Blog – Page 9 – Windhoek Observer

02 Feb

New Year full of empowerment and recommitment as mine workers

Featured, Opinions

Shavuka Mbidhi The growth in Namibia's domestic economy is anchored by upbeat activities in the natural resources sector, namely mining. A look back at the economic stories of 2025 began with a radical policy shift geared towards addressing long-standing social constraints, including high levels of poverty and unemployment. Undeniably, Namibia has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, and youth unemployment stood at 37.3% in 2024. Part of its Vision 2030, and under the current sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), the government focus is on promoting industrialisation, economic diversification, health and education, job creation, and social…

02 Feb

Cattle sales fall to lowest level in nearly two decades

Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira Cattle marketing in Namibia fell to 192 300 head in 2025, the lowest level recorded since 2006, according to the Namibia Agriculture Union (NAU). The union said the decline does not signal weakness in the livestock sector but reflects decisions taken by producers in response to prolonged drought. “This decline should not be interpreted as a deterioration in the livestock sector; rather, it reflects a rational production response to prolonged drought conditions. Producers deliberately reduced offtake in order to prioritise herd rebuilding and restore productive capacity,” the union said. Cattle marketing had generally increased since 2006 and peaked…

02 Feb

Treasury bills auction draws N$2.2 billion in bids

Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira The Bank of Namibia (BoN), acting as agent for government debt issuance and management, conducted its first treasury bills auction for 2026 last Thursday, with demand remaining firm across all maturities. The auction, held on 29 January 2026, attracted total bids of about N$2.2 billion, with N$1.512 billion allocated across four treasury bill tenors. The bills covered 90-day, 182-day, 273-day and 364-day maturities and all settled on 30 January. Bid-to-cover ratios ranged between 1.10 and 1.97, showing continued investor interest in short-term government paper. For the 90-day treasury bill maturing on 30 April 2026, the government allocated N$352…

02 Feb

International reserves rise to N$51.6 billion in December

Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira Namibia’s stock of international reserves rose at the end of December 2025, supported mainly by net inflows of the South African rand and revaluation gains, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) has reported. Official reserves increased by 4.9% month-on-month to N$51.6 billion. The rise was driven by strong net rand inflows linked to portfolio investment, as well as favourable price movements in some fixed-income securities held by the central bank. At this level, the international reserves were sufficient to cover an estimated 3.3 months of imports. When oil and gas exploration and appraisal-related imports are excluded, import cover improves…

02 Feb

Global air cargo volumes reach new high

Observer Money

Staff Writer Global air cargo demand reached a record level in 2025, according to full-year and December data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Full-year demand in 2025, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres, rose by 3.4% compared to 2024. International operations recorded higher growth of 4.2%. Cargo capacity increased by 3.7% over the same period, with international capacity up by 5.1%. December 2025 closed the year on a strong note. Global demand was 4.3% higher than in December 2024, while international demand rose by 5.5%. Global capacity increased by 4.5%, with international capacity up by 6.4%. IATA reported that…

02 Feb

Passenger demand rises as flights remain full

Observer Money

Staff Writer Global passenger demand reached record levels in 2025, even as airlines faced aircraft delivery delays, maintenance backlogs and rising costs that limited capacity growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. In its full-year and December 2025 passenger market performance report released on 29 January 2026 in Geneva, IATA said total global demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, increased by 5.3% compared to 2024. Capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, rose by 5.2%, pushing the overall passenger load factor to a record 83.6% for the year. International travel drove most of the growth. Full-year international demand rose by…

02 Feb

Ninety One set to complete Sanlam acquisition this week

Observer Money

Staff Writer Global asset manager Ninety One expects to complete the South African leg of its acquisition of Sanlam Investment Management Proprietary Limited this week. This marks the start of a long-term strategic relationship with the Sanlam Group. The transaction follows joint announcements made by Ninety One and Sanlam in November 2024 and March 2025, when the two groups outlined plans to form a long-term active asset management partnership. The deal involves Ninety-One Limited acquiring all the shares in Sanlam Investment Management and formally launching an initial 15-year strategic relationship with Sanlam once the transaction is completed. As part of…

30 Jan

Naretu asks labour minister to step in at Namib Mills

National News

…Immanuel set to meet Namib Mills and union today Renthia Kaimbi The Namibian Revolutionary Transport and Manufacturing Union (Naretu) has called on the government to urgently intervene in a labour dispute at Namib Mills. Naretu has formally asked the minister of justice and labour relations, Fillemon Wise Immanuel, to mediate the dispute between the union and the company. The appeal follows a strike by Namib Mill workers, which began earlier this month. In a letter dated 29 January and addressed to Immanuel, Naretu general secretary Petersen Kambinda said wage negotiations had broken down, resulting in a full strike and a…

30 Jan

Masua orders ‘office refreshments’ worth over N$4 000

Main, National News

Renthia Kaimbi Employees at the National Youth Council (NYC) are questioning why newly appointed interim executive chairperson Patience Masua ordered a personal selection of snacks worth more than N$4 000 as office refreshments during her second week in office. The issue comes amid criticism of Masua’s N$100 000 monthly salary for a three-month tenure. A detailed request seen by the Windhoek Observer lists liquifruit juices, romany creams and eet-sum-mor biscuits, barbecue-flavoured pringles, biltong including droëwors and sliced beef, dried fruits, granola bars, long-life milk, Douwe Egberts coffee, honey, mint sweets and Oasis still water. The items were submitted for procurement…

30 Jan

Lenacapavir gets green light in Namibia

National News

Justicia Shipena The Ministry of Health and Social Services has approved the registration of lenacapavir. Lenacapavir is a long-acting HIV prevention medicine administered twice a year. Lenacapavir is used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and is given as an injectable formulation. This differs from existing PrEP options, which require people to take tablets every day. Thousands of Namibians are currently using daily oral PrEP. Namibia has surpassed the 95-95-95 HIV targets set by UNAIDS. These targets require that 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of those diagnosed receive treatment, and 95% of those on treatment achieve viral…