Blog – Page 9 – Windhoek Observer

19 Dec

De Beers reduces sightholders allocations

ObserverObserver Money

De Beers has stripped around 10 sightholders of their rough-diamond allocations for 2025 and is planning to offer fewer goods overall, market insiders told Rapaport News. Those companies will retain their sightholder status, but the miner will not give them a consistent allotment of supply because they did not buy enough in 2024, the sources said. Several of them are in mining countries such as Botswana, where rough purchases and polished production have slumped this year, they added. The total value of allocations next year will be 20% to 30% lower than this year, according to the sources’ estimates, reflecting…

19 Dec

Tumas has 30-year life of mine

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA Deep Yellow Limited, which is developing Tumas project in the Erongo Region has said that in total 73.8 million pounds of uranium oxide will be produced over a total life of mine of 30 years. Commenting on the milestone Deep Yellow Managing Director/CEO Mr John Borshoff commented: “This major ore reserve upgrade continues to confirm the upside potential of the Tumas project. We now have a reserve with a 30-year Life of Mine expectancy with potential to increase this by a further five to 10 years with further work in the coming years. All of this augers very…

19 Dec

Fish landings decline in Q3

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA Total of quota species landings during the third quarter of this year amounted to 76 347 metric tons, a decline of 2,8% when compared to 78 509 metric tons recorded in the third quarter of 2023. Hake recorded the highest landings of 41 678 metric tons, followed by horse mackerel in second place recording 31 366 metric tons and in third place Monk that recorded 2 333 metric tons, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s Agriculture and Fishing Indicators Statistical Bulletin. Export earnings for ‘fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates’ for the third quarter was valued…

19 Dec

Love and loss of a mother and children

ObserverNational News

Mallex Shipanga At just 34 years old, Rogina Muyamba, along with her two-month-old daughter, Ava Nangura, and her eight-year-old stepson, Alfred, tragically lost their lives in a vehicle accident 30 kilometres north of Keetmanshoop on Sunday afternoon. Her husband, Wendelin Muyamba, was driving the family of five when their journey took a tragic turn. On social media, Rogina and Wendelin often shared glimpses of their life together. These include vibrant birthday celebrations, joyful family gatherings, and wedding photos that paint a picture of a couple deeply in love and a family filled with hope and promise. Ferdinand Tjombe, Rogina’s uncle,…

19 Dec

Mahangu and maize farmers to benefit from seed subsidies

ObserverNational News

Mallex Shipanga The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) is subsidising farmers who grow mahangu and white maize seeds during the 2025/2026 growing season. “More than 1400 mahangu and white maize grain producers are expected to benefit,” said NAB public relations officer Liseli Mwilima. The subsidies fall under the NAB’s “National Drought Support Programme for Surplus and Commercial Producers,” to assist farmers in recovering from the 2023/2024 drought. The programme provides subsidies through a refund claim system on pearl millet and white maize seeds as well as fertilisers for rain-fed production. Mwilima explained why the “National Drought Support Programme for Surplus and…

19 Dec

Economy to continue positive trend

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA FNB Namibia has said looking ahead, the group expects GDP growth to continue its positive trend observed over the last 14 quarters. FNB Namibia economist Helena Mboti said the group expects improvements in the agriculture, electricity, and water sectors as weather conditions improve. “We also anticipate a modest uptick in oil and gas activity in the fourth quarter with even greater momentum in 2025, alongside continued strong production in uranium, gold, and metal ores. This could lead to a quicker-than-expected recovery in the mining sector, potentially occurring in the fourth quarter of 2024,” she said. She pointed out…

19 Dec

NamWater’s water supply costs increase

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA NamWater said it supplied water at an average cost of N$14,56 per cubic meter (m³) in the 2024 financial year compared (2023: N$14.51/m³). NamWater said in its 2023/2024 integrated annual report that the slow cost increase from the previous year is a result of prudent cost management against steep inflationary pressure on the cost base. Effective financial management practices were applied to ensure the viability of the business, the company said. NamWater said operating expenses increased compared to the prior year, resulting in the overall profit before tax reduction of 55% from N$220,6 million in the 2023 financial…

19 Dec

Trustco delays results submission

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA Trustco Group Holdings Limited has announced the late submission of its annual statements for the financial period ending 31 August. The company advised that the annual financial statements for 2024 would not be published by 31 December. “Shareholders of Trustco are advised that Trustco's annual financial statements for the financial year ending for the period 31 August 2024 were earmarked to be reviewed by 30 November 2024 and completed by 31 December 2024,” the company said. The company advised shareholders that the annual financial statements would not be published by 31 December 2024 due to a number of…

19 Dec

Namibia’s foreign assets increase to N$288 billion

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA The market value of Namibia’s foreign assets rose over in the third quarter ending in September due to an increase observed in portfolio investment, other investment, and reserve assets. At the end of the third quarter, Namibia’s foreign assets stood at N$288 billion, reflecting a 13,8% increase on an annual basis and a 0,9% increase on a quarterly basis, the Bank of Namibia said in its December quarterly bulletin. The market value of portfolio investment rose by 18,4% to N$174,8 billion on an annual basis, due to an increase in portfolio investment outflows in the form of equity…

19 Dec

Value of downloads, streaming keep rising

ObserverObserver Money

CHAMWE KAIRA The cloud services, software and applications remain the largest category of digitally delivered services expenditure, with a value of N$165.1 million in 2023. The Bank of Namibia said in its December quarterly bulletin that this translates into a share of 27% of total digitally delivered services. “This indicates the use of storage space from major suppliers of cloud services such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Apple, as well as the purchase of applications such as ZOOM that picked up due to the remote working following the pandemic, as well as the use of various software. Most…