Namibian Sun

Muinjangue faces revolt over pro-abortion motion‘Concerned’ group intensifies witch-hunt The former social work lecturer believes legalising abortion is not only in the best interest of women, but the country as a whole, adding that it is being carried out already in communities despite it being illegal.

JEMIMA BEUKES

WINDHOEK

Deputy health minister Dr Esther Muinjangue is facing a revolt from within the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) over a pro-abortion motion she tabled in Parliament last year.

The Nudo lawmaker tabled a motion last June in the National Assembly, seeking the legalisation of abortion in the country.

Muinjangue, a former social work lecturer at the University of Namibia, believes legalising abortion is not only in the best interest of women, but the country as a whole, adding that it is being carried out already in communities despite it being illegal.

In a petition handed over to the leadership of the party last month by concerned party members, group spokesperson Benestus Uahupirapi said the motion was tabled without considering the “constituent tradition and religious approvals”.

The group also accused the party leadership of being naïve about the values of the party and its members, adding that since Namibians are dominantly Christian, the country must be governed on biblical principles.

No abortion, LGBTQI

“By that mere fact, Nudo was not the one to drive the agenda of such high controversy without taking into consideration the cultural norms and religion of its voting masses out there. The motion might be morally correct but it is politically wrong,” the petition read.

“Abortion and LGBTQI is not in our constituent’s religious and cultural norms and, therefore, we must not spearhead such motions. It does not mean that Nudo is condemning those affected by these rare and complex conditions. Nudo respects human rights but does not advocate for immoral behaviour,” it further read.

Muinjangue yesterday said Uahupirapi has the right to disagree with her, but he must read the motion and learn how Parliament works.

Govt’s responsibility

Aids and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa communications officer Paleni Amulungu said it is the role of political leaders to promote the rights to bodily autonomy and integrity for the realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

She added that it is also the responsibility of government and leaders such as Muinjangue to promote and protect the rights of all people, as per the Bill of Rights, and provide the necessary services for all people, including all minorities and marginalised communities.

Amulungu said the full realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to abortion services, is crucial for the welfare of individuals and the development of the country.

“Access to safe abortion, including post-abortion care, is a key component of women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health, and countries have binding human rights obligations to ensure that women can access safe abortions in accordance with their rights to health, equality and non-discrimination.

“Health policies, strategies and guidelines need to ensure non-discriminatory access to safe abortion and post-abortion care,” Amulungu said.

- jemima@namibiansun.com

Aroab SME owners hope for business uptickCovid killed profit Despite the negative impact the pandemic had on the small southern town, no business thus far had to close down. Our only customers were the pensioners, whereas before we had tourists crossing the border. - Loide Shikwanyu, Shop owner

Suzith Tjitaura – Small business owners at Aroab say they hope for better days as they have hardly generated any profits since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.

Hendrina Jaartse, who sells clothing, said during the lockdown things got tough as they could not sell anything and this affected their livelihood.

“We see now that things are changing little by little, we can now make some money even if it is not much. We hope business will pick up again,” said Jaartse.

Loide Shikwanyu, who has a small grocery shop at the village’s small and medium enterprise (SME) stalls, said before the pandemic she made a profit and the shop could be stocked every week, but this is no longer the case.

She said they initially opened the shop to cater for locals as the main shop at the village is expensive and travelling to Keetmanshoop is not an option as it is a long distance to travel.

Tourists, however, later became a bigger source of income.

“With the closing of the border things became very hard. Our only customers were the pensioners, whereas before we had tourists crossing the border. We are making little to no profit,” said Shikwanyu, who has had the shop for three years.

To help curb the spread of Covid-19, the government introduced some restrictions including the closure of some borders such as the Klein Menasse Border Post about 35 km from Aroab.

ASSISTANCE

Jan Hendrikse, who owns a bakery at the village, said when the schools were closed during the first few months of the pandemic, his business suffered a blow as he could only supply bread to the little shops at the town and his profits were low.

“But now with the re-opening of the schools and the hostels, money has started to come in. My hope is to supply my bread on a bigger scale, grow the business and employ more young people from this village,” added Hendrikse.

The chief executive officer of the Aroab village council, Elsa Laubscher, said despite the negative impact the pandemic has had on small businesses, no business thus far had to close down.

“We did not have any businesses close down during this hard time. The village council is also in the process of erecting more SME stalls for the community to help them come up with small businesses to sustain themselves and improve their livelihood,” said Laubscher.

Aroab is located about 170 km east of Keetmanshoop. It has a population of about 4 500 inhabitants. - Nampa

Nam mining licence loophole closed

From the beginning of April this year, Namibians who hold mineral licences will no longer be allowed to transfer it to foreign companies or persons without retaining an interest of at least 15% in local hands. Current legislation doesn’t prohibit Namibian licence holders to apply to the mines and energy ministry to transfer 100% of these licences to foreigners. The ministry just released a public notice saying: “In terms of the powers vested in the minister [Tom Alweendo] under section 47(2)(a) of the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act 1992 (Act No. 33 of 1992), the minister hereby determines that as of 1 April 2021, applications submitted by Namibian licence holders for the transfer of mineral licences, or the cession or assignment of interest in a mineral licence may be granted subject to the condition that 15% interest in the licence must be retained by Namibians.” Photo Nampa/AFP

Drought policy in review to address shortcomings Stakeholders, industry will be consulted One of the additions to be proposed to Namibia’s drought policy is a recovery programme for the restocking of livestock, agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein said.

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

The agriculture ministry is in the process of reviewing the country’s drought policy in order to address its shortcomings and strengthen strategic interventions.

Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein said stakeholders and the industry will be consulted to provide input.

One of the interventions to be proposed is a recovery programme for the restocking of livestock, he said, which is absent from the current drought policy.

Schlettwein said the ministry, in conjunction with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation, has also introduced an emergency livelihood support project to assist farmers to maintain their breeding stock.

The project has supported 3 343 livestock-dependant smallholder farming households, equating to approximately 14 709 people.

These were in the seven targeted regions of //Karas, Hardap, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omaheke, Erongo and Omusati to maintain core breeding herds as life-saving intervention for targeted farmers.

Vaccinated, treated

Schlettwein said the project made a deliberate effort to reach woman-headed households that own livestock, even though traditionally livestock is considered a male domain, and managed to assist 40% of the total assisted households.

A total of 148 910 small stock and 25 580 cattle belonging to the beneficiaries received fresh green barley fodder produced hydroponically in 79 greenhouse structures set up at various selected sites in targeted regions hardest hit by protracted drought conditions.

He said all the livestock were also vaccinated against various

diseases and treated for internal and external parasites, as well as received multivitamin metabolic injections to boost their immune systems and overall health.

Furthermore, 3 343 direct beneficiaries received training in hydroponic fodder production. They also received basic training on feeding livestock.

EDITORIAL The phony attempts by mainly men in the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) to undermine its president Esther Muinjangue will only further dissuade women from entering politics — a blow to a group already grossly underrepresented in that space.

The desperation to find fault in Muinjangue, such as questioning the appointments of aides in her private office as health minister, is the clearest indication that her detractors will stop at nothing to throw mud at her, hoping it would stick.

The same Nudo faction is charging at Muinjangue for her liberal views on abortion, which she believes would make life better for many women. They are accusing her of not considering Nudo’s supposed “constituent tradition and religious approvals”.

While it is true that Muinjangue is serving on a Nudo ticket, it is also worth noting that as a parliamentarian and deputy minister, her loyalty is to Namibia and not only Nudo.

While women have made significant inroads into politics in recent years, thanks to deliberate artificial interventions, their involvement has spurred attacks, intimidation and harassment. Muinjangue will live to tell her tale one day.

We have no business prescribing to Nudo members how they should handle their internal affairs, but the mickey mouse reasons used to attack Muinjangue in recent days are cheap shots anchored in patriarchal and factional entitlements in one of the most uninspiring political formations in the country.

Corruption - A social disease (Part 169): Namibia at the cross roads

Johan Coetzee

Given ongoing media articles about governance, manifested in contraction of investment and increasing unemployment, it is appropriate to reflect on several trends covering several decades.

Trend analysis can enable the reader to perceive long-term developments and events from a more balanced perspective compared to short term studies that focus on the here and now, e.g. the interest rate and/or incidents of corruption at a given time. A longer-term perspective, especially if related trends can be analysed simultaneously, can provide some general direction when reflecting on the sustainability of decision making.

THE BASICS

Governance is at its most basic about accountability (the buck stops with whom?), transparency (information about decisions shared to minimise abuse of power) and sustainability (to withstand the long-term test of wisdom).

It should be made clear that the word ‘governance’ includes decisions by government, business and individuals. Several questions can be relevant.

• What decisions have been made?

• How were these decisions (processes and due diligence) made?

• Who made these decisions?

• What checks and balances were put in place to enable implementation?

• How were the implementation of these decisions monitored?

• Why were some decisions not implemented?

• What can be done to enable increased implementation of decisions?

The focus of this and articles to follow will be on decisions (governance) in terms of the following trends: (dis)investment; corruption and deterioration of public service delivery; increasing unemployment; and increasing state control and state intervention.

Given Namibia’s dire need for economic growth and development, as probably any equity trader will verify, decisions that the Government has made have contributed to an outflow of money and deteriorated Namibia’s ability to attract investment.

(DIS)INVESTMENT

A Namibian dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, because of the time value of money and the risk attached to what will happen with such a dollar tomorrow. To attract a dollar today for growing the economy, Namibia needs investment.

The reaction to the increasingly investor-unfriendly policy environment, especially since 2014, that has also seen Government increase its direct control of the economy, is evident.

Gross fixed capital formation, which is a leading indicator of economic growth and development, is at an all-time low as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This shows that investment, whether local or foreign, in productive, fixed capital has reduced notably.

Investors simply do not feel safe to commit and would rather wait out the uncertainty or deploy their capital elsewhere (Bartsch, Coetzee, Smith & De Klerk, 2020).

Graphical data supports this contention. The outflow of capital is evident, especially since 2014/15 when the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) was formulated.

In similar fashion, net direct investment has begun to dry up as well.

Traditionally, Namibia has enjoyed relatively large inflows of foreign direct investment. However, this has also changed. The gap between GDP and net direct investment is decreasing, especially since 2016/2017.

With the introduction of anti-business and investor policy, local capital has slowly started to leave the country, and very limited foreign capital has entered. Namibia has avoided dramatic capital flight, however much capital is waiting on the side lines to see what happens with policy. For example, the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill (NEEEB) that is currently under review (again) and open for input - however, quite unknown by the public.

Given a globalised world, NEEEB in its current form presents a major risk to Namibia. Unsustainable policy, such as this proposed law, can cause much more capital to leave compared to the outflow, potentially resulting in more aggressive capital controls, (Bartsch, Coetzee, Smith & De Klerk).

Should this happen – money will simply not come into Namibia if it cannot leave again, which could lead to a situation similar to what happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela recently.

*The rest of this article will be published in subsequent editions of Market Watch.

References:

Bartsch, A., Coetzee, J.J., Smith, J. & De Klerk, E. (2020). Economic Policy Research Association: Analysis of the Latest Version of the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Bill, Windhoek.

jcoetzee@nust.na

Sioka in hot water over jailed children

JANA-MARI SMITH

WINDHOEK

The clock is ticking for child welfare minister Doreen Sioka who has less than a month to present a detailed action plan to establish child-friendly jails after the Office of the Ombudsman last year discovered at least 30 minors imprisoned alongside adult inmates around the country.

The urgent application brought to court in October 2020 accused Sioka of failing her duty to implement chapter five of the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA), which requires the ministry to ensure the establishment of child-friendly detention centres.

Advocate and Ombudsman John Walters’ founding affidavit pointed out that the CCPA expressly and tacitly outlaws the imprisonment of anyone aged 18 or younger in adult jails and prisons.

“This means that any detention of children at police holding cells is not only undesirable, but also unlawful.”

“Her failure to carry out her statutory duty is unlawful,” he added.

Walters underlined that it is the responsibility of the gender ministry to appoint or establish designated detention centres for children and the failure to do so is a violation of those children’s fundamental and constitutional rights and freedoms.

Moreover, he pointed out the ministry had failed to approve appropriate places of safety in lieu of its failure to establish them.

“This is even though the CCPA was promulgated five years ago and has been in operation for almost two years.”

Christmas gift

Just before Christmas, High Court judge Nate Ndauendapo ordered Sioka and her team to provide the court with an action plan detailing the steps they will take to finally implement her mandate.

Moreover, the police were instructed to ensure that jailed children are separated from adult inmates.

The police informed the Ombudsman in December that 34 male children were held in adult jails across the country as per their November records.

At that time, their ages ranged from 14 to 17.

Walters said “it is doubtful that any of them [imprisoned children] have been informed of their rights not to be detained in police holding cells”.

He cautioned that children in adult jails are subject to “harsh circumstances which can only have adverse effects on their development”.

Among the offences that landed the children behind bars are accusations of rape, murder, robbery, damage to property, assault, stock theft, arson and escape from custody.

One 16-year-old was in jail in Rundu for “violation of community services”.

A letter dated 21 December 2020 by the gender ministry stated that four minors were behind bars at that time and three had been transferred to Okatope holding cells in Onyaana. Two were 17-year-olds and one a 16-year-old. A 17-year-old was being held in Omaruru.

Constraints

Last December, Sioka informed the court that the implementation of the act concerning imprisoned juveniles is difficult due to financial and human resource constraints.

“The ministry is forced to prioritise key provisions in an environment where financial and human resources are limited.”

As an example, Sioka said the ministry only has 79 social workers to attend to a population of more than one million citizens, which is a ratio of one social worker per 13 000 children under 18.

She said the ministry manages to “soldier on” and has prioritised the implementation of several parts of the child protection act despite these hurdles.

Among these efforts, she claimed the ministry has allocated a farm where it “envisions to set up a facility that will serve as a child detention centre”.

She also said children and teenagers are sent to adult prisons on the order of magistrates “because there are no detention centres established yet”.

Sioka further excused the ministry's failure to respond to urgent letters from the Ombudsman, blaming their “high workload and overstretched staff members”.

The ministry did not to respond to a request on the matter by the time of going to print.

‘Not up to you’Kandjii orders Unam to admit grade 11s The higher education minister has told state-owned universities to admit grade 11 learners, who are being rejected left, right and centre.

TUYEIMO HAIDULA

ONGWEDIVA

Higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi says institutions of higher learning should embrace grade 11 school-leavers and not act as if the public institutions are their private property.

The minister was speaking to Namibian Sun on Monday during a visit to see how northern campuses have been coping with Covid-19.

She said state-owned universities and vocational training centres have no choice but to absorb grade 11 learners, as agreed at the 2011 education conference.

If the grade 11 learners are not admitted into higher learning institutions and are not allowed to repeat the grade, they will end up on the street, she said.

“No public institution can sit on the fence. Not this time. We need all hands on deck. We need to perfect this system.

“My plea is that we embrace the grade 11s and be active participants in monitoring, evaluating and assessing the impacts of these reforms and advise government accordingly,” Kandjii-Murangi said.

Find ways

The minister rubbished claims that institutions were not consulted about the new system, saying nothing happens with regard to education reform without involving all stakeholders.

Kandjii-Murangi said it was unfortunate that those who were part of the negotiation process now pretend they had not been consulted.

"We only have one education system. There is no way any major reform like the one the basic education ministry is undertaking will have happened without the involvement of all the upper levels,” she said.

“Some of those at the Namibia University of Science and Technology or the University of Namibia might not have been holding those positions [at the time], but as responsible institutions, decisions that are taken by our predecessors we need to honour.

“I am heading this ministry, it’s not my ministry. I was appointed to make sure I meet the needs of the Namibian people in the sector of higher education. I cannot come and change things that are put in place. So, they have to find ways to accommodate these learners,” she said.

No space

Unam vice-chancellor Kenneth Matengu recently stated the university’s position on admission of grade 11 learners.

He said grade 11 is ranked as a level three qualification, while Unam’s entry requirement is level five.

The university only has space for 5 000 to 7 000 new students and received over 21 000 applications for this academic year, he said. Efforts to get hold of Matengu this week proved futile.

– tuyeimo@namibiansun.com

Catering company throws sand in food tender

JEMIMA BEUKES

WINDHOEK

Seal Caterers has dragged the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN), the education ministry and 97 other companies to court over a food tender, demanding that they reconsider all bids afresh.

These companies include Flamingo Inflight Services, Windhoek Palm Hotel, Die Mamas Kitchen CC and Atlantic Catering Solutions.

However, Seal Caterers is not the only company opposing the award of the tender, with several others having in the meantime submitted their grievances. According to CPBN chairperson Patrick Swartz, the matter is enjoying the attention of the review panel and the board is in the process of filing replying affidavits.

“The review panel will set a date for the hearing and we will appear before it. The date will probably be set once they have collated the information from all companies,” he said.

Unfair treatment

Seal Caterers managing director Dirk van Schalkwyk said their disqualification is unfair and had they been chosen, government would have saved between N$8.3 and N$14 million per year.

This, he said, comes to a massive saving of about N$42 million for the duration of the tender period.

He also said if the properly priced tender amounts were accepted, government would have saved N$177 million.

In his founding affidavit, Van Shalkwyk demands that the CPBN review and set aside its decision to disqualify its tender bid for the procurement of food to government schools.

He also demands that the CPBN overturn its decision to award the tender to nine companies, claiming there were serious shortcomings in their bids.

Van Schalkwyk further accused the CPBN of adapting all the bids of the successful bidders after the closing date.

According to him, some of the prices offered by some of these bidders were substantially increased by the board.

Leniency for some

According to Van Schalkwyk, documents suggest that some of the successful bidders were evaluated with substantial leniency.

He said Tuthikameni Pamwe Investments CC, awarded the tender to provide food in the Erongo and Kunene regions, only provided global prices, contrary to the requirements of the bidding process.

On the other hand, STS Mega Investment CC and Igloo Investments CC were disqualified for the same mistake.

Van Schalkwyk also pointed out that Johannes Neputa, who submitted an individual bid for Om’kwana Caterer CC, is listed as the accounting officer of three other companies which bid for the process.

According to him, the fact that all four these companies were successful in their bidding indicates that something is amiss.

“His multiple roles are also contrary to the strict prohibition of conflict of interest contained in the instructions to the bidders,” Van Schalkwyk said.

jemima@namibiansun.com

Mining survey: Chamber hits back

PHILLEPUS UUSIKU

Too few responses have skewed Namibia's performance on the 2020 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, tarnishing its image as an attractive investment destination.

The survey only asked between five and nine responses from Namibia, which is not representative of the whole mining industry, the Chamber of Mines in Namibia said in a statement.

Fraser's report, released last week, showed that Namibia only marginally increased its score on the overall Investment Attractiveness Index (IAI) and that several other jurisdictions performed far better.

The drastic decline on the Policy Perception Index (PPI) by 12.92 points led to Namibia's poor performance on the Investment Attractiveness Index. Namibia was the only African jurisdiction that did not improve on this particular index.

Namibia thus dropped 33 places globally on its PPI score, and fell from first place in 2019 to fifth position in 2020 on the African continent.

“This is most concerning given that investors regard other jurisdictions as having more stable and favourable policy frameworks in comparison to Namibia,” the chief executive officer of the chamber, Veston Malango said.

CHALLENGES

According to Malango, investors expressed concerns over the availability of skills, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, as well as infrastructure. Challenges with value added tax (VAT) registrations and input VAT refunds for exploration companies were also cited as hurting Namibia's competitiveness.

“These issues dampened the major positive outcome with government's pronouncement during 2020 on the complete withdrawal of the non-deductibility tax proposal from the Income Tax Amendment Bill of 2018,” Malango said.

He pointed out that the survey solicited only between five and nine responses from Namibia.

“Had a higher number of responses been received, the chamber holds the view that Namibia would have received higher scores on the overall Investment Attractiveness Index and the Policy Perception Index as a result of revoking the non-deductibility tax proposal,” he added.

The chamber remains committed to working with government to ensure all outstanding policy obstacles are resolved, and that Namibia once again become the most attractive investment destination in Africa, a feat that was achieved in the 2014 Fraser Report, Malango said.

Otjikoto sitting on a gold mineWolfshag to drive record production B2Gold in 2020 pumped nearly N$1 billion into the development of the Otjikoto mine.

Jo-Maré Duddy – B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine is expected to reach record-level production this year and through to 2024, the Canada-based low-cost international senior gold producer said on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX).

The mine, about 300 km north of Windhoek, will produce between 190 000 and 200 000 ounces of gold in 2021, about 16% more than last year. This falls in the range of Otjikoto’s annual production record of 191 534 ounces achieved in 2017, B2Gold said in its latest full-year annual results.

B2Gold, which is also listed on the Overall Index of the NSX, owns 90% of Otjikoto through its subsidiary, B2Gold Namibia (Pty) Ltd. The local empowerment company, EVI Mining, owns the rest.

B2Gold attributed the expected increased production in 2021 to high-grade ore which is scheduled to be sourced from Phase 3 of the Wolfshag Pit in the second half of this year.

Commenting on higher expected production through to 2024, B2Gold said: “Production from Wolfshag underground is expected to commence in early 2022 and will supplement ore from the Otjikoto pit, as well as existing medium and low-grade stockpiles for approximately three years based on current estimates.”

B2Gold’s capital expenditure at Otjikoto last year totalled US$67 million, or nearly N$1 billion.

The group’s exploration budget for 2021 is about US$66 million. “Exploration will focus predominantly in Mali, other operating mine sites in Namibia and the Philippines and grassroots exploration programmes around the world,” B2Gold said.

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION

The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) economic growth forecasts reflect B2Gold’s projections. In its latest Economic Outlook, released last week, the central bank forecast growth of 0.1% for metal ores this year, followed by 3.7% in 2022.

Metal ores are projected to have grown by -12.4% last year, followed by a contraction of 0.1% in 2019, based on 2015 constant prices. In 2018, the subsector grew by 0.8%. In 2017 and 2018, it grew by -26.3% and -34.3% respectively.

At current prices, the BoN expects metal ores to contribute nearly N$5.4 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, followed by about N$5.84 bilion next year.

“Growth in metal ores is to be supported by higher output from the gold subsector, which is expected to offset lost production in zinc and copper subsectors,” the BoN said.

Gold carries the biggest weight in metal ores.

Besides B2Gold, the Navachab mine near Karibib also produces gold. QKR Namibia Mineral Holdings, a subsidiary of UK-based QKR Corp Limited, owns 92.5% of Navachab, while JG Investments owns the rest. JG Investments is a subsidiary of Epangelo Mining Company, owned by the Namibian government.

Letshego Nam takes N$60-mln profit hit

Jo-Maré Duddy – Locally-listed Letshego Holdings Namibia reported a profit of about N$341.4 million for the year ended 31 December 2020, a drop of nearly N$59.8 million or 14.9% compared to its previous book-year.
Letshego Nam, whose unaudited annual results were released on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) this morning, made an operating profit before taxation of nearly N$435.5 million, down N$88.7 million or 16.9% from 2019.
The group’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) – a profitability gauge - fell by 12c or nearly 15% to 68c.
“Although the local economic conditions and coronavirus (Covid-19) have affected market confidence and consumer spending patterns, the group remains well placed to grow revenues through ongoing innovation and pursuit of its inclusive finance strategy,” Letshego Nam said.
The directors have evaluated the financial impact of Covid-19 on the group and cannot identify a going concern risk within the medium term, it added.
Letshego Nam said a notice pertaining to dividends will be made at the time of the released of the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020.
Letshego Nam is listed on the Local Index of the NSX. It ended yesterday at N$2.20 per share. The share price has fallen by nearly 17.3% since the end of last year.
Read the full report tomorrow in Market Watch.

FirstRand Nam’s profit dives 9.4% Jo-Maré Duddy – Locally-listed FirstRand Namibia reported a profit of about N$564.9 million for the six months ended 31 December 2020, a drop of some N$58.8 million from the same half-year in 2019.
The group’s interim results, released on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) this morning, show an operating profit of nearly N$818.5 million, down nearly N$90 million or 9.9% from the same period in 2019.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) – a profitability gauge – of 212.8c were reported. Compared to the same half-year in 2019, this is 23.3c or 9.9% lower.
FirstRand Namibia declared an interim cash dividend of 94c per share, 10c per share or 9.6% down from the comparable dividend in 2019.
“The economic impact of Covid-19 continued to place acute pressure on the group’s performance for the six months ended December 2020. Trends post lockdown are improving as the economic recovery slowly emerges, however, activity levels remained muted,” the group said.
FirstRand Namibia is listed on the Local Index of the NSX. It closed yesterday at N$23.07 per share. The share price has gained 0.13% since the end of last year.
Read the full report tomorrow in Market Watch.

Scam: Covid-19 support grant circulating on WhatsApp

Jo-Maré Duddy – The ministry of finance has warned the public against a message circulating on WhatsApp inviting people to apply for “Covid-19 Support Grant”, of which first time applicants would apparently receive payments within 24 hours after approval.
“This so-called Grant Fund which is purported to be legitimate, has no connection at all with the ministry of finance in Namibia,” the chief public relations officer of the ministry, Tonateni Shidhudhu.
According to him, the has become “a target of hoax, phishing scams and other fraudulent requests that are published on the internet or circulated on the social media and other channels of communication”.
“We would like to caution the public to be vigilant and not fall victims to these fraudulent requests,” Shidhudhu said in a statement.
Last year the ministry provided the Emergency Income Grant of N$750 to Namibians who lost incomes due to Covid-19.
“The grant was a once off payment which ended in September 2020. In addition, various facilities were introduced to support business development in general as well as those affected by Covid-19 through the Development Bank of Namibia and commercial banks,” he said.
Shidhudhu concluded: “We urge members of the public to evaluate and verify any suspicious requests and avoid providing their personal details as it might result in identity theft.”

Capricorn overtakes NamBrew, FirstRand Nam on NSX

Jo-Maré Duddy – Capricorn Group kept its ground today as the biggest company on the Local Index of the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX) following a spike in its share price on Wednesday.
The share price of Capricorn, with Bank Windhoek as its most prominent brand, on Wednesday jumped by N$2.68 a piece or 26.5% to N$12.80. This pushed up the group’s market capitalisation by total shares in issue to N$6.646 billion, up N$1.392 billion from Tuesday and the biggest on the Local Index.
Namibia Breweries, with a total market capitalisation of N$6.404 billion, moved into second place.
A total of 147 369 Capricorn shares were traded in 14 deals on Wednesday, totalling nearly N$1.77 million. The share’s low for the day was N$10.99 and its peak N$12.80, also its closing price.
FirstRand Namibia, with FNB Namibia as its flagship, on Wednesday closed at N$23.07 a share, one cent or 0.04% lower than Tuesday. The group’s market capitalisation by total shares in issue was N$6.173 billion.
According to the NSX daily report, the closing prices of Capricorn, NamBrew and FirstRand Namibia remained unchanged today.

Wearing two hats at the office Elizabeth Nakatana is an industrial health and safety officer at TransNamib Holdings Limited. Maintaining a safe and conducive environment at work

Michelline Nawatises

Elizabeth Nakatana was born forty-plus years ago in Windhoek, being the youngest of a family of three siblings. She grew up in the dusty streets of Donkerhoek’s Ovambo Location in Katutura. She attended Mandume Primary School and senior primary school at Namutoni and finally secondary school at Immanuel Shifidi High School. To keep herself busy after school, she enrolled for a Certificate in Commerce course at Unam and afterwards, she joined TransNamib Holdings Limited in 1998.

It was in the same year that she decided to pursue her studies further and enrolled for a National Diploma in Commerce at the Polytechnic of Namibia, now the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). She completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Law degree in 2020.

Nakatana wears two hats in her office, as an industrial health and safety officer and as the principal officer of the TransNamib Retirement Fund. As a health and safety officer, she is responsible for identifying, implementing, monitoring and enforcing the application of health, safety, environment, loss control and logistical systems and procedures in the company, to ensure a healthy and safe working environment.

One of her main duties is to ensure that the company complies with occupational health and safety guidelines as set out in the Labour Act 2007.

“As the principal officer of the Retirement Fund, I have specific statutory and compliance responsibilities and is accountable to the Board of Trustees. In a nutshell, I am mostly responsible for the administrative functions of the fund,” she says.

She says the biggest challenge as a safety officer is to promote a safety culture, especially when there is resistance to change.

“Overcoming this mentality of workers is my biggest daily challenge, another challenge is the lack of resources to execute the functions properly and, with the ugly bug called Covid-19, the situation simply became difficult to handle at times,” she says.

“With continued employee safety education, I must say, there have been accomplishments. The injury frequency rate has been reduced from 40 lost-time injuries annually to just less than 10 lost-time injuries, but the main goal is to have zero injury rate.”

A typical day consists of a briefing meeting with the health and safety manager, checking e-mail from the control clerk detailing the irregularities reported in the past 24 hours, updating the accident/incident reporting tool, dealing with complaints from employees, conducting routine safety inspections, compiling reports and putting together health and safety programmes.

Nakatana has found herself on a career path that she did not study for. While she was studying towards a National Diploma in Commerce, she found herself in the health, safety and loss control section as a secretary to the manager.

While she was compiling the section’s monthly reports, she started developing a keen interest in what the safety officers were doing. “I would, for example, read their monthly reports, so I told myself that if this is all that they do, then I can surely do it too,” she says.

It so happens that one of the safety officers resigned, and she approached her manager to allow her to act in the vacant position as she felt that she was not using her full potential being a secretary.

Nakatana would like to venture into the pension fund industry, having adequate experience on how the industry operates. “As a principal officer of our pension fund, I have developed some interest and would like to explore this unique industry,” she says.

Empowering futuristic knowledge workers

Chaze Nalisa

Over 50 years ago, long before majority of today's workforce was born, the social scientist and father of modern management, Peter Drucker, said that a time would come when the ability to think and adapt would become more valuable than physical labour. He stated that information would change the way people work.

We have been in that "time" for over two decades now, but it is evident today that in order for organisations to sustainably compete, the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn is key. This is an era where employees are sought after for their ability to think, solve problems, create, and innovate. Experts with the most emergent, agile and adaptive thinking ability are sought after as they are better aligned to the dynamics of the environment.

Today's business avenues demand more strategic improvisation and discretion in uncertainty. Employees are expected to be more and more autonomous. Knowledge workers are subject matter experts, whose main resource is information. Their work is non-routine and requires ample strategic thinking towards problem solving. They are called to be specialists in their respective capacities, ideally even knowing more than their managers.

Leveraging knowledge workers for the future

Knowledge workers perform best when empowered and trusted to make the most of their experience, skills and abilities. Trust them by tasking them with continual organisational enhancement. Knowledge workers are game changers. They have immediate and future impact. Their ideas, experiences, interpretations and judgments contribute to the evolvement of the entire business ecosystem.

The right work environment enables knowledge workers to facilitate the flow of knowledge, in turn, contributing to the establishment and maintenance of a learning organisation. Peter Senge said, “a learning organisation is one where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.”

As earlier stated, the concept of knowledge workers is not new, but some organisations are still not fully leveraging their people’s capabilities towards the inevitable evolution of skills.

Many organisations are now endorsing broad learning and multidisciplinary skills as an approach to ensure their people’s knowledge remains relevant, is retained and that the organisation is able to adapt through learning. What is being referred to as conventional learning in today’s economy is certainly not what it used to be 10 years ago. In order to leverage knowledge workers, learning approaches must be in real time, practical, fit for the modern workplace and flexible, thus matching the demands of the tech-driven ecosystem. Today’s knowledge workers are able to use technology prudently and intelligently, in addition to their existing knowledge and experience. Therefore, the learning approaches to consider include the application of augmented reality, mobile devices and collaborative learning platforms.

Knowledge is an asset for achieving competitive edge.

“The great challenge to management today is to make productive the tremendous new resource, the knowledge worker. This, rather than the productivity of the manual worker, is the key to economic growth and economic performance in today’s society,” Peter Drucker said.

The opportunity presents itself to human resources and knowledge management professionals to facilitate, among other things, a culture of knowledge creation and sharing, towards organisational learning. Doing so with the future needs of knowledge workers in mind.

Windhoek Hospitality Culinary College holds an open day WHCC, in partnership with BHMS, offers an international education that combines academic studies with professional development and real-life work experience. This in itself will help students gain a solid foundation to achieve their individual goals.

Desiree Gases

Last week WHCC held an open day at the corner on Independence Avenue and Mburumba Street in Windhoek for anyone interested in pursuing a cooking career.

The open day started at 09:00 and ended at 13:00. The attendees were taken to the boardroom where there were introductions to the school as well as talks about roles and assistance to students. The attendees were also shown pre-recorded videos of current student testimonials, and met the WHCC administration team.

Afterwards there was a campus tour where attendees walked through classrooms, the library, student computer centre, courtyard and admin offices. There were speeches from industry leaders such as Jovon, the executive chef at Isabel’s Table; Amos, the general manager of Windhoek Hilton; and Quinton Byloo, the operations manager for UAG.

After a short break, attendees were taken to the kitchen for a cooking demonstration by chef Urs Gamma, where they were given quick and easy tips around the kitchen. Attendees were invited to assist with the cooking.

WHCC is special because of its live learning environment, where students get the chance to not only learn what the industry is all about, but also apply the knowledge in a real-life setting. The school is integrated with the Thuringerhof Hotel and students use their theory and skills to build their experience, confidence and understanding of the dynamics of the industry.

WHCC aspires to equip students with transferable skills that they can apply in their everyday life, socially, professionally, and of course in school. They teach them the importance of teamwork, leadership, personal motivation, organisation, time management and communication.

Both WHCC diploma programmes are 18 months long, which includes an internship and an in-house rotation where they spend time working in the industry. WHCC short courses are ten weeks long.

WHCC programmes

Short courses

· Food and beverage service techniques

· Bar operations and barista service

· Front-office operations and reservation systems

· Housekeeping and laundry operations

· Wine appreciation

· Cost control techniques and restaurant revenue management

· Event management

· Service quality management

Certificates/ Diplomas (Validated and awarded by B.H.M.S. Switzerland)

· Diploma in Hospitality Management

· Certificate in Hospitality Operations

· Diploma in Culinary Arts (commencing 2021)

Your career

· Internship opportunities with international brands such as Hilton and Protea by Marriot.

· Career management

Intake registration deadline: 9 March 2021 for March classes. However, applications for July and September are still open.

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Kenya's Equity Group launches loan facility

Kenya's Equity Group Holdings said on Wednesday it had launched a lending facility worth 75 billion Kenyan shillings (US$685 million) to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recover from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"For the SMEs that have been out of business for a year, working capital has been depleted," CEO James Mwangi said at a news conference in the capital Nairobi.

Kenya's second biggest lender also operates in South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the first nine months of 2020, its pre-tax profit fell to 19.76 billion shillings from 24.79 billion shillings in the same period of 2019.

Over the same timeframe, its loan book grew 30% to 453.9 billion shillings, while customer deposits increased 45% to 691 billion.

Last year, Kenya's central bank governor said SMEs needed urgent help to survive the economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic, and that many were at risk of shutting down. - Nampa/Reuters

Denel board exits linked to lack of budget funds

A series of resignations from the board of directors of South Africa's state-owned defence company Denel is linked to funding not being made available in the government's 2021 budget, a senior official told Reuters on Wednesday.

"There were expectations from the board that there will be funding made available in the budget speech," said Kgathatso Tlhakudi, director-general of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). "When that was not forthcoming, they felt that they could not stay on."

Denel, which makes military equipment for South Africa's armed forces and for export, has faced a liquidity crunch aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021 budget presented in parliament last week, the National Treasury did not allocate it new bailout funds.

Tlhakudi added in an interview that the DPE, the main ministry responsible for Denel, believed the company had peripheral assets that could be sold off before agreeing strategic equity partnerships (SEP).

"Let's aim for the low-hanging fruit before we aim for that SEP process. There are peripheral assets that can be disposed of, dispose of those, we can't want to go to the core of the business when there are non-core assets that can be gotten rid of," he said. - Nampa/Reuters

Exxon commits to dividend growth

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it will grow its dividend and cut debt through 2025, ahead of a closely watched investor meeting that comes a month after the top US oil and gas producer reported a historic annual loss.

In the recent months, the company has faced immense pressure from investors who want it to do more to rein in spending and cut carbon emissions.

Exxon and the rest of the oil industry endured one of the worst market downturns last year as the Covid-19 pandemic hammered energy prices and forced shale operators to slash the value of their assets by billions of dollars.

The company reaffirmed its plans to keep capital spending between US$16 billion and US$19 billion in 2021 and between US$20 billion and US$25 billion a year through 2025 on high return.

Separately, Exxon has also announced a 7% reduction in its Singapore workforce and detailed a plan to achieve $6 billion in annual savings by the end of 2023.- Nampa/Reuters

SoftBank aims to double PayPay users

SoftBank aims to double user numbers at its PayPay QR code payment app in the next three to four years, an executive at its domestic internet subsidiary Z Holdings told Reuters on Wednesday, as it seeks to extend its lead in cashless payments.

PayPay has used SoftBank's sales network and aggressive rebates to attract 36 million users in the three years since launch, driving a shift to push Japanese consumers to digital payments away from their traditional preference for cash.

"We want to double the user base during the investment phase," Z Holdings co-CEO Kentaro Kawabe said in a joint interview with fellow co-CEO Takeshi Idezawa.

The two executives, dressed in matching red and green ties, spoke following the completion of the merger of internet business Yahoo Japan with chat app operator Line - putting the latter's 86 million domestic users under SoftBank's umbrella.

Z Holdings announced on Monday that Line Pay, which has 39 million users but is less widely used and has signed up fewer merchants, would be merged with PayPay in 2022.- Nampa/Reuters

Lufthansa reports smaller than expected loss

Deutsche Lufthansa yesterday posted a smaller-than-expected net loss in the fourth quarter and forecast an operating loss in 2021 below last year’s level.

The German carrier said its net loss came at 1.14 billion euros (US$1.37 billion), above the company’s analyst consensus for a loss of 1.24 billion euros in the October-to-December period.

Fourth quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) came at -1.29 billion euros, also better than the analyst forecast.

The airline, which secured 9 billion euros in state aid last year, said it expects 2021 capacity on offer of 40% to 50% of 2019 levels and an average monthly operating cash drain of around 300 million euros in the first quarter of 2021.- Nampa/Reuters

'Prince' surrenders his castleNaidjala ready to throw in the towel One of Namibia's former boxing prospects, Immanuel 'Prince' Naidjala, has hinted at retirement from professional boxing.

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

WINDHOEK

Once a boxing prospect of great promise, Namibia's Prince Immanuel Naidjala is set to announce his retirement from the sport.

It has been exactly two years since the Namibian last fought in a fight which saw him losing to Jason Moloney for the World Boxing Association Oceania bantamweight title. Life for Naidjala has moved on and he has moved to the coast where he works in the drilling department at the Swakopmund Uranium Mine.

At the age of 35, one would imagine that the Prince would have one more shot at rejuvenating what began as a promising boxing career. That is not the case though. The boxer says seeing less action in the past two years, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, got him thinking about hanging up his gloves. “I am turning 36 this year and I just think my time to call it a day from the ring is approaching. “I have been thinking about announcing my retirement soon and I believe that it will happen when I come to Windhoek. “The fact that this virus came and events in Namibia have been hard to come by has also been motivating my thinking,” Naidjala said. Naidjala began his professional career in 2009 with an impressive win and went on to record 16 straight wins in his first professional fights. Many tipped him as a potential world champion following his impressive display under promoter Nestor 'Sunshine' Tobias. But Naidjala saw his chance of gaining the prestigious WBO bantamweight world title slip away after losing to Japan's Tamoki Kameda in December 2013. It was Naidjala's first defeat in 19 fights and also proved to be his only bid to gain the world title.

Naidjala did redeem his career with two straight wins, gaining the WBO Africa bantamweight title in the process and defending it on one occasion in 2014.

Things went south for the boxer in December 2014 after he lost his title to South Africa's Gideon Buthelezi at the Windhoek Country Club. As before, the Namibian bounced back with a win to claim the interim WBA Pan African bantamweight title in 2015. The year 2015 proved to be a year of restoration for the boxer as he also went on to claim the WBO inter-continental bantamweight title, and successfully defended it in 2016. The boxer experienced another disappointing loss in 2017 which saw Siboniso Gonya taking his belt at Ramatex on 1 April.

Naidjala lost another fight in December 2017 to Mzuvukile Magwaca before his last fight against Moloney in 2018.

The fighter, who has had an illustrious nine-year professional boxing career of ups and downs, says he has a reputation to protect. “I have no regrets at all because I believe that I did my best during my career and it is always important to end my career with a good reputation and name. “After I officially announce my retirement, I will still be involved in boxing though,” Naidjala said.