President Hage Geingob yesterday cautioned a visiting European Union delegation that conflict benefits no one.
He noted that the people on the planet have suffered in different ways because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; hence, the world should strive for peace.
Geingob said this yesterday during a courtesy visit at State House by EU commissioners Thierry Breton and Jutta Urpilainen. The visit was aimed at discussing bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of shared interests. “People are dying, hungry and suffering. No war is good, so let us not put our relationship against the problem of the war. We are cooperating as Namibia and the EU. We are neutral in the war but
positive in saying we want peace,” said the President while reflecting on the conflict
that started February 2022.
According to the Bank of Namibia (BoN) 2022 quarterly bulletin, the gross domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the global economy weakened during the third quarter of 2022.
The energy crisis in Europe and China’s continuing economic
slowdown could all be blamed on the ongoing conflict.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to destabilise the global economy through a severe energy crisis in Europe, which is increasing the cost
of living and hampering economic activity, said the central bank.
Impact on Namibia
As a result of the war, Namibians experienced an astronomical rise in food and fuel prices.
“The rise in pump prices was mainly attributed to the high international oil price, owing to a recovery in demand after a sharp decline experienced during 2020, ascribed to the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, worsened by the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The increase in inflation for food were partly attributed to a rise in global prices due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which are some of the biggest producers of wheat and cooking oil,” reads the report.
Namibia’s inflation rose year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter by 3.4 percentage points and 1.4 percentage points, respectively, to 7.1% during the third quarter of 2022. The increase was driven by high inflation for transport, food and housing due to elevated international prices, the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the upward adjustment in the electricity tariffs.
Furthermore, Urpilainen shared Geingob’s sentiments, saying the conflict came as a huge shock for the entire world: “We have to help Ukraine in any way. The crisis is leading to higher global inflation and food insecurity. We are ready to support you, as Namibia, in terms of food security, among other relevant cooperation”. Earlier yesterday, during a roundtable discussion on EU-Namibia cooperation, commissioner Breton said: “Namibia is an important partner for the EU, and we want to work together on solutions to global challenges. Our new strategic partnership on raw materials and green hydrogen is a crucial part of our cooperation.
We want to support Namibia in further developing a home grown extractive, refining and recycling industry for raw materials and expanding green hydrogen production capacities. This will encourage Namibia’s sustainable growth and development while bringing added value for the local economy by creating new jobs, infrastructures and other opportunities”.
The EU-Namibia partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen were agreed through the signature of an agreement at COP27 in Egypt on 8 November 2022 by EU president Ursula von der Leyen and President Geingob.
Weighing in
At the State House meeting, also weighing in, international relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the country is challenged by unemployment, and it is keen to tackle it through such cooperations.
To create employment, she said, Namibia needs to identify the sectors that will help grow the economy.
Nandi-Ndaitwah listed agriculture, tourism, fishing and mining as the target sectors that can help fight unemployment.
The 2018 National Labour Force Survey results point to an increased need to address youth unemployment, which is estimated to have increased from 43% in 2016 to 46% by 2018.
The most recent figures from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) indicate that the country’s overall unemployment rate dropped slightly from 34% in 2016 to 33.4% in 2018.
– mndjavera@nepc.com