Niël Terblanché
The construction of a second desalination plant on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean will enable the Erongo Region to attain its development goals at a much faster rate.
Neville Andre, the Erongo Regional Governor during his State of the Region Address indicated that progress with the construction of a second desalination plant at the coast is progressing well.
“We welcome the progress made on the envisaged central coast desalination plant in as much as Cabinet approval was obtained, land has already been secured and permits for abstraction have also been obtained,” he said.
Andre said he is happy to share that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform is hard at work to make the massive development project a reality in the shortest possible time.
“The new plant will benefit various industries and address the water challenges we are facing,” he said.
He said that the current economic trajectory indicates that Namibia has entered a period of revival, with green shoots on the horizon.
“I have the utmost confidence that to achieve economic emancipation for all, Namibia must be propelled forward by the collective efforts of the citizens. The success of our country does not depend on one singular person but on each and every citizen. Therefore, each and every son and daughter of our soil must become a catalyst, for development and change,” he said.
The Governor said that he is glad that there are encouraging signs that the region’s economy is rebounding.
“Our tourism sector was among the hardest hit by COVID-19 through the shutting down of air travel. It is now making an encouraging recovery. Let us work together as we have during the difficult days of the past three years, where we showed unity and resilience,” he said.
While speaking about the various mining activities that are ongoing in the Erongo Region, Andre said that emerging industries such as the production of Green hydrogen and lithium mining hold the key to even greater success with economic development and job creation.
He indicated that the Daures Green Hydrogen Consortium is constructing the Daures Green Hydrogen Village which is an ammonia production facility.
He added that the project will showcase the sustainable production of green hydrogen and ammonia from renewable sources, demonstrate green hydrogen applications, and pilot a green hydrogen economy with export potential for hydrogen derivatives while creating research opportunities for local and international students.
“Notably, the project aims to produce Namibia’s first green hydrogen and ammonia in 2023 during its pilot phase. The project will also produce Namibia’s first carbon-free agriculture,” he said.
He indicated that subsequent development phases of the Daures project will eventually lead to the housing of more than 2 000 people.
“The project will generate over 1 Giga Watts of clean energy and produce over 350 000 tons of green ammonia when in full production,” he said, adding that the project has provided local communities with shareholding in the project through the conservancy and the traditional authority.
With regard to lithium mining, the Governor said the high demand for the mineral has attracted a lot of interest from national and international investors.
“Despite the interest and related challenges within the industry, the Namibian Government has placed a restriction on the export of lithium ore which will undoubtedly create opportunities for value addition, creating conducive working environments, employment creation and the transfer of skills,” Andre said.
He said that such opportunities can only be created by the development of good legislative frameworks to regulate the industry. While reporting on the activities of the past year, the Governor said the revival of the Erongo Regional Governor and Chairperson’s Forum has yielded excellent results, in terms of utilizing the scarce resources at the disposal of the region.
“Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their government is doing. To this end, my Office and Erongo Regional Council organised a session with all the Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMA) in the region to listen to their activities and how we as a collective leadership can assist in the challenges they experience. It was an excellent exercise for us to learn more about what the various OMA’s are doing, what their challenges are and how we can collectively address government implementation challenges in the Region,” he said.
He said the most apparent aspect that was highlighted by the meetings, was the lack of coordination or collaboration and the absence of effective decentralization in some instances where all activities needed to be approved from the respective headquarters in Windhoek.
In the same vein, meetings with the various Local Authorities to see how the necessary assistance could be provided.
“The sessions with the Local Authorities were focused on sanitation, economic development land and housing development,” he said.
With regard to improved service delivery, Andre said that the inauguration of the new Tutaleni Police Station in June and the completion of the Uis settlement office are indicative of the Namibian Government’s continued investment to improve the lives of all residents.
Andre called on all residents to unite with the government in fighting corruption and to be vigilant of unethical behaviours by both public and private sector officials.
Andre expressed his appreciation for the central government’s efforts to mitigate the devastation of the tourism sector by investing heavily in the hosting of national, regional, continental and international workshops and conferences at the coast since 2022.
“We have seen the growth in occupancy rates between May 2022 and April 2023, where occupancy stood at 38 percent in May 2022 and in April 2023 increased to over 50 percent,” he said.
With regard to agriculture in the region, Andre said that despite the prolonged drought some good rains occurred in the region which improved grazing conditions for farmers.
He added that the central government invested heavily in programmes such as the National Horticultural Support Program (NHSP), Poultry Value Chain Development Scheme (PVCDS), Namibia Agricultural Mechanization and Seed Improvement Project (NAMSIP) and the extension of the Drought Support Program for livestock farmers in drought-stricken areas.
“These interventions include the livestock marketing incentive, subsidy for transportation of livestock to and from grazing areas and subsidy for the lease of grazing. These programs are to be implemented in the following constituencies of Erongo Region; Walvis Bay Rural, Daures and Karibib Constituency, from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023,” he said.
While speaking about the fishing industry, Andre said that the main challenge over the past year was the high cost of fuel.
“Fishing vessels consume a lot of fuel when operating and the nets, ropes and twine are manufactured from synthetic material that is based on oil. Our fish landings exceed local demand and the surplus is sold in the SADC region or exported to Europe or the Far East, attracting substantial transport costs,” he said.
The Governor expressed his gratitude to the political leadership of the Erongo Region for their support despite their political differences.
“It is evident that we place our people’s interest and well-being first,” he said.
Andre also thanked the private sector for their unwavering support whenever they are called upon to assist.
“The Erongo Region is on a growing trajectory, with new opportunities in the mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, green hydrogen and ammonia, nuclear energy and agricultural sector as well as the prospect of value addition in our dimension stone and rare earth sector. There is hope for employment, housing, infrastructure and human resources development,” he said.Andre concluded by saying that the youth should not give up hope.
“Don’t despair. Continue to bring practical solutions to the table that would enable your plight to be heard,” he said.
