-tion. All these efforts, said Geingob, were driven by a clear political will of zero tolerance towards corrup-tion.

President Geingob with his former Deputy, Dr Nickey Iyambo


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Visit www.investecassetmanagement.com or call +264 61 389 500.

Investec Asset Management Namibia is approved by the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority.*Source: Investec Asset Management as at 31 December 2017.

IAM_NAM_89562


GROWTH AT HOME:NAMIBIA PLASTICS UNVEILS

N$95 MILLION MANUFACTURING PLANT

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INGThe Growth at Home agenda continues to

gather steam with more government-sup-ported value addition projects coming on board. The latest project is the N$95 mil-

lion, state-of-the-art Namibia Plastics manufacturing plant currently being constructed at Brakwater, out-side Windhoek.

Work on the Namibia Plastics plant, expected to be completed before the end of 2018 and which is expect-ed to considerably reduce plastic imports into Namib-ia, was witnessed by the Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Hon. Tjekero Tweya.

The Minister said infrastructural development plays a significant role in growing the country’s economy, and efforts being made by some leading players in the Namibian private sector affirmed the reality that Pub-lic Private Partnerships (PPP) had established a solid foundation enabling desired growth.

“Growth at Home reinforces the importance of accel-erating economic growth, reducing income inequality and increasing employment. As a result, all the Min-istry’s sector programmes are geared toward ensuring growth at home – from country to regional, from re-gional to constituency levels and all forms of existence at the grass roots in our communities,” said Minister Tweya.

The state-of-the-art Namibia Plastics plant will close the gap of an estimated 50% of plastic currently im-ported from outside the country and Namibia Plas-tics will become the first local manufacturer of plastic products. This, Hon. Tweya said, was a highly com-mendable move, taking into account that, plastic is a raw material that is recycled and re-used over and over again.

“This will become a source of income for our rural communities to collect as many plastics as possible in exchange for cash, skills will be transferred, including material blending, extrusion, printing and finishing and plastic products will become more accessible and affordable to everyone,” he said.

Namibia Plastics Chairman, renowned politician Theo-Ben Gurirab, said the plant will create approxi-mately 200 job opportunities once it’s up and running by the end of the year.

He said the existence of Namibia Plastics and the significant growth into a successful proudly Namib-ian entity speaks directly to government’s Growth at Home agenda.

Chairperson of the Ohlthaver & Group of Companies, one of the biggest supporters of Namibia Plastics, Sven Thieme, applauded the Namibian Government for taking a bold stand towards supporting the growth of local industries by introducing the Procurement Act to fight corruption - in the best interest of our country.

Thieme appealed to local businesses, Government and the Namibian public to support local companies by procuring locally-made products.

SUPPORTING LOCAL:Königstein Capital Director, Albie Basson; CEO of Namibia Plastics, Johan Struwig; MITSMED Minister, Hon. Tjekero Tweya; Chairperson of Namibia Plastics Board, Theo-Ben Gurirab; O&L Group Executive Chairman, Sven Thieme; CEO of De-velopment Bank of Namibia (DBN), Martin Inkumbi, and CEO of Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), David Nuyoma at the Namibia Plastics groundbreaking ceremony


N A M I B I A

Namibia has over the years hosted a num-ber of international, regional and nation-al conferences, workshops, seminars and exhibitions. Among the notable events

that have been hosted in Namibia are the Miss Uni-verse Pageant, the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desert-ification (UNCCD) and the Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS).

But the limited number of suitable facilities available for major conventions and exhibitions has made host-ing these events a challenge. Hence, government is

now encouraging investment in these facilities. There is a need for world class conference and accommoda-tion facilities which will enable Namibia to fully real-ise the potential of business and conference tourism.

“The government, therefore, recognises the vast po-tential of this sector to our economy, in terms of its capacity to create employment opportunities, gener-ation of wealth for our people, as well as its capacity to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” says the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

The Desert Rose International Convention and Ex-

A POPULAR DESTINATION FOR

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

MAGNIFICENT: Artist’s impression of the planned US$590 million Desert Rose International Convention and Exhibition Center, earmarked to be constructed outside the coastal town of Swakopmund

19INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL | MARCH 2018 19INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL | OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2017

hibition Center, is one of the projects earmarked to be constructed outside the coastal town of Swakop-mund, set to ease the pressure on the limited confer-ence facilities and further raise the profile of Namibia as a Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination.

This centre, estimated to require an investment of US$590 million, is expected to add to Namibia’s al-ready well-developed physical infrastructure setup which includes world-class telecommunication and road networks. The project will involve property and infrastructure development using all construction technology related methods. The intention is to devel-op an International Convention and Exhibition Cen-ter with a mixed-use residential and commercial vil-lage. A fair and transparent solicited process through open and public bidding will be followed.

Planning and feasibility study have been completed and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is finalised. Brynard Kotze, Co-Chairman of Sand Rose Investments (Pty) Ltd told Invest Namibia Journal that the project was awaiting the expansion of the Walvis Bay municipal boundary to be amended and finalised by the Ministry of Rural and Urban Development.

The proposed site for the convention centre is a 5km stretch of beach between Walvis Bay and Swakop-mund, commonly known as ‘Vierkantklip’. Although closer to Swakopmund, the earmarked area falls under the Walvis Bay municipality jurisdiction. The Walvis Bay municipality jurisdiction is supposed to extend to the Swakopmund Bridge but currently goes as far as Long Beach, hence the need for the amendment to be approved by the urban development ministry.

“We are waiting for this process (municipal demarca-tion) to be finalised so we can proceed. We are ready to go ahead with the project,” said Kotze.

WGovernor of the Erongo Region, Cleophas Mut-javikua, has thrown his weight behind the project which will create up to 5,000 job opportunities in the first five years and secure major international investment.

The Governor believes that the Desert Rose project will enhance and further promote tourism in the region. The final environmental impact assessment scoping report has been submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for approval.

Desert Rose will feature a convention and exhibi-tion centre with hotel facilities supported by sec-ondary entertainment facilities, a shopping centre, office park, restaurants, low- and high-density ac-commodation, residential properties, a golf course and public beaches.

Another project in the pipeline is the Windhoek International Convention Centre (WICC) develop-ment which is led by the Indigenous People’s Busi-ness Forum (IPBF) Investment Holding and foreign investors. According to the project document, this will see the development of a five-star hotel and con-vention centre between Avis and Klein Windhoek, not too far from the Windhoek CBD. The hotel and convention centre will be operated under a manage-ment agreement by a reputable international hotel operator.

The WICC plans to offer 41 venues of different sizes which can be flexibly configured for any conference of banqueting requirements accommodating up to 4,800 delegates.

In addition to the convention centre, the develop-ers envisage to see secondary investment in nearby restaurants, retail and supporting businesses will benefit the city.

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Community Tourism joint-ventures have improved the livelihood of over 250 000 inhabitants in Namibia’s Communal Conservancies and has created over 1 000

full time jobs and hundreds other seasonal jobs.

Conservancy Tourism has taken root in Namibia and has helped to distinguish the country as a des-tination committed to conservation and communi-ty development. Currently, there are 83 Communal Conservancies registered in the country, with over 40 joint-venture agreements signed with private in-vestors.

The Government enacted the Nature Conserva-tion Amendment Act, 1996 (No. 5 of 1996), which amended the Nature Conservation Ordinance, 1975, so as to provide for an economically based system of sustainable management and utilisation of game in communal areas. This enabled the establishment of Communal Conservancies and enabled commu-nities living in rural areas to benefit from natural resources they are conserving. The community-pri-vate-partnership through joint venture activity en-sures a balanced sharing of the natural resources particularly in the area of tourism thus, adding value to communal conservancy.

Conservancies generate in excess of N$16 million per annum from joint-ventures which represents 52% of the total conservancy benefit. Therefore, community based tourism is seen as a crucial sec-tor for job creation and poverty alleviation in rural areas.

For her sterling efforts, Namibia has received in-ternational recognition for conserving wildlife and empowering the local communities in the conser-vancies. Recognition has come from, among others, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Markhor Award for Outstand-ing Conservation Performance awarded ( insert the name of the award or category and date) to the

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ON NAMIBIA’S CONSERVANCIES EARN

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

SETTING AN EXAMPLE: Namibia currently has 83 conservancies and the country’s efforts towards conservation is a global success story, echoed across the continents and seen as an example of how commitment, dedication and community empowerment a nation and its biodiversity base can be transformed


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Namibian Association of Community Base Natural Resource Management Support Organisations (NAC-SO).

MET and NACSO’s work in supporting the Commu-nal Conservancy Movement is credited for leading to a widespread and sustained growth of wildlife pop-ulation in Namibia, where communal conservancies have grown from a mere 4 in 1998 to 83 in 2017 cov-ering almost 20% of the country.

Namibia’s effort towards conservation is a global suc-cess story, echoed across the continents and seen as an example of how commitment, dedication and community empowerment a nation and its biodiver-sity base can be transformed, leading to the greatest wildlife recovery story ever told. Namibia has hosted delegates from countries such as Mongolia, Nepal and the US amongst others who came to learn about con-servation policies and how they are implemented.

In terms of sustainability Namibia believes that the resource user is the best manager and this has been translated into policies and legislation. Granting the rights to the sustainable use of natural resources, especially wildlife by communities, has resulted in

conservation at a grand scale as never seen before. Today, Namibia is the only country in Africa with an expanding, free roaming population of lions, gi-raffes, elephants and the largest cheetah population in the world.

Namibia’s policies have resulted in more joint venture lodges than any other destination. These opportuni-ties in turn bring income and jobs for communities in some of the remote areas of the country. At the same time, the income gained by conservancies pro-vide an incentive for continued wise management of wildlife and other natural resources as communities wish to maintain that income flow into the future. It should be emphasised that conservancies are not areas for wildlife and tourism only. They bring ad-ditional opportunities for rural people to manage wildlife and tourism alongside their normal activi-ties of livestock management and crop production in other words indigenous biodiversity production systems continues to be applied and maintained.

The awards won by Namibia recognise and cele-brate outstanding conservation performance that links the conservation of biodiversity and human livelihoods through the application of the principles of sustainable use, in particular hunting, as part of wildlife and ecosystem management.

The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation said the introduction of communal conservancies, and their growth, had initiated a par-adigm shift in community attitudes towards wildlife.The income generated from sustainable hunting pays for conservancy salaries – including game guards – and places many conservancies on a sound financial footing. Total benefits, including income from employment, in kind benefits and cash to communal conservancies totalled N$111,232,053 in 2016. Though more than half of these benefits were generated from joint venture lodges, the sustainable use of wildlife has produced the majority of cash in-come to conservancies.

Communal Conservancies have also played an im-portant role of empowering women in the rural communities for example Ms. Elizabeth Mutota, of the Uukwaluudhi Conservancy, said her Conser-vancy has 50-50 representation where women also make contributions towards key decisions.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE: Namibia currently has 83 conservancies and the country’s efforts towards conservation is a global success story, echoed across the continents and seen as an example of how commitment, dedication and community empowerment a nation and its biodiversity base can be transformed


A GLOBAL LEADER IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

WORLD LEADER: Namibia’s efforts towards sustainable tourism principles, which has also resulted in a healthy population of wild-life, has made the country a world leader in this field

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MNamibia can consider herself a global leader in sustainable tourism due to the empha-sis the country has placed in injecting sus-tainability principles into the mainstream

of tourism policies, development and operations.

Namibia, which has hosted the Symposium for the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism, a global initiative launched in 2011, has introduced various ini-tiatives aimed at promoting environmentally-friendly tourism, such as the Eco Awards which certify estab-lishments that uphold environmental protection poli-cies.

“The environment and tourism sector is increasingly contributing to the economic growth and social devel-opment of the country. Tourism is now recognised as the fastest growing sector in the Namibian economy, and we have committed ourselves for Namibia to be the most competitive tourist destination in Africa,” the Minister of Environment and Tourism Pohamba Shife-ta said.

Shifeta says Namibia aspires to be a role model in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diver-sity, promotion of natural resource-based livelihoods, environmental management and tourism development through innovation and partnerships.To date a massive 44.5% of Namibia’s total land surface area is under some form of formal biodiversity conser-vation management.

Namibia currently has 83 registered conservancies, which cover more than 19% of the total national land surface. Conservancies generate over N$70 million every year in direct benefits to rural communities. Approximately 300 000 people, almost 13 percent of the country’s population, reside in conservancies and benefit from this programme, which has created 2,000 permanent and 3,500 temporary jobs.

In addition, the Environment and Tourism Ministry has signed several operator contracts to operation-alise concessions awarded to the various communities, such as the Nkasa Rupara (Wuparo Conservancy), Khaudum Concessions (George Mukoya and Muduva Nyangana Conservancy) in Kavango West region, Ka-

zile Concession (Mashi Conservancy, Kwando Con-cession (Kwando Conservancy in Zambezi region, (Sheya Shuushona Conservancy) in Omusati region, Hobatere North Concession (Khoadi //Hoas Conser-vancy) in Kunene region and 4x4 guided concession to Popyeni Safaris in Erongo region.

“We continue to manage our wildlife based on the ap-plication of science through monitoring and research. A block count of rhino populations in Etosha National Park was conducted as well as aerial counts in Water-berg Plateau Park, Mangetti National Park and in the Karros and Hobatere sections of the Etosha National Park. It disturbs me to report that, in spite of all of our efforts, the illegal hunting of our rhinos and elephants has become a serious and growing challenge.

“The current illegal poaching activities, particularly of our rhino and elephant populations, needs to be urgently brought under control, particularly in the north-east regions, Etosha National Park and the Ku-nene Region. The increasing scale and sophistication of poaching activities is a worrying trend and a very serious threat to our tourism sector, international rep-utation and the wider economy,” says the Minister.

Namibia has adopted zero tolerance to poaching, add-ing that various measures were being put in place to put an end to it.

Tourism in Namibia is a priority focus area and contin-ues to be an important generator of revenue, provider of employment, and vehicle for benefiting previously disadvantaged Namibians. However, the Ministry still requires assistance to address critical challenges in the tourism sector, such as skills development, commu-nity based conservation, infrastructure, environment protection and poaching.


NAMIBIA TOURIST HOTSPOTSEtosha National Park

Located in the north of the country around the edg-es of a vast salt pan, Etosha National Park is Na-

mibia’s top wildlife destination. It is one of the best places in the world to spot endangered white and black rhinos, while other bucket list animals include lions, cheetah, elephant and leopard. It’s also a great place for birding, with 340 different avian species. Traditionally, Etosha is a self-drive destination, giving visitors the freedom to explore at will. There are sever-al accommodation options within the park, including three main camps each with their own floodlit water-hole. Game-viewing at Etosha is best during the dry season (June to September), when animals are forced to congregate around the park’s water sources.

The Skeleton Coast

Stretching all the way from Swakopmund to the An-golan border, the Skeleton Coast derives its maca-

bre name from the shipwrecks and whale bones that litter its desolate shore. The water is freezing, the surf is relentless and the dunes are devoid of freshwater sources. However, despite the region’s inhospitable nature, its stark scenery is amongst the most beautiful on Earth. For those that can afford it, a fly-in safari to the northern Skeleton Coast National Park is a true Namibian highlight. Discover historic shipwrecks

Sossusvlei

The Namib Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world, and at its heart lies the Sossusvlei dune

sea. Here, ocher dunes rise in spectacular star-shaped peaks, outlined against the azure sky. Staying at Sesri-em Camp (located within the park gates) affords you early access to the dunes - a major benefit for anyone wanting to climb to the top of iconic peak Dune 45 in time for sunrise. Other Sossusvlei highlights include Big Daddy (the region’s most challenging climb), and Deadvlei, a long-dry oasis filled with petrified trees reaching skyward from bone-white clay. Nearby Ses-riem Canyon is another photogenic highlight, while free-roaming wildlife includes the desert-adapted gemsbok and springbok antelopes.

Fish River Canyon

preserved in the sand, rare desert-adapted wildlife and vast colonies of baying Cape fur seals. Inland, the Himba people continue to eke out a living in one of the world’s harshest environments.

The Fish River Canyon is Africa’s largest canyon, second only in size to America’s Grand Canyon.

Located in the south of the country, it is thought to have formed around 500 million years ago. Today, the Fish River has carved out over 100 miles/160 ki-lometers of rock, and in places the canyon walls are

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over half a kilometer high. You can hike the canyon, but only during the cooler months (May to Septem-ber). The hike takes five days and there are no hotels or restaurants along the way. Accommodation is in tents, and hikers have to be entirely self-sufficient. The hike offers spectacular views and sightings of wildlife including baboons, klipspringers and hyrax-es. At the end of the hike, ease your aching muscles in the hot springs at Ai Ais Resort.

Caprivi Strip

An isolated finger jutting eastward from Namibia’s northeast corner, the Caprivi Strip is entirely dif-

ferent from the rest of the country. Fed by the mighty Kavango, Chobe, Zambezi and Cuando rivers, it is a green oasis known for its lush vegetation and abun-dant wildlife. The riverbanks are home to a selection of accommodation options, ranging from backpacker hostels to luxury waterfront chalets. The best way to experience the region is from the water, on a house-boat or sundowner cruise. There are several excellent game reserves in the Caprivi region, including Mah-ango Game Reserve and Mamili National Park. The birdlife is a particular draw, with over 425 bird species recorded in the Caprivi region.

Swakopmund

Swakopmund is Namibia’s premier seaside town, and a great place to escape the summer heat. The

main street is lined with palm trees and colonial Ger-man architecture, and there are several quality bars, restaurants and German bakeries for those in need of a change from campfire cooking. Though the sea is generally too chilly for swimming, water-based activ-ities abound - including whale and dolphin-watching and shore angling. At nearby Walvis Bay, vast flocks of flamingos can be seen grazing in the algae-filled shal-lows. Swakopmund also borders the Namib Desert,

Brandberg Mountain

Brandberg Mountain is the highest mountain in Namibia, with an elevation of 8,442 feet/ 2,573

meters. Its name translates as “Fire Mountain”, a mon-iker well-deserved by the glowing orange color of its cliffs at sunset. The mountain covers an area of 250 square miles/ 650 square kilometers, and boasts one of the world’s largest collections of ancient rock paint-ings. Created by the San Bushmen thousands of years ago, there are more than 43,000 individual images, each one depicting local wildlife, hunting scenes and myths. The most famous painting is The White Lady of the Brandberg, believed to be around 16,000 years old. Apart from its artistic heritage, Brandberg Moun-tain is a rewarding destination for hikers and climbers.

where quad-biking, 4x4 safaris and sand-boarding ac-tivities await. The spectacle of the sand dunes meeting the sea is one that few visitors forget.

Kaokoland

Renowned as one of Southern Africa’s last true wil-dernesses, Namibia’s northern Kaokoland region

is arid, rocky and very sparsely populated. Its tower-ing koppies glow red in the early morning and late af-ternoon, and at night, the stars blaze in a sky unpollut-ed by human habitation. This is the traditional home of the Himba, a nomadic pastoralist tribe who have survived in this harsh environment for thousands of years. In the most remote villages, their way of life remains largely unchanged. The Himba women are famous for their ornate hairstyles, and for the blend of butter fat and ocher with which they paste their na-ked torsos. Cultural visits are the main attraction here, along with desert rhino and elephant tracking.


Analyst: Ngoni Bopoto E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +264 (0)61 25 66 66

07 March 2018

Background On 11 August 2017, Moody’s downgraded Namibia’s foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) to Ba1 with a negative outlook citing:

1) Erosion of Namibia’s fiscal strength due to sizeable fiscal imbalances and an increasing debt burden 2) Limited institutional capacity to manage shocks and address long-term structural fiscal rigidities 3) Risk of renewed government liquidity pressures in the coming years

On 13th of June 2016, before the downgrade, we published a note titled “SA ratings scrutiny to intensify……can we hold our ground?” pointing to the risks for the Namibian economy as emerging market sovereign ratings faced an onslaught of downgrades. Subsequently we published a note titled “On The Downgrading Of Namibia’s Sovereign Issuances” which was aimed at discussing:

1) Reasons advanced for the downgrade 2) Tenability of the reasons 3) How did we fall into this predicament? 4) The necessary mechanisms for crawling out of this situation 5) The imperatives of tracking one’s health indicators

It was a matter of necessity, that we understood the thinking and methodology of Moody’s at the time of the downgrade, thus this note seeks to shed some light on the methodology, equip stakeholders with deeper insight into the rating agency’s mindset and present recommendations towards transitioning back into investment grade territory. Moody’s Methodology Moody’s assessment of sovereign credit risk is based on the interplay of four key factors:

Economic Strength Institutional Strength Fiscal Strength and Susceptibility to Event Risk

These key factors are further comprised of sub-factors that provide greater detail: Broad Rating Factors

Rating Sub-Factor Sub-factor Weighting

(towards Factor)

Sub-Factor Indicators

Factor 1: Economic Strength

Growth Dynamics 50%

Average Real GDP Growth t-4 to t+5 Volatility in Real GDP Growth t-9 to t WEF Global Competitiveness Indext

Scale of the Economy 25% Nominal GDP (US$) t National Income 25% GDP per capita (PPP, $US) t Adjustments to Factor Score 0 - 6 scores

Credit Boom Other

Decoding Moody’s Rating

Methodology

On 11 August 2017, Moody’s downgraded Namibia’s foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) to Ba1 with a negative outlook citing:

1) Erosion of Namibia’s fiscal strength due to sizeable fiscal imbalances and an increasing debt burden2) Limited institutional capacity to manage shocks and address long-term structural fiscal rigidities3) Risk of renewed government liquidity pressures in the coming years


1) Reasons advanced for the downgrade2) Tenability of the reasons3) How did we fall into this predicament?4) The necessary mechanisms for crawling out of this situation5) The imperatives of tracking one’s health indicators

It was a matter of necessity, that we understood the thinking and methodology of Moody’s at the time of the downgrade, thus this note seeks to shed some light on the methodology, equip stakeholders with deeper insight into the rating agency’s mindset and present recommendations towards transitioning back into investment grade territory.

Moody’s assessment of sovereign credit risk is based on the interplay of four key factors: - Economic Strength - Institutional Strength - Fiscal Strength and - Susceptibility to Event Risk

These key factors are further comprised of sub-factors that provide greater detail:

BACKGROUND

MOODY’S METHODOLOGY


07 March 2018









(towards Factor)



Growth Dynamics 50%



Credit Boom Other


Methodology


Factor 2: Institutional Strength

Institutional Framework and 75% Effectiveness

Worldwide Government Effectiveness Index Worldwide Rule of Law Index Worldwide Control of Corruption Index

Policy Credibility and Effectiveness

25% Inflation Level t-4 to t+5 Inflation Volatility t-9 to t

Adjustments to Factor Score

0 - 6 scores Track Record of Default Other

Factor 3: Fiscal Strength

Debt Burden 50% General Government Debt/GDP t General Government Debt/Revenues t

Debt Affordability 50% General Government Interest Payments/Revenue t General Government Interest Payments/GDP t


0 - 6 scores Debt Trend t-4 to t+1 General Government Foreign Currency Debt/General Government Debt t Other Public Sector Debt/GDP t Public Sector Financial Assets or Sovereign Wealth Funds/ General Government Debt t Other

Factor 4: Susceptibility to Event Risk

Political Risk Domestic Political Risk Geopolitical Risk

Government Liquidity Risk

Max. Function2 Fundamental Metrics Market Funding Stress

Banking Sector Risk

Max. Function2 Strength of Banking System Size of Banking System Funding Vulnerabilities

External Vulnerability Risk

Max. Function2 (Current Account Balance +FDI)/GDP t External Vulnerability Indicator (EVI) t+2 Net International Investment Position/GDP t

The information used in assessing the sub-factors is generally drawn from a number of international sources, including the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission, the World Bank, WEF and the Bank for International Settlements. Some indicators, however, particularly in the area of government and external debt, require estimation by Moody’s analysts based on data provided by national statistical sources. Factors 1 and 2, Economic Strength and Institutional Strength combine into a construct designated as Economic Resiliency. An aggregation function then combines Economic Resiliency (ER) and Factor 3 (Fiscal Strength, or FS), as illustrated by Exhibit 1: the weight of Fiscal Strength is highest for countries with moderate Economic Resiliency. The combination of these three factors results in a preliminary, indicative alpha-numeric range for government financial strength rating. As a final step, a country’s Susceptibility to Event Risk (Factor 4) is a constraint which can only lower the preliminary alpha-numeric range that results from combining the first three factors. Exhibit 1


AD

VER

TOR

IAL

The information used in assessing the sub-factors is generally drawn from a number of international sources, including the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and De-velopment, the European Commission, the World Bank, WEF and the Bank for International Settlements. Some indicators, however, particu-larly in the area of government and external debt, require estimation by Moody’s analysts based on data provided by national statistical sources.

Factors 1 and 2, Economic Strength and Institutional Strength combine into a construct designated as Economic Resiliency. An aggregation function then combines Economic Resiliency (ER) and Factor 3 (Fiscal Strength, or FS), as illustrated by Exhibit 1: the weight of Fiscal Strength is highest for countries with moderate Economic Resiliency. The combination of these three factors results in a preliminary, indic-ative alpha-numeric range for government financial strength rating. As a final step, a country’s Susceptibility to Event Risk (Factor 4) is a constraint which can only lower the preliminary alpha-numeric range that results from combining the first three factors.

The first factor considered was the country’s Economic Strength. The intrinsic strength of the economy, focusing on growth potential, di-versification, competitiveness, national income, and scale is important in determining a country’s resilience or shock-absorption capacity. A sovereign’s relative ability to generate revenue and service debt over the medium term relies on fostering economic growth and prosperity.

The second factor that was considered is whether our institutional features are conducive to supporting government’s ability and willing-ness to repay its debt. A related aspect of Institutional Strength is the capacity of the government to conduct sound economic policies that foster economic growth and prosperity.

The third factor, Fiscal Strength, captures the overall health of govern-ment finances. The starting point being an assessment of relative debt burdens (debt/GDP, debt/revenues) and debt affordability (interest payments relative to revenue and GDP). The structure of government debt is also taken into consideration at this stage.

The last factor considered was Namibia’s Susceptibility to Event Risk. While the first three rating factors (Economic Strength, Institutional Strength and Fiscal Strength) are aimed at assessing the government’s ability to withstand shocks from a medium-term perspective, the fourth factor gauges the severity of the strain that extreme events may have on public finances, and the probability of default.

Based on the Exhibit 1 above we formulated a regression model, to determine the weight of the factors considered. Our computation suggested the weights indicated below:

The model indicates that Factor 4 (Susceptibility To Event Risk) and Factor 3 (Fiscal Strength) are the factors with the highest weighting on the final Sovereign Bond Rating. Therefore, in order to decode Moody’s rating, we have to pay more attention to our Fiscal Strength and Vul-nerability to event risk.

Factor 3, Government Fiscal Strength is assessed equally on Debt


Factor 2: Institutional Strength

Institutional Framework and 75% Effectiveness

Worldwide Government Effectiveness Index Worldwide Rule of Law Index Worldwide Control of Corruption Index

Policy Credibility and Effectiveness

25% Inflation Level t-4 to t+5 Inflation Volatility t-9 to t


0 - 6 scores Track Record of Default Other

Factor 3: Fiscal Strength

Debt Burden 50% General Government Debt/GDP t General Government Debt/Revenues t

Debt Affordability 50% General Government Interest Payments/Revenue t General Government Interest Payments/GDP t


0 - 6 scores Debt Trend t-4 to t+1 General Government Foreign Currency Debt/General Government Debt t Other Public Sector Debt/GDP t Public Sector Financial Assets or Sovereign Wealth Funds/ General Government Debt t Other

Factor 4: Susceptibility to Event Risk

Political Risk Domestic Political Risk Geopolitical Risk

Government Liquidity Risk

Max. Function2 Fundamental Metrics Market Funding Stress

Banking Sector Risk

Max. Function2 Strength of Banking System Size of Banking System Funding Vulnerabilities

External Vulnerability Risk

Max. Function2 (Current Account Balance +FDI)/GDP t External Vulnerability Indicator (EVI) t+2 Net International Investment Position/GDP t

The information used in assessing the sub-factors is generally drawn from a number of international sources, including the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission, the World Bank, WEF and the Bank for International Settlements. Some indicators, however, particularly in the area of government and external debt, require estimation by Moody’s analysts based on data provided by national statistical sources. Factors 1 and 2, Economic Strength and Institutional Strength combine into a construct designated as Economic Resiliency. An aggregation function then combines Economic Resiliency (ER) and Factor 3 (Fiscal Strength, or FS), as illustrated by Exhibit 1: the weight of Fiscal Strength is highest for countries with moderate Economic Resiliency. The combination of these three factors results in a preliminary, indicative alpha-numeric range for government financial strength rating. As a final step, a country’s Susceptibility to Event Risk (Factor 4) is a constraint which can only lower the preliminary alpha-numeric range that results from combining the first three factors. Exhibit 1

burden and Debt affordability. The level of government debt relative to GDP (42.1%) and revenues (about 130%) was on a rapid upward trend from a low base. The public debt to GDP ratio exceeds the self-imposed prudential limit of 35%. Moreover, contingent liabilities to state-owned enterprises, are projected to rise over the next several years. Despite rapid debt accumulation in recent years, Moody’s believe that Namibia’s other fiscal indicators (interest costs relative to revenue) remain solid relative to those of peers and projects them to remain so in the coming years provided that the government succeeds in its fiscal consolidation plans.

The stock of total (public and private) external debt has also increased rapidly, from 42% of GDP in 2014 to about 60% in 2016, while foreign currency denominated share of public debt accounted for almost half of the public debt in the 2016/17 fiscal year. Although in the past, this was primarily comprised of bilateral and multilateral borrowings, the share of this type of loans has fallen since the government began issuances on the Eurobond market in 2011 and 2015. The stock of Eurobond debt accounted for 68.6% of total external government debt in 2015, in contrast to 100% of combined bilateral and multilateral foreign currency debt in 2010.

The key components under Factor 3 are government revenue, gov-ernment debt and GDP. Therefore, to improve our score on factor 3: we need to either sustainably increase government revenue, reduce government debt or accelerate GDP growth. It stands to reason that, in the near to medium term, of these three variable the one we could eas-ily control is government debt, by either bulleting debt or establishing enforceable mechanisms to prevent further unauthorized expenditure.

Breakdown of Factor 4: The analysis comprises four areas of event risk: Political Risk, Government Liquidity Risk, Banking Sector Risk and External Vulnerability Risk. Generally speaking, the Susceptibility to Event Risk gauges the probability of the event by its severity in terms of its impact on Namibia’s creditworthiness. The aggregation of the four rating sub-factors of event risk uses a maximum function as the materialization of even one of these risks can lead to a severe deteriora-tion of Namibia’s credit profile.

Therefore, for Factor 4 the emphasis is on things we should not do in order to avoid further downgrade. In the near to medium term we should avoid deterioration in government’s liquidity position and our external vulnerability.

In order to ensure sustainability, over the medium to long term we must resolve the structural economic issues plaguing our economy, by putting emphasis on policies such as Growth-At-Home, monetizing non-core government assets and introducing select SOEs to private funding mechanisms. The imperative of monetizing or introducing market funding mechanisms to state assets is in that it will enable gov-ernment to bullet some of the public debt and inject efficiencies given the return driven nature of private capital. We need to classify the SOEs into the following three categories; Core, Strategic and Non-Core. The strategic SOEs must be run efficiently and in a sustainable manner. On the other hand, the none core assets render themselves the most appropriate for PPP via partial commercialization.

By their very nature, solutions to economic structural issues are medi-um to long term exercises but we should however not delay commenc-ing to execute them, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. In keeping with that, at NEB, we have started an exercise which is intended to decode the thinking of rating agencies so as to enable us to correctly keep track of our economy’s health indicators. Through this exercise we determined the weights of the four factors used by Moody’s to rate Sovereign Bonds and arrived at a rating of Ba1. GOVERNMENT FISCAL STRENGTH

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO EVENT RISK

CONCLUDING REMARKS


07 March 2018









(towards Factor)



Growth Dynamics 50%



Credit Boom Other


Methodology


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WE’RE GROWING OUR ROUTESLAGOS - ACCRA


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Seats are selling out. Have you purchased yours yet? Avoid last

minute disappointment.

BOOK NOW!Telephone: +264 61 299 6111E-mail: [email protected] & Pay Online: www.airnamibia.comBooking 10+ [email protected] your preferred travel agent

WE’RE GROWING OUR ROUTESLAGOS - ACCRA

NAMIBIA REMAINS ONE

OF THE LEAST

CORRUPT COUNTRIES

ON CONTINENT

Namibia’s uncompromising agenda against corruption continues to yield positive re-sults with the country rated as one of the least on the African continent as far as

unethical practices are concerned.

Since independence in 1990 all the sitting heads of state – from H.E. Dr Sam Nujoma, H.E. Dr Hifikepu-nye Pohamba and the incumbent, H.E. Dr Hage Ge-ingob – have made fighting corruption a key priority for government. President Geingob declared that in 2018 said his government would intensify efforts to fight corruption and enhance transparency and ac-countability.

Global corruption watch body, Transparency Inter-national’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) rates Namibia as the fourth cleanest country on the African country in upholding ethics, with a score of 51 out of 100. In the southern African region, the country takes position three after Botswana and Sey-chelles, while globally, Namibia is ranked 53rd out of 180 countries.

Some of the factors taken into consideration in rank-ing the countries include the existence of laws such as access to information, procurement laws, anti-cor-ruption laws and general economic performance, in-cluding the distribution of wealth.

The Namibia Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) says the country’s ranking is likely to improve as ef-forts toc combat graft continue to take centre stage. Namibia recently introduced anti-corruption mea-sures such as the robust public procurement law, the whistle-blower protection law and national anti-cor-ruption strategy, backed by a commitment to trans-parency and accountability in public service delivery.

Transparency International, which marks its 25th anniversary this year, revealed that despite attempts to combat corruption around the world, the major-ity of countries were moving too slowly in their ef-forts. While stemming the tide against corruption takes time, in the last six years many countries have still made little to no progress. Even more alarming, further analysis of the index results indicates that countries with the lowest protections for press and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also tend to have the worst rates of corruption.

“ Some of the factors tak-

en into consideration in

ranking the countries

include the existence of laws

such as access to information,

procurement laws,

anti-corruption laws and

general economic

performance, including the

distribution of wealth.


TOURISM A KEY DRIVER OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROGRESS

The World Tourism Organisation UNTWO says over the decades, tourism has expe-rienced continued growth and deepening diversification to become one of the fastest

growing economic sectors in the world.

As modern tourism has become increasingly linked to development and encompasses a growing number of new destination, the industry has become a key driver of much needed socio-economic progress.Namibia with a diversified tourism asset base stands to benefit from this global tail wind. However, chal-lenges remain in integrating the broader industry into the mainstream economy and this article looks at how we can grow the local industry to realise its full potential.

The recently launched Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) reflects that the sectors’ direct contribution to the local economy was estimated at N$5.2 billion and accounted for just under 45,000 jobs in 2015. The broader attribution (which includes indirect im-pact and makes allowances for investment spending in support of tourism activities) contributed N$15 billion (representing 10.2% of overall GDP) and 100,700 jobs (14.5% of total employment).

Preliminary estimates for 2016 indicate an improvement to N$16.7 billion (10.5% of GDP) and 101,000 jobs (14.9% of total employ-ment). By 2020 tour-ism-related value added is expected to reach N$26.4 billion (11.7%

of overall GDP) and employment is likely to be above 123,000 jobs (16.4% of total employment). These projections are consistent with an increase

in foreign touristarrivals from 1,387,773 in 2015 to 1,724,000 in 2020.

The numbers above reflect the sectors’ scale and by extension ability to meaningfully contribute to the national development agenda. Furthermore, the fact that the indirect impact by both measures present-ed above is greater than the direct impact implies a higher multiplier effect. However, the industry structure and various processes must be re-aligned in order to make it the most viable and sustainable economic development option.

Ideally, the focus of Namibian tourism should be on:• Increas-ing the size and performance of the sector as a whole • Increas-ing the propor-tion of spending in the sector that reaches the less privileged mem-bers of society

Despite efforts by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and relevant industry agencies, availability of relevant data remains a major impediment to both investment and policy reform initiatives. The TSA’s are a very positive development in this regard and help improve industry perspective in comparison with the annual national accounts.

High frequency data is crucial in monitoring devel-opments and the responsibility of submitting this information lies with the private sector, apart from statutory Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) returns, this is mainly through voluntary surveys and partic-ipation rates which are often quite low. Needless to say that both government and private sector must understand the importance of high quality granular data as a basis for guiding targeted policy formula-tion.

TOU

RIS

M


Your One-Stop Gateway to Namibia’s Business Opportunities

Improving Our Ease of Doing Business

In the Limelight: Faster Registration of Businesses with BIPA

The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) is the agency under the aegis of the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, and, inter alia, responsible for business registrations.

Featured Services

Online Name Search If you would like to register a business, you will first need to reserve a business name. The name reservation process can now be completed online at www.bipa.gov.na This new online service makes the process faster, easier and more convenient.

Ease of Making Payments Business registration payment methods have been improved. BIPA now offers clients the option to pay using cash and debit/credit card. Revenue stamps already procured by clients will still be valid and accepted but this method of payment will be phased out.

New Offices

To better serve the citizens, BIPA has opened two new offices in the Khomas region. As from the 1st August 2017, BIPA officers are happy to receive you in Katutura and Windhoek CBD. The offices are located at 14 Shire Street, Wanaheda, as well as 188 Sam Nujoma Drive, Windhoek.

The objective of these improvements is to provide better service to the public and business community. These changes will improve the ease of doing business in Namibia. Other key organisations will also be undertaking improvements. Keep an eye out for more details in next month’s bulletin.

Starting a Business Procedures

Reserve a unique

com pany name (18 Day s)

Now: Online: 3 working days

OT C: 5 working days

Pay the registration fees and buy revenue

stamps at the Receiver of

Revenue (1 Day)

Now: Counter payment

Bank transfer

Hire an attorney to register the company with

the Registrar of Companies and

obtain the certificate of

incorporation and the

certificate of business

commencement(14 Days)

Deposit the initial capital in a bank account

(1 Day)

Receive fire and health inspection

(1 Day)

Obtain the certificate of

fitness from the local

m unicipality (1 Day s)

Register for VAT with the Receiver of Revenue at the

Ministry of Finance (9 Day )

Now: 7 working days

*Register for Pay-As-You-Earn

(PAYE) tax with the Receiver of

Revenue

Register em ployees with

the Social Security

Com mission (21 Day s)

Now: 2 working days

*Register em ployees with the Workm en’s Com pensation

Com mission

Investors Corner

Do you know how to start your

business in Namibia?

First, you should decide what

kind of business entity you need

and the nature of your business.

The kind of business may include

Sole Proprietorship, Close

Corporation or Company. The

nature of the business will

depend on the industry sector.

To start your business, you need

to complete the business

registration procedures with

BIPA, tax registration with Inland

Revenue Department, employer-

employee registration with

Social Security Commission.

Depending on the nature of your

business, you may need other

licenses and permits to run your

business.

Visit

www.doingbusinessnamibia.com

for more details.


NAMIBIA TAKES LEAD IN

FACILITATING

CROSS-BORDER

MOVEMENT

REG

ION

AL

Despite being one of Africa’s youngest de-mocracies having attained independence in 1990, Namibia is taking the lead in pro-moting African integration by scrapping

the cumbersome process of visitors from other coun-tries on the continent having to apply for visas before planning their travel to the country.

The move initiated by President Hage Geingob, a long-time Pan-Africanist, has been given a nod by the Namibian cabinet. African passport holders will soon start getting visas on arrival at ports of entry to the country as a first step towards the eventual abolition of all visa requirements for all Africans.

President Geingob unveiled the move when he ad-dressed a Foreign Policy Review conference and said the initiative would be a step towards the realisation of a common continental passport by 2018, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Reiterating his commitment to Pan-Africanism across the continent, the Namibian head of state said the abolition of visa requirements would mark the first step in welcoming African citizens to the country.

“We are committed to extending this privilege to all African passport holders by initially issuing visas on arrival, and eventually abolishing visa requirements,” he said.

In 2016, Namibia scrapped visa requirements for Af-ricans who hold diplomatic or official passports, while all passport holders from southern African region are afforded visa-free entry into the country. Former In-formation and Communication Technology Minister, Tjekero Tweya, told a Cabinet briefing that Namibia

was ready to imple-ment the diplomat-ic visa scrapping, but was waiting for some countries to finalise reciprocal arrangements with Namibia.

The Namibian Visa Policy allows cit-izens of specific countries and ter-ritories to travel to the country for tourism or business purposes for three months with an ordinary passport, diplomatic and service passports without having to obtain a visa. All visitors must hold a passport valid for six months.

UNI-VISA in sight for SADC region

Meanwhile, foreign visitors (from outside Africa) to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will soon require just one visa to enter all 15 member countries as plans by the regional grouping to introduce a Uni-Visa system have reached an ad-vanced stage. The implementation of the Uni-Visa fol-lows the 1998 SADC Protocol on the Development of Tourism that makes provisions for a common visa for tourists from other than the SADC region wishing to visit southern Africa.

The first step towards achievement of that milestone was the introduction of a common visa known as the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Visa in December, 2016, which covers visitors from other regions to Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Uni-Visa allows tourists to stay in Zambia or Zimbabwe (or both) for up to 30 days


REG

ION

AL

for a single payment of US$50. It also covers people who want to enter Botswana for day-trips through the Kazungula border post.

The Uni-Visa regime was first introduced during the 2014 United Nations World Tourism Organisation general assembly that was co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia. However, it collapsed in December, 2015 due to logistical and legal challenges. Authorities had initially planned to roll out the Uni-Visa across five countries in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area comprising Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Implementation of the Uni-Visa requires common database infrastructure that permits the exchange of

useful information among the member states and control of borders. SADC wants to base its Uni-Vi-sa on the European Schengen visa system, which allows visa holders to move freely between the 26 Schengen countries without having to obtain a sepa-rate visa for each. The regional bloc believes that the Uni-Visa also holds the key to unlocking the tour-ism potential of trans-frontier parks by lowering the boundaries between neighbouring countries.

East African countries - Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – have also introduced a single visa arrangement at the beginning last year. Tourists travelling between the neighbouring East African countries now only need to obtain one visa at a fee of US$100.

34 INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL | FEBRUARY - MARCH 2018

TACKLING POACHING AND STEPPING

UP DRIVETO FULLY EXPLOIT

WILDLIFE RESOURCES

Namibia’s anti-poaching efforts are pay-ing off with recent statistics pointing to a huge reduction in cases of illegal hunting which ravaged the country’s rhino and el-

ephant population in the past three years.

Over 180 rhinos have been killed in Namibia since the beginning of 2015, while about 170 elephants were illegally hunted during the same period. Na-mibia has a population of approximately 1 600 black rhinos, one of the largest in the world, and a small population of white rhino. The elephant population is over 20 000.

Environment and Tourism Minister Pohamba Shifeta says the aim is to reduce cases of poaching by about

50% in 2018.

“Even though rhino and elephant poaching seem to be decreasing, there is a need to work harder to ensure that the poaching figures are brought to zero. Let us rededicate ourselves to ensuring that fewer rhinos and elephants are poached this year,” he says.The Minister says poaching of rhino and elephants for their horns and tusks is done by a few locals to meet demands emanating from some Asian coun-tries. The act is driven by international criminal syndicates.

Legal trade

Namibia is blessed with abundant wildlife, but pres-

DEHORNED: Namibia has dehorned some rhinos in an effort to reduce poaching


COMMERCIAL COUNSELLORS CONTACT DETAILS

Mr. Asser NashikakuCommercial CounsellorEmbassy of the Republic of Namibia Bole road W.17, Kebel 19House No. 002 P.O. Box 1443 Addis AbabaETHIOPIA Tel.: +2511-1-6611966/12120 Fax: +2511-1-6612677Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Mrs. Bonaventura HindaCommercial CounsellorEmbassy of the Republic of Namibia42, rue Boileau 75016ParisFRANCETel: + 33 1 44 17 32 76/65 Fax: + 33 1 44 17 32 73Email: [email protected]

Mr. Cleopas S. SirongoCommercial CounsellorPermanent Mission of Namibia to the United Nations in Geneva Chemin Louis-Dunant 15, CH-1202 GenevaSWITZERLANDTel.: +41 22 786 62 82 Fax: +41 22 786 62 83Email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Diana TjiposaCommercial CounsellorEmbassy of the Republic of NamibiaAvenue de Tervuren 454BE 1150 BrusselsBELGIUMTel.: +32-2-771 1410 Fax: +32-2-771 9689E-mail: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Mr. Freddie U. !GaosebCommercial CounsellorEmbassy of the Republic of Namibia1605 New Hampshire Ave.,NW, Washington, DC 20009UNITED SATES OF AMERICATel.: +1-202-986-2007 Fax: +1-202-986-2042

E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]/ E-mail: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Mr. Henock RamakhutlaCommercial CounsellorHigh Commission of the Republic of Namibia186 Blackwood Street, ArcadiaP.O. Box 29806, Sunnyside, 0132Pretoria SOUTH AFRICAPhone: +27 12 343 3060 Fax: +27 12 343 8924Email: [email protected] www.namibia.org.za

Dr. Mekondjo Kaapanda-GirnusCommercial CounsellorEmbassy of the Republic of NamibiaReichsstraße 1714052 BerlinGERMANYTel +49 30 26 39 0012 Fax +49 30 25 40 9555Email: [email protected] www.invest-namibia.de

Mr. Oscar SikandaCommercial CounsellorHigh Commission of the Republic of NamibiaB-9/6 Vasant ViharNew DelhiINDIATel: +91 11 26140389/40890/4772Fax: +91 11 26146120/261 55482Email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Email: [email protected] www.nhcdelhi.com

Mr. P. J. ShinyalaCommercial CounsellorEmbassy of the Republic of NamibiaRua da Liberdade No. 20 Vila Alice P.O. Box 953 LuandaANGOLA Tel.: +244-222 321 241 / 321 952 / 136 Fax: +244 - 222 322 008 / 323 848 E-mail: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]: [email protected]

TACKLING POACHING AND STEPPING UP DRIVE TO FULLY EXPLOIT

WILDLIFE RESOURCES

35INVEST NAMIBIA JOURNAL | FEBRUARY - MARCH 2018

WIL

DLI

FE

sure from international animal rights activists and regulations have for long restricted the full exploita-tion of this resource to boost tourism and other revenue.

Namibia has advocated for the legalisation of trade in wildlife products arguing that proceeds from the le-gal trade in these products, including rhino horn and ivory, were re-invested into conservation measures through dedicated environmental funds, including the Game Products Trust Fund and the Environmen-tal Investment Fund.

Trade in wildlife and other activities based on wild-life currently contribute about 4% to GDP but this could be way more if Namibia was allowed to trade its wildlife sustainably. Income derived from wild-

life-related trade had, for example, funded the relocation of over 10 000 head of wildlife from state-protected areas to communal conservancies and offset costs to rural communities for losses resulting from human-wildlife conflict.

Anti-trophy hunting voices were also risking hunt-ing as an integral part of Namibia’s conservation strategy and the broader economy. The utilisation of wildlife is tightly regulated, controlled, and informed by the principles of sustainability and the application of scientific research. Annual game counts and surveys were carried out in all regions to inform a strict system of quotas and permits to ensure that all harvesting and use of wildlife is done on a sustainable basis.

In line with the Cancun Declaration, wildlife natu-ral resources are at the centre of a national attempt to implement the three objectives of the Conven-tion on Biological Diversity.

The overall outcomes of Namibia’s approach to con-servation has seen a dramatic increase in wildlife numbers on communal land, including endangered species such as elephant, black rhino and lion, which have re-established strong and viable popu-lations in areas where they had been hunted to the verge of extinction a century ago.

Namibia has been able to establish a comprehensive and interlinked network of protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity, which now covers over 45 percent of the country.

This network involves national parks, communi-ty managed conservation areas, freehold wildlife management units and tourism concession areas. However, Namibia’s view is that it is not enough just to conserve wildlife in isolation in protected areas but that it must manage and utilise it with the full involvement of local communities and for the benefit of people, economy and environment.

Other uses of wildlife such as live game auctions, the sale and processing of wildlife meat as well as the farming of wildlife are also important income generators and contributors to poverty reduction.Over the past 20 years strong rights-based legal framework had been developed to devolve user rights for Namibian communities over wildlife and other natural resources.

“Even though rhino and

elephant poaching seem to be

decreasing, there is a need to

work harder to ensure that the

poaching figures are brought to

zero.Let us rededicate ourselves

to ensuring that fewer rhinos

and elephants are poached this

year,”

- Pohamba Shifeta














DEVELOPMENT BANK MOVES TO FILLGAP LEFT BY SME BANK CLOSURE

FIN

AN

CE

The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has opened its SME Centre in Windhoek, and extended the financing function to its regional offices in Walvis Bay and On-

gwediva.

DBN Chief Executive Officer Martin Inkumbi says the SME Centre will help bridge the gap in financ-ing small and medium enterprises left by the sud-den closure of the SME Bank. He says while there is a financing ecosystem for SMEs in the commercial banking sector, there is a national imperative to fi-nance small and medium businesses that have lower levels of collateral availability, but still present a high degree of potential in terms of sustainability of the enterprise in spite of perceived risk.

Perceptions of risk, says the DBN CEO, might ema-nate from lower collateral availability, but also from establishment in centres with lower population fig-ures, rural areas, and in regions with lower econom-ic activities. One of the DBN’s socio-economic pur-poses is to nurture inclusive economic participation through finance for previously disadvantaged Na-mibians, including women entrepreneurs. The Bank is also using the vehicle of SME finance to foster the interests of young entrepreneurs, which it sees as the basis for the future of the Namibian economy. SMEs are also seen as a mechanism to further develop regions with lower levels of economic activity and provide stimulus in rural areas.

On financing of small and medium enterprise, Inkumbi says the Bank has no intention to operate in the retail banking field and views itself as a pure development finance institution (DFI). The DBN has a long track record of governance and due diligence in the field of SME finance and this is now vested in the DBN SME Centre. It is envisaged that this will provide DBN with greater control in the form of a solid operation, which due to its nature and relative risk, has intensive diligence requirements. Previous-ly the Bank processed finance for infrastructure and larger enterprises alongside SMEs.

Inkumbi says the operation of the new SME Centre will be underpinned by several layers of support, par-ticularly in the pre-application phase for financing. In the pre-application phase, the Bank particularly seeks to draw attention to the process of business planning. Without a realistic and achievable business plan, the applicant places herself/himself in a position of finan-cial risk when borrowing. To this end, the DBN has developed a business plan content guide which will be freely available to potential borrowers. The Bank’s support will also extend advisory services on the com-pletion of applications, documents and certification required for the application.

“We want our borrowers to have the best possible prospect of success,” Inkumbi states.

Inkumbi urges financing applicants to give their best during the planning and application phase, as DBN is a Bank that seeks excellence. When borrowers suc-ceed in their enterprise endeavours, the Bank too suc-ceeds in its endeavour to assist them, and to develop the nation.

Development Bank of Namibia CEO Martin Inkumbi outside the SME Centre


INDUSTRY GROWTH

STRATEGIES

SUCCESSFULLY

IMPLEMENTED

The Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development is satisfied with the progress achieved in the implementation of the Industry Growth Strategies which were

launched in 2016, in conjunction with the German Cooperation. The Ministry, with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusam-menarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, launched the Industry Growth Strategies for 10 local industries, namely cos-metics products, game meat, taxidermy, leather and leather products, Swakara wool, gemstones and jew-ellery, handicrafts, seafood, wood charcoal and met-al fabrication. The growth strategies, in line with the Growth at Home strategy, were developed with exten-sive stakeholder engagement.Germany and Namibia have been cooperating on the issue of economic competitiveness since 2015.

Speaking to stakeholders from the public and private sector at an event held to acknowledge the progress achieved, Hon. Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko said a solid base had been laid for the next three years of implementing the growth strategies. The imple-mentation of the Industry Growth Strategies will run until 2020 and Ngatjizeko said that MITSMED recognises the “importance of [Namibian] industries as well as their potential and their capabilities”. As such, industry growth promotion will be “one of the [Ministry’s] priorities in the years to come”.

Through the Industry Growth Strategies, stake-holders of the Cosmetics Industry have set up a public-private partnership project and are currently compiling a product dossier for a Namibian cosmet-ics ingredient, which will enable the local product to have access to new international markets and there-fore increase value addition, sales and production.Other sectors that are benefiting from the intiative

include wildlife products, Swakara wool, metal fabrication, charcoal and handicrafts industry, co-loured gemstones and jewellery and leather prod-ucts.

“All in all we may be optimistic for the manufac-turing sector’s contribution has been growing from 9.9% in 2015 to 11% in 2016. Compared to 2014 manufacturing grew by more than 15,000 jobs until 2016 while overall employment in the economy unfortunately dropped due to weaknesses in other sectors. Thus, we have well understood the impor-tance of our industries as well as their potential and their capabilities. The MITSMED will certainly make industry growth promotion one of its priori-ties in the years to come,”said Minister Ngatjizeko.

German Ambassador to Namibia Christian Mat-thias Schlaga stated that the Industry Growth Strategies were being implemented to improve the conditions for manufacturing business in the coun-try and uplift the different industries. “This is being done by stakeholders with an entre-preneurial spirit and an entrepreneurial culture. The collaboration of private and public stakehold-ers is helping to improve business framework con-ditions and to strengthen the SME sector as a vital part of the national economy,” he said.

Schlaga emphasised the need to have political and economic framework conditions are favorable for productivity to occur. “Conditions that we usually capture in terms such as the ‘ease of doing business’, ‘the investment climate’, ‘transparency indicators’, ‘low level of bureaucracy’, ‘absence of corruption’ and many more,” said the Germany envoy.

SATISFACTORY: Hon. Immanuel Ngatjizeko addressing guests who attended the review of the implementation of Industry Growth Strategies

IND

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An n u a l i n f l a -

tion deceler-ated to 3.6% in January 2018 after stalling at 5.2% since O c t o b e r 2017, while

monthly inflation accelerated to 1.6% from 0.2% in the preceding month. The slowdown in annual infla-tion was led by a slowdown in the Housing & Util-ity category, which recorded 3.6% annual inflation compared to 9.3% during the same period last year. A low annual spike in housing inflation (due to once off adjustments) 3.6% y/y compared to a three-year av-erage of 6.4% and a strengthening domestic currency environment, should hold favourable for the average annual inflation in 2018.

ECONOMIC BRIEFSEC

ON

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Y Public Debt

Annual growth in Government domestic debt continued its downward trajectory slowing to 16.8% y/y at N$48.2bn in Feb-ruary 2018. External debt was recorded

at N$27.8bn at the end of June 2017, implying that total government domestic debt is in the region of N$75bn

Credit Extension to the Private Sector

The Bank of Namibia’s 2017 Money and Banking Statistics reflect that commercial bank advances increased by 0.4% m/m and continued their rebound (5.8% y/y from

5.2% in December) to reach N$90.58bn in January 2018. Growth in individual credit rose to 7.4% y/y to reach N$53.66bn and slowed to 0.5% m/m, while the N$36.4bn credit extended to businesses acceler-ated to 3.2% y/y (from 2.7%) and climbed 0.3% m/m. The overall liquidity position of commercial banks decreased by N$1.2bn during January 2018 to con-cerningly low levels of N$1.9bn.

Source: BoN; INJ

Individuals’ mortgage growth slowed to 0.2% m/m (remaining flat at 7.8% y/y), instalment credit contract-ed 0.4% m/m and 2.5% y/y

from 3.9% y/y while overdrafts jumped 3.8% m/m and accelerated to 7.2% y/y. Monthly growth in business mortgages contracted 0.9% m/m and slowed to +6.2% y/y to N$11.24bn. Instalment credit fell 2% m/m and continued to decline (-7.9% y/y to N$4.75bn) as other loans and advances declined by 2.7% on a m/m basis and spiked 15.3% y/y in January ‘17.

Namibian Consumer Price Index (NCPI)

New Vehicle Sales

New Vehicle Sales through South Africa re-corded positive monthly growth of 5.5% in January 2018, however sales contracted 3.2%

y/y as the rate of decline continued to ease. January 2018 registered sales of 881 units, which is closer to the long-term average of 841 units indicating that the current level of new vehicle sales should be considered normal and more sustainable in contrast to higher ex-cess of 1,700 units recorded in some months of 2015.


THE INNOVATION SCENE - EMERGING LOCAL STARTUPS

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• KIRSTIN WIEDOW

Over the past few years since the establish-ment of Namibia’s first FABlab, we have seen growth in youth driving their own ideas and following the entrepreneurship

path. Multi-helix stakeholders are joining hands to promote entrepreneurship and innovation which is fostering a culture of change in the country. Over the past year alone, we co-hosted the first Namibian Start-up Festival where over 250 young innovators and stakeholders attended the event. We also hosted an ADDventure pitching den event where five local start-ups pitched their ideas to hard-hitting business experts; the winner was awarded N$ 75 000.00. The first #pitchnightnam initiative was launched where the top ten SDG-aligned businesses pitched to a panel of experts and the two winners were awarded the op-portunity to attend the top European Start-up event, funded by Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

These motions are leaps and bounds from what we had seen in the past during the research and develop-ment phase and launch of FABlab during 2011-2015. In 2016 we launched an initiative to promote local

innovative start-ups in collaboration with Team Na-mibia. We held three pitching events where over 27 start-ups pitched to a panel of 10 supporting private and public sector entities; a total capital investment of over N$25 million was recorded.

FABlab itself invested income of over N$150 000.00 in this initiative and believe that this promotion was definitely a contributing factor to growing the cul-ture of innovative young entrepreneurs. The collab-orative effort among public, private and international stakeholders is powering a drive towards diversifica-tion where micro, small and medium-sized enter-prises areemerging and encouraging entrepreneurial aspira-tions among our communities.

A start-up is usually defined as a business younger than five years old with a prototype which is ready to scale up; of course this definition has wide inter-pretations depending on location and rationale. In Namibia we yet to solidify our own definition and this, together with formalising investor networks is

SHACK BAKERY: The shack bakery of FABlab member Ms. Auguste Lisias in Katutura


something we are working on.

There are host of exciting fresh local start-up prod-ucts and their creators who are making waves this year. MOME Housing won the ADDventure pitch-ing den with a low-cost housing solution. N.E.S.T was the overall winner at the #pitchnightnam event with their locally designed and prototyped waterless composting toilet that will provide a sanitation solu-tion for Africa as awhole. The runners up at #pitchingnam presented PEBL, a low-cost basic computer for under N$4 000.00 that can also be attached to any TV or moni-tor to provide internet access; they will build a man-ufacturing base in Namibia which will provide new job opportunities.

It is interesting to note that all of these innovations are solving African problems and are being rec-ognised internationally: it is portentous to be part of this era in Namibia. The ideas pitched by other entrepreneurs ranged from locally manufactured quality toilet paper to digital health platforms, edu-cation technologies, insurance solutions, taxi safety and tracking applications and machines.

Comparing these ideas to those of the previous years

there is definitely a shift to more sustainable and cir-cular economy inventions as well as a visible improve-ment in the calibre of entrepreneurs and their market readiness levels. There are still areas for improvement that FABlab is tackling as part of its development and growth challenges. I believe that creating a conducive and cooperative environment in Namibia is the best way for our ecosystem to flourish and grow. Local en-thusiasts are abound and engaging these enterprises, supporting their improvement, mentoring and coach-ing the founders, which is great to witness. Compet-ing against one another rather than harnessing each strength and building a stronger community is where we should be; we must synergise to grow and prosper, allowing for positive exponential growth to take place.

One of my favourite start-ups that emerged during the past few pitching sessions is Ms. Auguste Lisias. What I find phenomenal about her start-up story is that she is a female “struggle child” who was granted the opportunity to pursue her studies in baking. Ms. Lisias did not give up or sit-back waiting for hand-outs. She built a shack bakery and walked for miles every day before dawn to collect firewood, baked muffins and sold them to her local community. She pushed for her dream and committed herself. After meeting with the City of Windhoek and FABlab, we

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INCUBATED: The small-scale industrial bakery incubated at the City of Windhoek Bokamoso Centre with equipment funded by the Environmental Investment Fund


collaborated to make sure she could get her business off the ground and soar. Two years later we managed to secure N$100 000.00 from the Environmental In-vestment Fund for Ms. Lisias to establish the bakery. She is currently incubated at the City of Windhoek Bokamoso Centre where she has already broken even and is growing from strength to strength. Her muffin business is called Mother Nature and she incorporates natural resources – local flavours, nuts and berries - into her fresh baked goods and is supplying coffee shops and corporate clients across the city. This is true story of a local start-up innovator and a testament to the fact that commitment and hard-work pays off.

Another new ecosystem player that is emerging is the co-working space. In the past year more than three co-working spaces have opened in Windhoek alone. These enablers are supporting the growth of innova-tion by providing affordable desk and meeting spaces as well as shared administration. In building flourish-ing start-up ecosystems the cornerstones are investors andfinanciers, low-risk sandboxes and entrepreneur hubs, industry and academia partnerships and incubators as well as mentors and enthusiasts.

NUST has long been an initiator and supporter of innovation, growing this culture internally and ex-ternally. Academia is where we will provide the right kind of skills and critical thinking that the youth need in order to be competitive innovators. We are slow-

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the innovation culture which will drive the economy forward into a new era where new business will arise and fusionists, who carry hybrid skill-sets and entre-preneurial passion, will thrive. Not-for-profit invest-ment into research, development, prototyping and in-novative activities is, unfortunately, a hard sell in the current economic climate. However, on the positive side, I can confidently say that our local communities are taking it upon themselves to create opportunities and are building the ecosystem themselves.

Start-ups are benefiting monetarily from the co-work-ing hubs that they are running and in-turn the entre-preneurs are benefitting as they have low over-head costs and flexibility. This is a new start-up scene on the rise and the innovations being born are changing the way that Namibia is perceived in the greater start-up communities worldwide. This year for the first time, two local Namibian start-ups represented the country at the 9th African Union Private Sector Forum and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) African Leaders in Dialogue Dinner and also repre-sented the country at the internationally acclaimed SLUSH event in December 2017.

Acceleration can only come from investment, be it tangible or intangible. Local innovation needs cham-pions and the NUST FABlab team will continue to support creative-thinking, multi-disciplinary ide-ation, providing a cooperative platform to promote local innovators, risk-takers and a space to prototype and turn ideas into reality.

Kirstin Wiedow is the Director of FABlab Design and Technology Centre at the Namibia University of Sci-ence and Technology

ly putting all the pieces into place and the “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. We are seeing daily proof that the investments made in creating this eco-system is reaping its due rewards, namely fostering

REPRESENTING: Local Start-ups, Kaveto Tjatara of World View Technologies and Vincent van Wyk of MaxReign technologies who won the #pitchnightnam FABlab event travelled to SLUSH to rep-resent Namibia for the first time at the biggest European En-trepreneur conference SLUSH with their innovation hub coaches from FABlab Namibia of NUST

TECH DESIGN: Vincent van Wyk with his product, PEBL, the first locally designed and made low-cost high-performance computer seen here with the newly launched TESLA vehicle.


NAMIBIA COMMEMORATES

Namibia joined the rest of the world in commemorating World AIDS Day on 1December, under the theme Right to Health.Why the Right to Health?The universal and inalienable Right to Health

provides everyone with the right torealize the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination or stigma.Only by placing human rights at the centre of global health can we ensure that healthcare is acces-

sible, acceptable, available and of good quality for everyone, leaving no one behind.

The AIDS epidemic brought the power of the Right to Health to the world’s attention. The AIDS response is built upon the fundamental right to health and well-being and provides the best example of the global

expansion of health services.

The AIDS response leveraged rights, expanded access to life-saving medicines, expanded health systems and increased access to acceptable and quality health and social protection services, without discrimination or coercion. The rights-based approach has also benefitted the wider health movement, including improving

services for tuberculosis, hepatitis C, sexual and reproductive health and non-communicable diseases.

The Sustainable Development Goals, underpinned by human rights, provide a framework to leverage opportunities between the right to health and other rights, including the right to

education, equality, non-discrimination, access to justice, privacy and food.

The World AIDS Day campaign highlighted opportunities to leverage rights-based practices and behaviours to achieve more rapid and sustainable progress towards universal health

coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Live Performances

by The Dogg and

many other local artists

Commencing with the

march at 8h00 from NBC to

Katima Mulilo Sports Field

RIGHT TO HEALTH

STRENGTHENING CROSS-BORDER COLLABORATION

IN COMBATING HIV AND AIDS

World

Open G

raphics


80 www.nam ib i a t r aded i rec to ry. com

G R O U P C O M PA N I E S

Kalahari Holdings (Pty) Limited is a diverse and dynamic investment holding company playing an active role in the development of Namibia. We have been making significant contribution to the Namibian economy in the form of employment creation, creation of wealth, poverty alleviation, and making significant monetary contribution to the shareholders. Kalahari Holdings has earned a reputation of excellence in business practices and quality of our products. Located in the metropolis of Windhoek, the Group’s activities encompass Transportation, Farming, Property Development, Security, Hospitality, and Entertainment.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYAs a corporate citizen, Kalahari Holdings continues to plough back into the communities where we operate. We made significant contributions in education aimed at complementing teaching needs, and thereby aid to the learners need for academic materials. Kalahari Holdings, together with its subsidiaries and joint ventures employ close to 3 300 permanent employees and also make use of seasonal and casual workers.

SUBSIDIARIES• Farm de Rust• Namib Contract Haulage (NCH)• Namprint (pty) Ltd.• Kudu Investment• Ndilimani Cultural Troupe• New Dawn Production• NPS

JOINT VENTUREKalahari Holdings holds interest in various companies in Namibia. Some of the Joint Ventures are:• Radio Energy• Primehealth• Sun Karros• Africaonline• Multi-Choice Namibia

KALAHARI HOLDINGSPROMOTING SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

KALAHARI HOLDINGS+264 61 225 333

[email protected]

www.kalahariholdings.com

NAMIBIA COMMEMORATES

Namibia joined the rest of the world in commemorating World AIDS Day on 1December, under the theme Right to Health.Why the Right to Health?The universal and inalienable Right to Health

provides everyone with the right torealize the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination or stigma.Only by placing human rights at the centre of global health can we ensure that healthcare is acces-

sible, acceptable, available and of good quality for everyone, leaving no one behind.

The AIDS epidemic brought the power of the Right to Health to the world’s attention. The AIDS response is built upon the fundamental right to health and well-being and provides the best example of the global

expansion of health services.

The AIDS response leveraged rights, expanded access to life-saving medicines, expanded health systems and increased access to acceptable and quality health and social protection services, without discrimination or coercion. The rights-based approach has also benefitted the wider health movement, including improving

services for tuberculosis, hepatitis C, sexual and reproductive health and non-communicable diseases.

The Sustainable Development Goals, underpinned by human rights, provide a framework to leverage opportunities between the right to health and other rights, including the right to

education, equality, non-discrimination, access to justice, privacy and food.

The World AIDS Day campaign highlighted opportunities to leverage rights-based practices and behaviours to achieve more rapid and sustainable progress towards universal health

coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Live Performances

by The Dogg and

many other local artists

Commencing with the

march at 8h00 from NBC to

Katima Mulilo Sports Field

RIGHT TO HEALTH

STRENGTHENING CROSS-BORDER COLLABORATION

IN COMBATING HIV AND AIDS

World

Open G

raphics


MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIALISATION,

TRADE AND SME DEVELOPMENT

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DEPARTMENTAL BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this insert is to introduce to you the three departments of the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, briefly describing their different roles and services offered. The Ministry has three direc-torates and one departments here with below:

DEPARTMENT OF NAMIBIA INVESTMENT CENTRE

Namibia Investment Centre (NIC) is the country’s offi-cial investment promotion agency and first port of call for investors. Created under the Foreign Investment Act of 1990, the NIC is a department within the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME development. The over-all objective of the centre is to attract, generate and retain both domestic and foreign investment to stimulate eco-nomic growth and expedite industrial transformation in Namibia in line with national development objectives. In addition, the centre is responsible of creating policies and strategies conducive to investment.

NIC offers a variety of services to existing and potential investors, including the provision of information on in-centives, investment opportunities and the country’s reg-ulatory regime. It is closely linked to key ministries and stakeholders, and can therefore help minimize bureau-cratic obstacles to pre and post business establishment.

NIC has overseas investment promotion representatives in strategic located countries such as France (Paris), Ger-many (Berlin), India (New Delhi), South Africa (Preto-ria) and USA (Washington D.C.)Contact Person

Ms Bernadette ArtivorDeputy Permanent SecretaryTel +264 61 283 7335Email: [email protected]@mti.gov.na

DIRECTORATE OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

The Directorate of Industrial Development is responsible for evaluating and appraising industrial projects. It renders business support services to entrepreneurs such as feasibil-

Dr. Michael HumavinduDeputy Permanent SecretaryTel +264 61 283 7328Fax +264 61 25 9676Email: [email protected]

DIRECTORATE OF TRADE AND COMMERCE

The Department of Trade and Commerce is responsible for national policies and programmes geared towards the management, regulation, promotion, development and facilitation of internal trade, commercial and business ac-tivities. The department also deals with international trade activities such as bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements. The department has representative commer-cial offices in countries such as Angola (Luanda), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Switzerland (Geneva) and Belgium (Brus-sels) Contact Person

Ms Annacsy MwanyangapoDeputy Permanent SecretaryTel +264 61 283 7331Email: [email protected]

ity studies, business plans, Equipment Aid, Research and surveys of potential development areas and renders sup-port and advice to potential developers and investors. The Directorate is also engaged in the production of industrial statistics, and conducts regular censuses of the manufac-turing sector. Contact Person

DIRECTORATE OF GENERAL SERVICES

This directorate is responsible for the rendering of support-ive services to the Ministry’s directorates and departments. Its objective is to provide efficient management and utili-sation of human, financial and material resources allocat-ed to the Ministry for the achievement Ministerial goals. It’s also the directorate responsible for the procurement of goods and services required for the effective operation and functioning of the Ministry and the proper disposal there-of. Contact Person

Mr. Munu KuyonisaDirectorTel: +264 61 283 7337Fax: +264 61 238607Email: [email protected]


NAMIBIA’S ROADS RANKED THE BEST IN AFRICAThe Roads Authority (RA) is proud to announce that Namibia was once again accorded the top position for having the best roads in Africa by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The results were released via the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2017/18. The Global Competitive Report index tracks the performance of approximately 140 countries on 12 pillars of competitiveness, including the quality of Road Infrastructure Development.

Namibia is topping the list of African countries in the category of road infrastructure development with an impressive score of 5.2 out of 7, above Ecuador, Bahrain, Qatar and Great Britain whichall scored a 5.1. The only other African countries to make it to the top 50 list were South Africa nd Rwanda with a score of 5.0 respectively followed by Mauritius with a 4.7 score. The United Arab Emirates took the overall top position with a remarkable 6.5 score.

Since the establishment of the Roads Authority in April 2000, the organization has continued toplay a vital role in the socio-economic development of Namibia, and in particular the advancementof previously neglected areas of our country. The expansion of our road network has alreadystarted to bear fruit as many of the communities in Namibia have access to the main centers ofthe country.

Issued by:RA Corporate CommunicationOffice of the Chief Executive OfficerTel: 061 284 7145/67Fax: 061 284 7655Email: [email protected]

Enquiries:Ferguson PaulseEngineer-in-TrainingRoad Management SystemTelephone: +264 61 284 7036Email: [email protected]

Roads Authority, Private Bag 12030, Ausspannplatz, Windhoek, Namibia, www.ra.org.na


In-depth statistics available in the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES) 2015/2016 Report

Food and beverages36%

Other11%

Clothing and footwear4%

Housing32%

Health

Education

Transport and communication

7%

Furnishing and equipment

5%

Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), FGI House, 44 Post Street Mall, Windhoek, Namibia, P.O.Box 2133, Windhoek, Namibia

Tel: 061-431 3200, Fax: 061-4313253www.nsa.org.na

Where does the money go?Results from the NHIES 2015/2016 survey shows that households in Namibia

spent most of their total expenditure on food and beverages (including alcoholic beverages and tobacco). The category “other” includes recreation,

culture, accommodation services and miscellaneous goods and services.

3%2%

namibia journal - gov march 2018_compressed (002).pdf · 2020. 6. 16. · quot alterum te eam, pro...

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