Opinions

Fransina Nelulu Namibia’s rapid ascent in the global energy market is no longer a secret. The historic offshore discoveries in the Orange Basin have placed the nation on the global energy map, drawing interest from international oil companies (IOCs), global Tier-1 contractors, and foreign investors. However, as the industry transitions from exploration to strategic planning, a fundamental truth has emerged for global entities eyeing this frontier: doing business in Namibia requires moving past old transactional models and embracing a strategy of true partnership, transparency, and shared national progress. For international companies entering this market, understanding the local operating landscape is…

Lazarus Kwedhi If you catch a taxi in Windhoek from Havana to the city centre, you pay N$15. If you catch a taxi from Havana to Eros, you pay double. The distance is the same. The time is the same. The only difference is a line on a city map: taxi rank, or not. That line is costing people their wages. People who live and work in residential areas and workplaces without a taxi rank, such as Goreangab informal settlement, Lafrenz, and the northern industrial areas, are required every morning to pay N$30 to get home. That is N$60 a…

Peter Karon The world's oil majors are watching Namibia's coastline, and with the Final Investment Decision (FID) expected within the next few months, the countdown has officially begun. But as international energy giants prepare to establish their local footprints, a critical question arises: is Namibia's digital backbone ready to support them? Modern oil and gas operations are entirely intertwined with technology, from seismic data analytics during exploration to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) managing production. When these global enterprises land on Namibian soil, they cannot afford to wait months to build their digital ecosystems from scratch. They need to connect instantly…

Lazarus Kwedhi Walk into many homes, particularly in the villages, during school holidays and you will hear the same sentence, often said with a laugh to hide the pain: "Junior iha popi Oshiwambo" (Junior cannot speak Oshiwambo). It sounds small and funny. It is not. It means a grandchild cannot sit with a grandparent, with Kuku, and understand the stories, the proverbs, the warnings, and the prayers said in his mother's native tongue. It means a mother or father who only speaks their mother tongue cannot help their children with homework or a research project. It means a family's knowledge,…

Dirk van Schalkwyk When people think about mining or Namibia's emerging oil and gas industry, they usually picture drilling rigs, heavy machinery, and billion-dollar investments. Rarely do they think about the kitchen. Yet every successful operation depends on people. And people perform at their best when they are properly fed. Napoleon Bonaparte famously said, "An army marches on its stomach." Centuries later, those words still ring true. Replace an army with a mining operation or an offshore crew, and the principle remains the same. Before production targets are met, before equipment starts moving, and before critical decisions are made, someone…

Adelaide Matare This timeless piece of financial wisdom remains just as relevant today as it was decades ago. Yet for many Namibians, saving has become increasingly difficult. Rising living costs, school fees, transport expenses, supporting family members and unexpected emergencies often consume most of a household’s income before the month is over. As a result, saving is frequently treated as something we will start doing when circumstances improve. The challenge is that financial emergencies rarely wait for the perfect moment. A vehicle breaks down unexpectedly. A medical expense arises. A family member requires urgent support. Employment circumstances change.  Life happens…

Stanley N. Katzao Twenty years ago, against the neon-lit canopy of Shanghai, I found myself sitting across from a political dreamer. The year was 2006. We were perched on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower, inside the quiet sanctuary of the Grand Hyatt Shanghai. Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, a dense evening mist hung over the city, routinely sliced open by the laser-sharp beams of neon billboards and towering construction cranes. Below us, the bustling tributaries of the Yangtze River wound like ink strokes through a metropolis that was aggressively reshaping its own future. As we looked through the…

Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) The official visit of Her Excellency President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reflects the enduring Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Namibia and China, built on mutual respect, solidarity, and a shared commitment to sustainable development. During the week-long programme, President Netumbo will hold bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping and the Premier of the State Council. She will also meet provincial and municipal leaders in Guangdong Province including Guangzhou and Shenzhen as well as officials in Beijing and Sichuan Province. The agenda aims to deepen economic cooperation and advance practical initiatives that deliver…

SEM BILLY DAVID  As schools reopen for registration for the 2027 academic year, thousands of parents and learners are not celebrating new beginnings for their bundles of joy. Instead, they are spending their days moving from one school gate to another, standing in queues, refreshing online portals, or desperately making calls in search of a school placement that never seems to come. The now-familiar crisis of "no space in schools" has once again hit, particularly in Khomas, and with it a painful question arises: how do we deal with this headache of school registration for our children? The answer points…

Africa’s digital economy is no longer a future aspiration. It is today’s economic battleground. When AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene recently declared that “Digital trade is not a distant dream in Africa. It is happening right now,” he was sending a message that African governments can no longer afford to ignore. His remarks came as Nigeria became the first State Party to secure parliamentary approval for the ratification of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade, a landmark decision that places Africa’s largest economy firmly on the path towards a continent-wide digital marketplace. Namibia should take notice. For years, successive governments have…