Observer Money

Magano Erkana and Nhika Vassallo  Exciting times are under way in Namibia with the new Namibia National Digital Strategy 2025–2029 (NDS), dubbed “The Framework for Digital Transformation”. This represents a bold, comprehensive roadmap to harness digital technologies for economic growth, social inclusion and societal advancement.  Unveiled by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, the strategy aligns other state policies, addressing longstanding challenges like inadequate infrastructure, digital skills gaps and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has released the Namibia National Digital Strategy 2025–2029 (NDS). The NDS is a roadmap to harness digital technologies for economic growth,…

Mark and Dan Saltzman, the sons of Dis-Chem founders Lynette and Ivan Saltzman, have sold shares in the company for over R600 million. The brothers each sold shares worth roughly R321 million from January to February of this year. The brothers both received shares in the company worth billions in June 2025 following a major shift in the family’s holding structure. The brothers received 217 million in shares in the company last year, which represented around a quarter of the JSE-listed company that was founded by their parents in 1978. Prior to the shift, the family’s investment vehicle, Ivlyn, held…

Chamwe Kaira  Anglo American plc has announced a major move in the debt capital markets, with its financing arm, Anglo American Capital plc, successfully pricing a multi-tranche bond issuance valued at a total of US$2.3 billion. The offering consists of three sets of senior notes with varying maturities and interest rates. These include US$600 million in notes due in 2031 carrying a 4.625% coupon, US$700 million in notes due in 2033 at 5.0%, and a further US$1 billion in notes due in 2036 with a 5.25% coupon. The issuance is expected to be finalised this week. The proceeds from the…

Chamwe Kaira  Despite delays in major projects and limited public spending, Namibia's construction sector has begun to show signs of recovery in 2026. A report by Simonis Storm indicates that activity improved after a slow start to the year. The report says structural challenges continue to affect the sector. These include delays in green hydrogen and oil and gas projects, limited fiscal space and shortages of serviced land. In Windhoek, building activity increased in February. A total of 163 building plans were approved, up from 109 in January. This is a 49.5% increase. Compared to February 2025, approvals rose by…

Chamwe Kaira  Vehicle sales increased in February, showing stronger demand in the market. A total of 1 165 vehicles were sold during the month. This is a 4.1% increase compared to February 2025 and a 15.9% rise from January’s 1 005 units. A report by Simonis Storm said the figure is the strongest February performance since 2016. Total sales for January and February reached 2,170 units, up 4.1% from the same period last year. Passenger vehicles drove the increase. Sales rose to 582 units in February from 495 in January. This figure is a 17.6% increase. Compared to February 2025,…

Chamwe Kaira  Pay-TV subscriptions declined in Namibia during the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting changing consumer behaviour. Subscriptions dropped by 6%, from 147 508 in the third quarter to 138 109 in the fourth quarter. A report by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) shows that the decline may be linked to competition from streaming platforms, the end of major sports seasons and cost pressures on consumers. Broadcasting revenue also fell by 2% during the same period. Advertising revenue remained stable and accounted for 12% of total revenue. The report shows mixed performance across telecommunications, broadcasting and postal services.…

Chamwe Kaira  Tsodilo Resources Limited has raised 900 000 Canadian dollars (about N$12.6 million) through a private placement to advance its mineral projects in Botswana. The company said the funding will support its critical minerals and rare earth elements project, as well as the Xaudum Iron Formation project. Tsodilo confirmed that it issued 4.5 million units at a price of C$0.20 per unit. Each unit includes one common share and one share purchase warrant. Each warrant allows the holder to buy an additional share at US$0.20 within five years. The securities are subject to a holding period of four months…

Staff Writer  The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has won the Artificial Intelligence Initiative Award at the Central Banking Awards. The award recognises institutions that use artificial intelligence in areas such as forecasting, payments oversight, regulation and fraud detection. The bank was recognised for using artificial intelligence and machine learning in its daily operations. Key projects include a non-performing loans predictive model, an inflation nowcasting system and a regulatory navigation tool. The non-performing loans model helps provide early insights into risks in the banking sector. The inflation nowcasting system produces near-real-time inflation estimates to support monetary policy decisions. The Regulatory Navigation…

Vusi Thembekwayo I stood in a room in Windhoek last week and asked one question that silenced the conversation: "Does the person who goes to bed hungry eat complacence?" I was invited to deliver the keynote at the Namibia Budget Dialogue 2026 alongside Finance Minister Ericah Shafudah, and what I saw in that room gave me hope and, with that, left me with some questions. I am a numbers guy, so let me tell you what hope looks like when backed by data. The resource  The Orange Basin holds an estimated 11 billion barrels of light oil. TotalEnergies is moving…

Pascal Haingura There was a time when the word 'computer' did not refer to a machine at all. It referred to a person – someone employed to perform calculations. Before electronic machines existed, governments, astronomers, engineers, and scientists relied on human “computers” to process numerical data manually and systematically. Then came the technological turning point of the 20th century. With the rise of electronic computing, machines assumed the work of calculation and data processing. From that moment onwards, a computer became something people used first in laboratories and government offices, later in businesses, and eventually in homes. Today, we are…