CHAMWE KAIRA
The country’s Gold Acquisition Project had reached 10 716.90 fine troy ounces of locally produced gold, valued at approximately N$767.7 million, by early August 2026, while the Welwitschia Fund recorded a 9.4% return during the first half of the year.
The figures were presented to Cabinet during its 31st meeting on 22 September 2026 and released publicly last week by minister of information and communication technology Emma Theofelus.
The Bank of Namibia’s Gold Acquisition Project had reached 50.6% of its 600-kilogram target, based on the gold acquired by early August.
The Cabinet directed the relevant ministry to continue supporting efforts towards achieving the 600-kilogram target.
QKR Namibia’s Navachab Gold Mine is currently the lead supplier under a master agreement signed in March 2026.
Navachab has already delivered over 300 kg and expects to supply the full 600 kg allocation by the end of 2026. A similar supply agreement with B2Gold (Otjikoto Mine) remains under negotiation.
The update was followed by the performance of the Welwitschia Fund, Namibia’s sovereign wealth fund, which generated a 9.4% return in the first half of 2026.
The return was 6.4 percentage points above the fund’s benchmark.
Since its establishment in November 2022, the fund’s market value increased from US$17.94 million to US$31.3 million by the first half of 2026.
The latter amount was equivalent to approximately N$514.6 million.
The fund is intended to convert Namibia’s natural resource wealth into long-term financial wealth.
The fund was designed to strengthen Namibia’s resilience to economic and external shocks, promote inter-generational equity and ensure that the benefits of the country’s natural resources are spread across generations.
Its two functions are saving for future generations and stabilising the economy during periods of economic stress.
The fund is divided into two accounts, a liquid stabilisation account and a longer-term inter-generational savings account.
Annual withdrawals are limited to no more than 10% of accumulated returns.
The Cabinet was also informed that Namibia ranked fourth globally in the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Gender Gap Index, with an overall parity score of 84.5%.
According to the Cabinet update, this was Namibia’s highest ranking since the index was introduced in 2006.
