Namibian Sun

United States braces for Omicron wave

As the Covid-19 Omicron variant surges across the United States, top federal health officials are looking to add a negative test along with its five-day isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus, the White House’s top medical adviser said Sunday.

Dr Anthony Fauci said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now considering including the negative test as part of its guidance after getting significant “pushback” on its updated recommendations last week.

Under that guidance, isolation restrictions for people infected with Covid-19 were shortened from 10 days to five days if they are no longer feeling symptoms or running a fever. After that period, they are asked to spend the following five days wearing a mask when around others.

The guidelines have since received criticism from many health professionals for not specifying a negative antigen test as a requirement for leaving isolation.

“There has been some concern about why we don’t ask people at that five-day period to get tested,” Fauci said. “Looking at it again, there may be an option in that, that testing could be a part of that, and I think we’re going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the CDC.”

Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said the US has been seeing almost a “vertical increase” of new cases, now averaging 400 000 cases a day, with hospitalisations also up.

Surge in cases

“We are definitely in the middle of a very severe surge and uptick in cases,” he said. “The acceleration of cases that we’ve seen is really unprecedented, gone well beyond anything we’ve seen before.”

Fauci said he’s concerned that the Omicron variant is overwhelming the health care system and causing a “major disruption” on other essential services.

“When I say major disruptions, you’re certainly going to see stresses on the system and the system being people with any kind of jobs ... particularly with critical jobs to keep society functioning normally,” Fauci said. “We already know that there are reports from fire departments, from police departments in different cities that 10, 20, 25 and sometimes 30% of the people are ill. That’s something that we need to be concerned about, because we want to make sure that we don’t have such an impact on society that there really is a disruption. I hope that doesn’t happen.”

The surging variant is ravaging other sectors of the workforce and American life.

Thousands of flights cancelledCovid, bad weather sow holiday travel chaos Omicron-related disruptions caused over 4 000 flight cancellations worldwide to kick off 2022.

REUTERS

NEW YORKOver 4 000 flights were cancelled around the world on Sunday, more than half of them US flights, adding to the toll of holiday week travel disruptions due to adverse weather and the surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant.

The flights cancelled by 8 pm GMT on Sunday included over 2 400 entering, departing from or within the United States, according to tracking website FlightAware.com. Globally, more than 11 200 flights were delayed.

Among the airlines with most cancellations were SkyWest and SouthWest, with 510 and 419 cancellations respectively, FlightAware showed.

The Christmas and New Year holidays are typically a peak time for air travel, but the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights as pilots and cabin crew quarantine.

Transportation agencies across the United States were also suspending or reducing services due to coronavirus-related staff shortages.

Omicron hits hard

Omicron has brought record case counts and dampened New Year festivities around much of the world.

The rise in US Covid cases had caused some companies to change plans to increase the number of employees working from their offices from Monday.

US authorities registered at least 346 869 new coronavirus on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. The US death toll from Covid-19 rose by at least 377 to 828 562.

US airline cabin crew, pilots and support staff were reluctant to work overtime during the holidays, despite offers of hefty financial incentives. Many feared contracting Covid-19 and did not welcome the prospect of dealing with unruly passengers, some airline unions said.

In the months preceding the holidays, airlines were wooing employees to ensure solid staffing, after furloughing or laying off thousands over the last 18 months as the pandemic hobbled the industry.

Child drowns in pool full of people

TUYEIMO HAIDULA

ONGWEDIVA

A boy drowned at Bennie’s Entertainment Park in Ongwediva on Sunday afternoon.

The boy, whose age is suspected to be 10 or 11, was reportedly swimming with two other boys in the baby pool and nobody saw when he moved to the adult pool.

Life guard Hendrick Natangwe Kateta, who has been working at the establishment for close to two years, told Namibia Sun that he usually keeps an eye on children around the adult pool.

But Kateta said at the time of the drowning he was cleaning the baby pool after the wind had blown rubbish into both pools.

He said the boy who drowned was in the company of two of his friends, who had arrived at the pool accompanied by their nanny at around 16:30.

Unnoticed

Kateta said at around 17:00 the nanny was taking selfies and when he offered to take full body pictures of her, she asked him to first help her find the boy before she could continue taking photos. He said she was holding a 10-month-old baby in her arms.

He said as soon as he was done cleaning the baby pool, an older boy asked him to clean the big pool too, hinting that he was stepping on something under the water.

The pool was full of people, Kateta said.

“I came with the trash remover and when I touched on the floor to pull out what he was pointing at, the head came up. I jumped in and took out the boy. I pressed down on his chest at least two times but he was not responding,” Kateta recalls.

He said he then ran to the laundry room to get a blanket so he could cover the boy and went to reception to call the police.

The boy’s mother was informed about the incident but the police have not yet released the name of the deceased. A police investigation into the matter continues.

Kateta said just last month he saved a 35-year-old man from drowning because he was being vigilant and kept his eyes on the pool.

Four pedestrians killed by cars JANA-MARI SMITH

WINDHOEK

At least four pedestrians were killed by cars and several people were injured in car crashes over the New Year’s weekend.

A 46-year-old man died in Walvis Bay on 1 January after he was hit by a car while crossing Tom Swemmer Street. A case of culpable homicide and reckless driving was opened against the 56-year-old driver of the car. The incident took place at around 02:00 in the morning.

Another case of culpable homicide was opened against a 26-year-old man in Oshikango on Friday last week, after he hit and killed a 66-year-old pedestrian who was crossing the street.

The police are also investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving after a pedestrian was hit by a car on the Rundu-Nkurenkuru road at around 05:00 on 1 January.

The police reported that a 19-year-old man was found unconscious in the road. His injuries indicated that he had been hit by a car, and debris at the scene, including broken pieces from a silver car, and a mudguard, indicated the man was hit by a vehicle. The man was taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

Another case of culpable homicide was opened at Omuthiya on 1 January, after a 57-year-old woman died from her injuries after she was hit by a car on the road between Omuthiya and Ondangwa on 1 January.

Reckless endangerment

Meanwhile, the police reported that on 31 December, just before 23:00, a 28-year-old man was arrested for drunk and reckless and negligent driving, near Rehoboth, after he lost control of the vehicle which overturned with the driver and five passengers, including an infant, in the car.

The driver was admitted to hospital under police guard, while the rest of the passengers, aged four months, 13, 24, 28, 38 and 73, escaped without injuries.

A case of reckless and negligent driving was opened on 31 December against a police officer attached to Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s VIP protection team, who overturned a government Hilux double-cab assigned to the prime minister’s motorcade.

The police report stated that the vehicle’s tyre burst, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to overturn. A 50-year-old female passenger sustained serious injuries and was taken to Rundu hospital for treatment. Two youngsters, aged 9 and 15, sustained slight injuries.

Another case of culpable homicide was opened after a 26-year-old man lost control and overturned the Nissan Note car in which he and six other passengers were driving on Friday, on a gravel road around 20 kilometres from Okakarara. All passengers survived, though many sustained injuries in the accident.

On 1 January, a major accident took place between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, at around 21:30. Two vehicles travelling towards Walvis Bay collided after the first vehicle tried to avoid crashing into a third car that was parked in the middle of the road, obstructing the traffic.

While the first vehicle tried to swerve out of the way, the vehicle behind it crashed into the stationary car.

A man who had been sitting in the stationary vehicle was fatally injured.

No other passengers involved in the three-car pile-up sustained life-threatening injuries.

Suspect arrested for SA parliament fireSprinkler system had been tampered with The Old Wing of the South African parliament complex, which dates back to 1884, was destroyed in an apparent arson attack on Sunday,

CAPE TOWN

REUTERS

A fire at the South African parliament caused extensive damage on Sunday, collapsing the roof and gutting an entire floor in one building and a man in his 50s was arrested in connection with the blaze.

The fire broke out in the early morning and authorities said the sprinkler system appeared to have been tampered with and so did not work. By afternoon, firefighters were still trying to contain the blaze in one of the several buildings that make up the parliament complex in the legislative capital, Cape Town.

A person was arrested inside parliament, public works and infrastructure minister Patricia De Lille told reporters, adding that the case had been handed over to an elite police unit called the Hawks.

"It's the role of the Hawks to investigate any attack on political institutions," De Lille said.

Parliament said in a statement the suspect was a man in his 50s.

There were no reports of any injuries.

Sabotage

The cause of the blaze was not yet known but De Lille said that according to a report that she received, a standard maintenance fire drill had been conducted just before parliament closed for the Christmas and New Year holidays and everything, including the sprinklers, was working.

"What was discovered this morning is that somebody had closed one of the valves and so then there was no water to trigger that automatic sprinkler system coming on," De Lille said, adding that CCTV footage confirmed that somebody was in the building from the early hours of the morning.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters after visiting the site that parliament's work would continue despite the blaze. He also praised firefighters for saving a "very important national asset of our government".

Partly Contained

The parliamentary complex, some of which dates back to 1884, consists of a cluster of buildings. The National Assembly, or lower House of Parliament, is situated in what is known as the New Wing.

The upper house, or National Council of Provinces (NCOP), is located in what is called the Old Wing or Old Assembly, which is also used for committee meetings.

"The fire has been contained in the Old Wing. Firefighters are currently trying to control the fire in the New Wing, where the fire has affected the National Assembly Chamber," parliament said in a statement.

Jean-Pierre Smith, a Cape Town mayoral committee member responsible for safety and security, said the roof of the old building had collapsed, and added the fire had gutted the third floor of the building, including office space and the gymnasium.

He also told reporters that the parliament's fire alarm only rang when firefighters were already on site.

By afternoon smoke had partially subsided after billowing for hours from the roof and entrance of the National Assembly. But City of Cape Town fire services chief Jermaine Carelse said the fire was still active, and was now concentrated on the first and third floor.

The fire, which started just before 06:00, was the second at the parliament in less than a year. In March there was a blaze caused by an electrical fault.

"It is egregious that such a thing happened in the first place, there must be no question about it. Whether it was a result of security breaches, which may be apparent to some people, we don't know," Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Lechesa Tsenoli said.

National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters that Ramaphosa's state of the nation address to a joint session of parliament would go ahead as planned on 10 February but an alternative venue would have to be used.

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

J&J booster slashes hospitalisations

A booster dose of Johnson & Johnson Inc's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine was 84% effective at preventing hospitalisation in South African healthcare workers who became infected as the Omicron variant spread, researchers said on Thursday.

The real-world study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was based on a second dose of the J&J vaccine administered to 69 092 workers between Nov. 15 and Dec. 20.

An initial course of inoculation has been shown to offer only greatly reduced protection against infection by Omicron, which is spreading quickly through many countries after first being identified in southern Africa and Hong Kong in late November.

However, several studies have suggested that a booster dose provides significant protection against severe illness from the variant.

The South African study showed the J&J vaccine's effectiveness at preventing hospitalisation rose from 63% shortly after a booster was administered to 84% 14 days later. Effectiveness reached 85% at one to two months post-boost. -Nampa/Reuters

Tesla delivers almost 1 mln cars

Tesla said Sunday it delivered nearly one million vehicles in 2021, almost twice as many as in the previous year, results that were better than expected despite global supply challenges.

The US electric carmaker delivered more than 936 000 cars of all models in 2021, an increase of 87 percent over the previous year, the company said in a statement.

Tesla had announced last January that it was aiming to increase deliveries by 50 percent per year over several years, so Sunday's results far exceeded that goal.

The group, which recently moved its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas, sold 911,208 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles as well as 24 964 vehicles of its luxury S and X models at a price of US$90 000 and US$100 000 respectively.

In the fourth quarter alone, Tesla delivered 308 600 cars. Tesla has managed to overcome global logistics issues that have plagued the auto industry. Its chief Elon Musk previously said he was able to get around much of the semiconductor shortage by using new chip designs and rewriting software. -Nampa/AFP

Evergrande suspends share trading

Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande announced Monday it was once again suspending trading of its shares with no reason stated.

Drowning in US$300 billion in liabilities, the firm has struggled to repay bondholders and investors after becoming ensnared in Beijing's deleveraging crackdown on China's bloated property sector.

"Trading in the shares of China Evergrande Group will be halted at 9:00 a.m. today," the group said in a short statement on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It previously saw a period of suspended share trading back in October.

The troubled developer was already labelled as being in default by international ratings firms last month, after it failed to repay liabilities on time.

Earlier struggles to pay suppliers and contractors due to the debt crisis led to sustained protests from homebuyers and investors at the group's Shenzhen headquarters in September.

Last week, Evergrande momentarily cheered investors by insisting it would be able to deliver tens of thousands of units this month, and pay off some debts. -Nampa/AFP

Morgan Stanley to pay US$60 mln

Morgan Stanley agreed to pay US$60 million to settle a lawsuit by customers who said the Wall Street bank exposed their personal data when it twice failed to properly retire some of its older information technology.

A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action on behalf of about 15 million customers was filed on Friday night in Manhattan federal court, and requires approval by US District Judge Analisa Torres.

Customers would receive at least two years of fraud insurance coverage, and each can apply for reimbursement of up to US$10 000 in out-of-pocket losses.

Morgan Stanley denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, and has made "substantial" upgrades to its data security practices, according to settlement papers.

Customers accused Morgan Stanley of having in 2016 failed to decommission two wealth management data centers before the unencrypted equipment, which still contained customer data, was resold to unauthorized third parties. -Nampa/Reuters

LG Energy Solution opens books

Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution has opened the books to investors to raise up to $10.8 billion in the country's largest initial public offering (IPO), according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

The shares will be sold in a price range of 257 000 won to 300 000 won (US$216.19-US$252.36) apiece to raise between US$9.2 billion and US$10.8 billion, the term sheet showed.

The IPO will beat the previous South Korean record held by Samsung Life Insurance's 4.9 trillion won (US$4.12 billion) offering in 2010.

LG Energy Solution (LGES) will be valued at US$51 billion to US$59 billion. The company said on Monday it was continuing to "execute remaining processes to launch a successful IPO".

Cash raised will be mostly used to expand the company's current production facilities and debt repayment, according to the term sheet. The company will sell 34 million primary shares and its parent company will sell 8.5 million secondary shares in the IPO.

Demand from investors is expected to be high with the pricing, due to be finalised on Jan. 14, already likely to be at the top of the range, according to sources Reuters spoke to last month. -Nampa/Reuters

President beats vaccine drum in New Year’s message

JANA-MARI SMITH

WINDHOEK

President Hage Geingob’s New Year’s address highlighted the devastation brought about by Namibia’s third Covid-19 wave, which marked the most troubling year since Namibia’s independence, and urged more Namibians to line up for the jab.

“The havoc inflicted by this merciless pandemic of the 21st century has been unlike anything we have experienced since our independence in 1990. Covid-19 is indiscriminate; it knows no borders, no nationality, no race, no tribe, no gender, no age and no social class,” Geingob said in his New Year’s message shared on Friday.

The president stressed that the difficulties faced during 2021 also brought out the best in some Namibians.

“In the midst of great loss, we saw faith; in the midst of untold suffering, we saw courage; in the midst of endless despair, we saw love. In times of death and bereavement, we saw a deep sense of connection and empathy.”

He added that 2021’s challenges “reminded us that through unity and collective resilience, we can bend, but we will never break and by holding hands, we can overcome that which may seem unsurmountable.”

Frontline defence

Geingob emphasised that the government had learned valuable lessons in 2021, and was working to become “more resilient and better prepared to deal with pandemics.”

The president acknowledged the widespread negative economic consequences unleashed by measures to control the pandemic, but underlined that vaccine hesitancy in Namibia was thwarting efforts to improve Namibia’s economic stability.

“As a nation, we cannot continue to lag behind others in terms of vaccination rates. Namibia is not an island. We belong to a global village and for us to survive, we must do business with the rest of the world.”

The president warned that unless Namibia reaches “acceptable levels of vaccination and achieves herd immunity, we are effectively cutting ourselves off from the world and severely limiting our economy’s ability to generate the prosperity we so desperately long for.”

He urged Namibians to get the jab, and to avoid spreading false information about vaccination.

Opportunity

President Geingob said while the economy is expected to see growth this year, Namibia has to be proactive and “think out of the box and pursue innovative ideas and ventures that can generate economic growth.”

He highlighted that green hydrogen offers great potential for Namibia, and that the government is focused on harnessing Namibia’s green energy market to the rest of the world.

“This new industry will strengthen our renewable energy footprint, which will result in competitive electricity tariffs.”

The president said this year, government will secure the first N$100 million in concession fees from the preferred bidder, “bringing immediate relief to the fiscus and translating the vision of a synthetic fuels industry into immediate Foreign Direct Investment flows.”

The president further noted that while state spending has been curbed, Namibia remains “endowed with a stable governance architecture, a strong macroeconomic framework and excellent infrastructure, which are all built on democratic institutions and the rule of law.”

The president added that in order to clear a pathway towards maximising Namibia’s investment potential, the government is committed to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to unlock opportunities.

The president highlighted that Namibia has taken the unique step of issuing identity documents to refugees, who will be referred to as guests from now on.

“We are now the first country to affirm a Pan-African vision of refugees as guests of Namibia. These steps will among others enable Namibia to do business with the rest of the continent seamlessly and with reduced stumbling blocks.”

Fiery start to the New YearMurder and mayhem amid the revelry The police had their hands full over the weekend as violent crime gripped the nation.

JANA-MARI SMITH

WINDHOEK

The New Year’s weekend was marred by multiple crimes including murder, rape, armed robbery and theft.

Moreover, celebrations became heated at the Witbooi Royal House in Gibeon at midnight on New Year’s Eve, when a lapa roof caught fire after fireworks landed in the thatch. The lapa burned down but the fire did not spread to the adjacent house.

On 1 January, the police arrested a 25-year-old Namibian man in the Kavango West region on a charge of murder after the man allegedly killed his 33-year-old uncle.

The suspect “intentionally chopped his uncle with a traditional axe several times on the head after an argument over a torch, killing him instantly,” the Namibian Police stated in their weekend crime report.

Among the four rape cases reported to the police, all of which took place in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, one involved a 16-year-old girl who was attacked and robbed in Mariental.

The police say the girl and a friend were told to withdraw money for a family member. On the way back to the house, a man grabbed the girl by her hair near a shopping centre, and sexually assaulted her while threatening her with a knife.

Her friend fled in order to get help. The suspect furthermore stole the girl’s cell phone and N$200. No arrest has been made.

Three more rapes were reported on 1 January: one at Groot Aub, another in Otjomuise, and another in Windhoek’s Damara location. The suspects in the Groot Aub and Otjomuise cases have been arrested.

Kidnapping

An attempted kidnapping led to the arrest of one man while his accomplice remains on the run.

It is reported that on 31 December, near the Ondangwa roadblock, at around midnight, a 38-year-old woman was hiking when two suspects stopped and bundled her into the boot of their car.

The woman texted her family, who immediately contacted the police. The men’s car was swiftly intercepted, and a 28-year-old man arrested, while the second suspect fled on foot. The investigation continues.

Murder

Meanwhile, at midday on the last day of the year, a man died near the Roman Catholic hospital and Shoprite in Windhoek’s city centre, after he was stabbed with a broken bottle in his neck.

Another case of murder was opened early on New Year’s Day, after a 27-year-old man allegedly stabbed an as yet unidentified man following an argument that erupted while they played a game of pool in Okuryangava. The suspect is in police custody.

The police arrested a 43-year-old man on a farm near Stampriet on 31 December on a charge of assault by threat under the domestic violence act. The man was accused of threatening his wife and children that he would burn down the house and kill both his children. He remains in custody.

Robbery and burglary

Several cases of armed robbery, theft and house break-ins were reported over New Year’s weekend across the country.

A man is recovering in a private hospital in Windhoek after he was violently assaulted by three robbers who had broken into the house he shares with his girlfriend in Otjomuise on 31 December. The suspects remain on the run. They reportedly stole items worth more than N$55 000 from the house, while they held the woman and the man at gunpoint.

A tourist from Switzerland was robbed in Windhoek’s city centre on 31 December by an as yet unidentified man wielding a knife. The man stole the Swiss national’s passport, credit cards, two cell phones, two backs and N$4 000 cash.

No arrest has been made.

On 1 January, a doctor living in Ongwediva woke up in the morning to discover that her house had been broken into during the night while she was asleep. The robber or robbers had smashed a window to gain entry and stole items valued at more than N$34 000. No arrest has been made.

Also on 1 January at one in the morning, five men approached a woman who was parking her red Toyota Paseo, forced open the driver’s door, dragged her out of the car and drove away with the vehicle. A few minutes later, the car overturned at Omashaka Gakamanya at Oshikango and the suspects fled on foot. The vehicle was retrieved by the police.

2021, the year military coups returned to the stage in Africa AL JAZEERA

Surrounded by soldiers and with Guinea’s flag draped around his shoulders, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya appeared on state television hours after leading a coup in September.

"Guinea is beautiful," he told his co-patriots, using a crude analogy to describe what would be his vision for the future of his country. “We no longer need to rape her. We need to make love to her, that’s all."

Doumbouya's elite Special Forces had earlier stormed the presidential palace and detained Alpha Conde, the country’s first democratically elected president whose election victory in 2010 was once seen as a new beginning after decades of authoritarian rule. But the 83-year-old’s time at the helm of the West African country ended dramatically, with a video showing him sitting on a dusty sofa, barefoot with his printed shirt buttons open and surrounded by heavily armed guards.

Most recently, Sudan’s military detained the country's civilian leaders and seized power in October, about a month after authorities said they had thwarted an attempted coup they blamed on plotters loyal to former ruler Omar al-Bashir.

In May, Malian soldiers had their second coup in the space of 10 months. This came weeks after General Mahamat Idriss Deby immediately seized power in Chad by suspending the constitution and dissolving the parliament following the death of his father on the battlefield.

Soldiers as saviours?

In the second part of the 20th century, military coups in Africa were used as a common means of changing the political order in the wake of decolonisation. Between 1960 and 2000, the overall number of coups and coup attempts stood at an average of four per year, according to a study by Jonathan Powell, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida, and Clayton Thyne, a professor at the University of Kentucky.

However, as calls for democratic reforms and constitutionalism grew with the new century, military coups decreased to two per year until 2019.

Now, however, they seem to be making a comeback – prompting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this year to decry what he dubbed "an epidemic of coup d’etats".

The recent surge in the militarisation of politics, analysts say, is influenced by a mix of external drivers, including the increasing and diverse number of international actors who are active in the continent prioritising their interests, and internal factors, such as widespread public frustration against corruption, insecurity and poor governance.

The Guinean coup took place after widespread dissatisfaction and protests against Conde’s largely unpopular move to scrap the presidential two-term limit. Hence, Colonel Doumbouya justified the power grab by claiming poverty and endemic corruption compelled his special forces to intervene.

"The personalisation of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man. We will entrust it to the people," he said at the time.

For Powell, this militarisation comes amid "an increasing crisis" of legitimacy for rulers.

"When leaders like Alpha Conde toy with constitutions, term limits and the electoral process, it increases public support for the armed forces to ‘do something'," he added.

Ryan Cummings, the director of consulting firm Signal Risk, agreed.

"The militaries assume the position of saviour and use civic discontent as a means of legitimising their unconstitutional power grabs," Cummings told Al Jazeera.

Kenya GDP growth rebounds

GEORGE OBULUTSA

Kenya’s economy rebounded in the third quarter of the year following the easing of measures aimed at curbing Covid-19’s spread, the finance minister and the statistics office said on Friday.

The economy grew 9.9% year-on-year during the quarter, compared with a contraction of 2.1% in the same period in 2020, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said.

In 2020 the economy was hammered by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which slashed tourist flows into the country.

“Economic recovery from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic continued in the third quarter of 2021 as a result of easing of containment measures,” Yatani said on his Twitter account.

“This follows an earlier impressive second quarter performance of 10.1% of real GDP growth.”

The statistics office said there was growth of 24.8% in the accommodation and food-serving activities sector, which also includes tourism. The sector had contracted by 63.4% in the third quarter of 2020.

“However, sector activities picked up in the review period after relaxation of most of the restriction measures in the fourth quarter of 2020,” KNBS said.

Other sectors whose performance improved was manufacturing, which expanded 9.5%.

However, agriculture, forestry and fishing contracted 1.8%, compared with 4.2% growth in the third quarter of 2020, the statistics office said.

“The dismal performance of the sector was evident in the significant decline in fruit exports, cane deliveries, tea production and coffee exports,” it said.

“In addition, unfavourable weather conditions experienced in most parts of the country impacted negatively on production of food crops during the review quarter.”

The finance ministry forecasts economic growth of 5.9% for 2021 as a whole, Yatani said in a Dec. 2 letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In late October, President Uhuru Kenyatta scrapped a night-time curfew that had been in place since March 2020, in a move that was expected to help reinvigorate the economy. -Nampa/Reuters

Global commodity prices reboundingDriven by tight supplies Global demand for commodities is expected to remain robust in 2022 and underpin prices as the world economy continues to recover. 2021 has been characterised by a huge broad-based rally. Jeffrey Halley, Senior analyst: OANDA.

Commodity prices from energy and metals to agricultural products rebounded sharply in 2021, with power fuels leading the rally, driven by tight supplies and a strong economic recovery as Covid-19 vaccinations staved off widespread lockdowns.

Global demand for commodities is expected to remain robust in 2022 and underpin prices as the world economy continues to recover, although similar price jumps are unlikely, analysts and traders say.

"2021 has been characterised by a huge broad-based rally," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior analyst at brokerage OANDA.

"Although I believe commodity prices will remain robust, I believe the rebound in 2020 and the rally of 2021 will be exceptional years and as such I am not anticipating the same level of gains in the year ahead."

Energy and food prices rocketed higher this year, hammering utilities and consumers from Beijing to Brussels, raising inflationary pressures.

High prices are encouraging producers to ramp up output, but some analysts expect supplies for products such as oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to stay tight as these projects require years for production to come on line.

Record coal and natural gas prices led to a severe power crunch from Europe to India and China in 2021. Asian LNG rallied more than 200%, while Asia's benchmark coal prices doubled.

"Global LNG demand grew by 20 million tonnes per year in 2021 with Asia accounting for virtually all of this growth," said Valery Chow, head of Asia gas and LNG research at Wood Mackenzie, adding that more than 20% growth in demand from China has made it the world's top importer, overtaking Japan.

"However, persistently high LNG spot prices are likely to start dampening overall demand growth, especially in the more price-sensitive markets of South Asia and Southeast Asia," he said.

Global oil prices, also recovered 50% to 55% in 2021, with Brent settling at US$77.78 per barrel and WTI at US$75.21 per barrel, and are set to rise further next year as jet fuel demand catches up.

In China, coal prices have more than halved from a record high reached in October after the top producer and consumer boosted output and tamed prices.

Metals

The power crunch in China and Europe hit aluminium production, driving prices up over 40% for a second year of gains. However, it also affected demand for iron ore as the world's top steel producer China cut output.

Iron ore prices, which hit record peaks in May, crashed in the second half of the year amid strict output curbs in China. Dalian iron ore futures fell more than 10% after a massive rally over the past two years.

Base metals are expected to outperform as energy transition will drive demand, analysts say, while supply chain bottlenecks could persist. LME copper rose for a third year, up about 25% in 2021.

"Copper demand is expected to enter its second year of expansion, especially after the recently-concluded COP26 demonstrated an increasing willingness by governments to prioritise clean energy," OCBC economist Howie Lee said.

Chicago soybeans rose for a third year in a row, corn by 22% and wheat by more than 20%. Supply constraints due to adverse weather and strong demand generally boosted agricultural markets.

Both Malaysian palm oil and soybean oil added more than 30%, each rallying for a third year. For beverages, arabica coffee added almost 80%, taking gains into a second year and robustas jumped 70%, recouping three years of losses, as supply chain issues increased appetite.

Raw sugar rose more than 20%, rallying for a third year and white sugar made similar gains as production fell in top producer Brazil because of a drought and frosts.

Precious metals prices may cool, dragged down by strong risk appetite in equities and other markets, analysts say. Gold was largely unchanged after dropping last year and silver is set to end the year down after two strong years. -Nampa/Reuters

Ethiopia seeks extra US$2.5 bln Ethiopia wants to pass a supplementary budget worth 122 billion birr (US$2.5 billion) to help finance programmes to rebuild areas destroyed by war and provide humanitarian aid, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

The budget is much larger than previously reported in the heavily indebted country. The government-affiliated media outlet Fana said on Monday that the government was seeking a US$102 million supplementary budget "to be used for rehabilitation of people affected by war and conflict".

"The additional budget will be spent on security of the country, humanitarian aid and other necessary government works," the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The request will have to be approved by parliament which is expected to give its approval, but the ministry did not say how the money would be raised.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government and its allies have been at war for more than a year. The ongoing conflict has killed thousands and displaced millions.

Among those who have borne the brunt of the conflict are humanitarian workers. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement on Thursday that one of its staff members had been killed in northern Ethiopia, but gave no details.

Filippo Grandi, the head of UNHCR, tweeted that the staff member had been killed on Dec. 28.-Nampa/Reuters

143 New Year’s babiesKhomas and Oshikoto in the lead Eight regions have reported New Year's babies, most of them born in the Khomas, Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions.

TUYEIMO HAIDULA

OSHAKATI

Namibia recorded the births of 143 New Year’s babies in eight of the country’s 14 regions, the health ministry has announced.

The Khomas region recorded the highest number of births at 36, followed by Oshikoto with 30 and Ohangwena with 24 births on 1 January.

Ohangwena health director John Hango said the Engela hospital recorded nine births, Eenhana 14, and Okongo one.

Alfons Amoomo, the Omusati regional health director, said his region recorded 19 births – 10 at Outapi, four at Oshikuku, four at Tshandi and one at Okahao.

He joked that the people in his region were practising social distancing, as usually the region would record 50 births on the first day of the year. Amoomo said on Christmas Day 23 babies were born in the region.

The Kavango East region recorded 22 births, Otjozondjupa seven, Kavango West six, and the //Karas and Kunene regions eight each.

- tuyeimo@namibiansun.com

Unpaid regional council workers threaten lawsuitNothing festive about non-payment Employees of the Kunene Regional Council have not yet received their December salaries, apparently because of a power struggle between the council and the line ministry.

JEMIMA BEUKES

WINDHOEK

After a long and broke Christmas, employees of the Kunene Regional Council are still in the dark about their salaries and are now reaching out to lawyers as part of their plan to sue the council and government for damages incurred because of the non-payment of salaries.

Salaries for December remain unpaid after the suspension of chief regional officer George Kamseb, the only authorised official to sign off payments.

According to some of the workers who spoke to Namibian Sun on condition of anonymity yesterday, there has been no communication as to when December salaries will be paid – or whether they must brace themselves for more months without pay.

The group also accused their union, Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) of turning its back on them.

“As it stands right now, there is a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 6 January 2022, but this we have learned through an invitation that has been doing the rounds on social media,” an employee told Namibian Sun yesterday.

“The damage has been done, and we definitely think our only way to a solution is through the court. We are in debt and are threatened with blacklisting. We have not been officially informed of this decision and that is total abuse of our rights,” an employee told Namibian Sun yesterday.

Tit-for-tat

Chairperson of the Kunene Regional Council, Hendrik Gaobaeb, said yesterday that he had no idea when the salaries of the staff would be paid and that a meeting was scheduled for 31 January 2022 to discuss this issue.

According to him, the council resolved the suspension of salaries after the minister of urban and rural development, Erastus Utoni, dragged them to court for reinstating Kamseb as chief regional officer.

“We dropped everything (legal suit) and reinstated the CRO and the minister demanded that we cancel that decision but we said we could not. The minister, without informing us, decided to take us to court and instructed the council not to pay the salary of Kamseb. So, the council took a resolution that Kamseb must stop signing payments, since he is the only one to do that.”

You have our sympathy

The ministry of urban and rural development issued a statement in December, saying the money for salaries had been released to the council on 21 December 2021 already.

“There is a no dispute over the employment status of the rest of the staff members and therefore it is unfortunate and uncalled for that the regional council decided to withhold their salaries.

“The ministry sympathises and is in solidarity with the staff members of the council whose salaries have been unfairly withheld by their employer,” the statement read.

Minister of urban and rural development Erastus Utoni could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The general secretary of the Namibian Workers Union (NAPWU), Peter Nevonga, was also unavailable for comment.

jemima@namibiansun.com

Wu’s Helmsman fined for illegal water reconnection

KENYA KAMBOWE

RUNDU

The Rundu town council in December fined Chinese-born businesswoman Stina Wu’s Helmsman Group for the illegal reconnection of the water supply to their Galaxy shopping mall.

Rundu CEO Nathaneal Olavi said the council penalised the property developer for allowing the reconnection of the water supply without the council’s knowledge.

The council suspects somebody working at the building site was responsible for the reconnection and because the owners could not identify the culprit, the company was fined.

“Somebody went to open the valve which was closed by the council. We just informed them that they were responsible and there was a fine to that effect. The site foreman was fined,” Olavi explained.

The water supply had been suspended because of non-payment of the municipal bill.

“We agreed that they were going to make payments on specific dates and that did not happen,” Olavi said.

“We are suspecting that it is the guys on site. We asked them who did it and they could not tell and we then fined them.”

Neither Wu nor her local managing partner, Chris Shivolo, could be reached for comment.

The Galaxy mall, which is currently under construction, houses shops like Shoprite and Pep Stores.

Not the first time

Helmsman has often failed to pay its water bills on time, running up arrears amounting to millions.

The cash-strapped Rundu Town Council is targeting all those who default on their accounts, with the help of Redforce Debt Management.

Olavi said when the programme of disconnecting those in arrears started last year, Helmsman paid only half of what it owed and signed an agreement with the council to pay the remainder in instalments.

He revealed that the monthly instalments are in the region of N$89 000 to N$100 000.

kenya@namibiansun.com

Relief for consumers after 8 fuel price hikes Fuel prices to remain steady The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) incurred an over-recovery during December 2021 of N$0.21 per litre on petrol and N$0.18 per litre on diesel. This means that local petrol prices would have increased from N$11.35 in January 2021 to N$20.08. Simonis Storm

PHILLEPUS UUSIKU

Fuel prices in Namibia will remain unchanged for the month of January 2022, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has announced.

The price of petrol in Walvis Bay, which is the port of entry, will remain at N$15.65 cents per litre (c/l), while the price of diesel will remain at N$15.58 c/l. This is great relief for consumers as fuel prices increased eight times in 2021.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Andreas Simon, after successive months of surging global oil prices, the market is now relatively stable.

Although still high, the average prices of refined petrol and diesel decreased by US$7 in December 2021, from an average of US$91 in November 2021 to an average of US$84 in December 2021. In addition, the local currency depreciated slightly against the United States (US) dollar, from an average of N$15.53 in November 2021 to an average of N$15.92.

“Moreover, the December 2021 fuel price adjustment has brought our local pump prices on par with the international oil prices, hence slight over-recoveries are recorded during the month of December 2021,” Simon pointed out.

Taking the above into consideration, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) incurred an over-recovery during December 2021 of N$0.21 per litre on petrol and N$0.18 per litre on diesel. During 2021, the MME has incurred under-recoveries of N$8.73 per litre in total.

According to Simonis Storm (SS), this means that local petrol prices would have increased from N$11.35 in January 2021 to N$20.08.

However, the National Energy Fund (NEF) partially finances under-recoveries. The NEF has financed about 51% of under-recoveries experienced in 2021, which is of great assistance in alleviating inflationary pressures faced by consumers. The surplus gained by the over-recovery in December 2021 will be used to fund the NEF which in turn will be used to finance any future under-recoveries, SS added.

Outlook

Year to date, petroleum imports account for 9.5% of total imports on average and totalled N$97.1 million in import purchases. Petroleum imports edged lower towards September 2021, which is consistent with reduced electricity generation for the third quarter of 2021, SS pointed out.

OPEC+ indicated in their November meeting that they see signs of oil surpluses building in December 2021. This has come to materialise as global oil markets returned to surplus according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) on 14 December 2021. Oversupply stems from sales from strategic reserves from different countries and record output in the US, Canada and Brazil.

The IEA also notes that oversupply could increase further in the coming months, primarily due to the Omicron variant limiting international travel and therefore reduces its oil demand forecast by 600,000 barrels a day in the first few months of 2022. The group decided to keep their production levels unchanged at their latest meeting on 2 December 2021, as was largely expected, SS said.-phillep@nmh.com.na

Mali proposes election delay to ECOWAS

Mali's interim authorities proposed to its West African neighbours that a transition back to democracy following a 2020 military coup be extended by five years, the foreign minister said in comments broadcast on Saturday.

The transitional government initially agreed to hold presidential and legislative elections in February 2022, 18 months after Colonel Assimi Goita led the overthrow of President Boubacar Ibrahim Keita.

It has made little progress since then, blaming disorganisation and a rash of Islamist violence. A conference charged with recommending an election timetable said on Thursday the polls should be delayed by between six months and five years.

Following a meeting with Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo, the chair of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said he had proposed the upper bound of that interval.

"What was retained was a duration of five years. That's the issue that was presented," Diop said in comments broadcast by the state-run television network. "But it's a question of indicating that this period, it's the maximum."

An ECOWAS spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. The organisation is struggling to hold the line against military coups in a region that until recently appeared to have shed its reputation as Africa's "coup belt".

Goita staged a second coup in May 2021 when he pushed aside the interim president that had taken over after Keita's ouster and took the job himself. Guinea's military also overthrew President Alpha Conde in September.

ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Malian officials over election delays and promised more if Mali did not produce a plan for February elections by the end of 2021.

Mali's actions have also deepened tensions with former colonial power France, which has thousands of soldiers deployed across West Africa's Sahel region to battle Islamist insurgents. -Nampa/Reuters

OPEC+ sees mild impact from Omicron variant

AHMAD GHADDAR

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) expects the impact on the oil market from the Omicron coronavirus variant to be mild and temporary, keeping the door open for a further increase in output, a technical report seen by Reuters showed on Sunday.

"The impact of the new Omicron variant is expected to be mild and short-lived, as the world becomes better equipped to manage Covid-19 and its related challenges," the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) report said.

"This is in addition to a steady economic outlook in both the advanced and emerging economies," it added.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet on Monday at 1300 GMT to discuss the appointment of a new secretary general to succeed Nigeria's Mohammad Barkindo, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

This will be followed by a meeting of OPEC and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, on Tuesday, to debate whether to go ahead with raising output targets by 400 000 barrels per day (bpd) in February.

The JTC will also meet on Monday at 1000 GMT to discuss market fundamentals.

In the report's base scenario, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) commercial oil stocks in 2022 will remain below the 2015-2019 average in the first three quarters, and rising above that average by 24 million barrels in the fourth quarter.

The scenario assumes 40 million barrels are released from strategic petroleum reserves in the first half of the year, and that 13.3 million barrels are returned to the US strategic reserve in the third quarter.

The report kept forecasts for the growth in oil demand in 2021 and 2022 unchanged at 5.7 million bpd and 4.2 million bpd respectively. -Nampa/Reuters

EDITORIAL: Year of reimaging? President Hage Geingob has christened 2022 as the Year of Reimaging. In his own words, the president asked us to endeavour to think anew as a nation and move forward with renewed enthusiasm and vision.

Well and good. To dream is to dare. Each beginning of a year is usually marked by a sense of newness. The podium rhetoric of ‘new year, new me’ is usually at its loudest decibel this time of the year – both in households and government buildings.

But the most tragic element of the human species these days – in behaviour and creed – is empty idealism. Everyone wants to be who they are not – and sometimes will never be.

Again, to dream is to dare. But unless we are deliberate in our endeavours, backing our words with action, we can never reimage ourselves as per President Geingob’s aspirations.

Reimaging Namibia must be in deeds, not public relations exercises in an attempt to maintain a favourable public image even when there’s trouble brewing underneath our feet.

The spirit wants to follow the President’s aspirations but the flesh is too weak to ride along. To reimage ourselves, we must be practical and realistic. We must maintain high moral standards, enact the culture of care and reinvigorate hard work. Government in particular, as the custodian of our resources and their sole distributor, cannot compromise in this regard.

US cuts off Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea

The United States cut Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea from access to a duty-free trade program, following through on President Joe Biden's threat to do so over alleged human rights violations and recent coups.

"The United States terminated Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea from the AGOA trade preference program due to actions taken by each of their governments in violation of the AGOA Statute," the US Trade Representative's office said in a statement.

Biden said in November that Ethiopia would be cut off from the duty-free trading regime provided under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) due to alleged human rights violations in the Tigray region, while Mali and Guinea were targeted due to recent coups.

The suspension of benefits threatens Ethiopia's textile industry, which supplies global fashion brands, and the country's nascent hopes of becoming a light manufacturing hub. It also piles more pressure on an economy reeling from the conflict, the coronavirus pandemic, and high inflation.

"The Biden-Harris Administration is deeply concerned by the unconstitutional change in governments in both Guinea and Mali, and by the gross violations of internationally recognized human rights being perpetrated by the Government of Ethiopia and other parties amid the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia," the USTR statement said.

The AGOA trade legislation provides sub-Saharan African nations with duty-free access to the United States if they meet certain eligibility requirements, such as eliminating barriers to US trade and investment and making progress toward political pluralism.

"Each country has clear benchmarks for a pathway toward reinstatement and the Administration will work with their governments to achieve that objective," it added.

The Washington embassies of the three African countries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ethiopia's Trade Ministry said it November it was "extremely disappointed" by Washington's announcement, saying the move would reverse economic gains and unfairly impact and harm women and children. -Nampa/Reuters