Observer Money

Dickson Matengu Most of us will never read an Act of Parliament cover to cover. Yet every Act of Parliament is binding on all and directly or indirectly affects us. The Financial Institutions and Markets Act, commonly known as “FIMA”, was promulgated in October 2021. Since its promulgation, most of the debate about FIMA centred on draft regulation on compulsory preservation of retirement benefits. Far less has been said about Chapter 5 of FIMA, which primarily governs the retirement fund industry. In fact, almost nothing has been said about the distribution of pension death benefits. FIMA came into force on…

CHAMWE KAIRA Namibia’s quarterly diamond production declined to 495 000 carats in the quarter ending 30 September compared to 531 000, De Beers production figures showed.  De Beers Group’s latest production report shows that Namibia produced 1.58 million carats between January and September, down 3% from 1.62 million carats in the same period of 2025. Debmarine Namibia produced 366 000 carats during the quarter, an increase of 21% from 303 000 carats in the third quarter of 2025. However, its output declined slightly from 370 000 carats in the preceding quarter. For the first nine months, Debmarine produced 1.09 million…

CHAMWE KAIRA The country’s national room occupancy rate reached 66.49% in the third quarter of 2026, surpassing both the same period last year and the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019, according to first-draft figures from the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN). The occupancy rate was 1.18 percentage points higher than the 65.31% recorded in the third quarter of 2025 and 1.75 percentage points above the 64.74% recorded in the third quarter of 2019. Bed occupancy also improved, reaching 58.86% in the quarter, compared with 57.17% in 2025 and 55.13% in 2019. However, September room occupancy declined to 66.33%, from 67.37%…

CHAMWE KAIRA Alpha Namibia Industries Renewable Power Limited (ANIREP) will ask shareholders to approve the appointment of Deloitte Namibia as the group’s auditor for three years, replacing Ernst and Young Namibia. The proposed change is among the resolutions to be considered at the company’s eighth annual general meeting on 16 November to be held virtually. According to the notice of the meeting, the appointment will be subject to a review at the next annual general meeting, while the board will be authorised to determine the auditor’s remuneration. Shareholders will also consider a resolution to declare no dividend for the financial…

CHAMWE KAIRA  FirstRand Namibia shareholders have approved all ordinary resolutions tabled at the bank’s annual general meeting held on 16 October 2026, including its annual financial statements, dividend confirmation and director appointments. According to a notice issued by the company, the resolutions were approved by the requisite majority of shareholders present or represented by proxy. The results were released by order of the board and signed by group company secretary Nelago Makemba.  A total of 236 198 047 shares were voted on each resolution, representing 88.27% of the shares. Shareholders approved the annual financial statements for the year ended 30…

Staff Writer  Mineral price movements in September suggest that inflation and rising interest rates may be starting to temper price gains, while Namibia’s mining output declined in August, according to the September 2026 Monthly Mining Update by the Chamber of Mines of Namibia. Higher year-to-date mineral prices and positive long-term demand fundamentals nevertheless remain supportive of the sector's outlook. The ongoing war in the Middle East continues to put upward pressure on fuel prices, with the average price of Brent crude reaching US$116.8 per barrel in September, an increase of 28.5% from August. In Namibia, headline inflation rose to 5.4%…

Staff Writer  Old Mutual Namibia has announced the appointment of Alovise Frey as general manager for finance and operations for the Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia (OMIGNAM), effective 1 October. Frey joins Old Mutual Namibia with more than 12 years of experience across finance, risk management, credit, compliance, audit and taxation, having built a distinguished career within Namibia's banking sector. Prior to joining Old Mutual Namibia, she served as head of finance for the commercial banking segment at FNB Namibia, where she provided strategic financial leadership, guided key business decision-making processes and served on several executive and governance committees. Her…

CHAMWE KAIRA The country’s fiscal deficit is projected to widen to 6.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the 2026/27 financial year, driven by a N$2.1 billion revenue shortfall, rising debt-servicing costs and economic pressures from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and El Niño. This is according to a Mid-Year Budget Review preview by Simonis Storm analyst Almandro Jansen, which forecasts that the government’s planned return to a primary budget surplus will give way to a primary deficit of 0.7% of GDP. The minister of finance is expected to present the mid-year budget review before the end of October. Simonis Storm projects…

Staff Writer  Bank Windhoek says in the new financial year, it will continue to raise market awareness of available financing and accelerate progress towards the N$300 million target. Bank Windhoek’s chief treasurer, Ian Erlank said through this focused approach, Bank Windhoek aims to remain the financier of choice for sustainability-linked opportunities and will continue to explore avenues to enhance its offerings. Bank Windhoek says it views Namibia’s economic growth and development as a core priority.  The bank says it recognises that enduring prosperity requires integrating environmental and social considerations alongside traditional economic objectives, thereby strengthening long-term resilience, value creation and…

CHAMWE KAIRA Elevate Uranium Limited has increased its global uranium mineral resource inventory to 181 million pounds of uranium oxide (U₃O₈), following resource drilling in Namibia and Australia and progress at its U-pgrade pilot plant in the Erongo region. The Australian-listed uranium exploration company said the pilot plant’s first four processing stages rejected 88% of the original waste mass while recovering 79% of the uranium into the final circuit feed. The fifth stage, a uranium flotation circuit designed to increase concentrate grades to 5 000 parts per million of U₃O₈, was commissioned in August 2026, with analysis underway. Elevate said…