Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira The ribbon cutting ceremony on one of the biggest construction projects in Windhoek, the new US Embassy will take place this week. The project pumped millions into the Namibian economy. The US Embassy said the project cost US$300 million will have local features like plants, solar, and recycled water. The new embassy compound features solar array that will power 50 percent of the chancery’s needs. Approximately 5000 native and drought-tolerant plants, and trees were replanted on the compound, reducing site irrigation needs. The US mission said the completion of the project has impacted the lives of 2000 Namibians.…

Chamwe Kaira Analysis of the average retail prices of selected products for November by the Namibia Statistics Agency revealed that consumers in Zone 3 ((//Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, Omaheke regions) paid the highest price for beef stew per kg at N$93.03 followed by Zone 2 at N$88.39 while consumers in Zone 1 paid the least price of N$87.49. Consumers in Zone 2 paid the highest price of N$14.77 for a loaf of white bread followed by Zone 3 at N$14.07, while Zone 1 paid the least price of N$13.87. At the zonal level for the month of November Zone 1 (Kavango…

Chamwe Kaira The Chamber of Mines of Namibia believes that the new licencing procedure for mineral rights and petroleum upstream licences is a positive development that will assist in addressing the backlog of applications. It’s a positive development. We are ok with it if it will assist in addressing the backlog of applications,” said Chamber of Mines of Namibia CEO, Veston Malango. The Ministry of Mines and Energy is introducing a new approach to the application process for the different licenses within its mandate in pursuit of a more efficient and effective service delivery to the public. The Ministry throughout…

The Bank of Namibia’s stock of international reserves declined in October. The stock of international reserves declined by 4.4 percent month-month to N$51.4 billion at the end of October, relative to N$53.8 billion in September. “The decline is attributable to higher commercial bank outflows as a result of higher import bills. The foreign reserves translated into 5.3 months of import cover, continuing to remain above the international benchmark of three months and adequate to support the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand currency peg,” the central bank said. Growth in private sector credit extension (PSCE) rose moderately at the…

For the third quarter of this year, the Producer Price Index for Mining and Quarrying slightly rose by 0.5 basis points to 131.0 basis points, up from 130.5 basis points recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022, translating into an annual inflation rate of 0.4 percent compared to 27.9 percent recorded in the same quarter of 2022, the Namibia Statistics Agency said. Mining and quarrying section covers indices of uranium, non-ferrous metals (copper, gold, lead and zinc) and other mining and quarrying (diamonds). The index for mining of uranium and thorium ores (ISIC 0721) increased to 107.4 basis points in…

Martin Endjala Based on its recent report analysis of current monetary policy trends, Simonis Storm Securities has projected that Namibia will likely implement its initial repo rate reduction in the latter half of 2024. “We foresee this adjustment to be a modest decrease of 25 basis points, which is indicative of a shifting monetary landscape towards a more accommodative stance. This move corresponds with our forecasts of a gradually stabilising economic environment, as reflected in various key economic indicators,” read the report. The report comes after the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Namibia after its final meeting of…

This week, Kazembire Zemburuka, Director of Strategic Communications and International Relations at the Bank of Namibia addresses the current hot topic were commercial banks have been accused of making super profits and having high bank charges. Observer Money (OM): In terms of the most talked about banks in Namibia being accused of makingexcessive profits, how do the profit margins in Namibia compare to other countries in SACU, SADC and Africa in general? Kazembire Zemburuka (KZ): OM: Members of Parliament both ruling and opposition support the view that bank charges in Namibia are high, does BoN think this view is based…

Chamwe Kaira The government has outlined key sectors for emphasis within its “Green Industrialisation” framework. James Mnyupe, the Presidential Economic Advisor, revealed this week that the focus areas for green hydrogen development include renewable energy, hardware manufacturing, natural resource valorization, clean energy utilisation, and derivatives of green hydrogen. Within the manufacturing realm, Mnyupe highlighted opportunities in solar panel manufacturing, copper cable manufacturing, electrolyser manufacturing, and wind turbine manufacturing. He also touched upon battery materials processing and rare-earth element processing. Mnyupe discussed the potential of the blue economy and food processing, emphasising the need for further exploration in seaweed farming and…

Chamwe Kaira The Windhoek Country Club and Casino is expected to pay a N$20 million dividend cheque to the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises next week. “We all know that the last years have been challenging for the hospitality industry and we are gratefully noticing the steady improvement in our circumstances since last year. It is therefore a great pleasure to be able to hand over an amount of N$20 million to the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises,” said, Tony Boucher, general manager of the WCCR. The dividend cheque handover to the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises,…