Author: Maihapa Ndjavera (Maihapa Ndjavera )

Employees of the national rail service operator, TransNamib, will embark on a nationwide strike on Monday to show their frustration with contentious labour matters. 

To escape the middle-income classification trap, Namibia must focus on building a diversified private sector. 

The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) yesterday launched an advanced ruling programme, which is an official written biding decision on classification, origin or valuation of goods prior to an import or export transaction.

Namibia’s largely monopolistic market structure and the dominant public sector create an uneven playing field to the detriment of the private sector. 

As Namibia’s urban population is expected to increase from 52% to 60% by 2030, the country’s demand for formal housing is increasing with urbanisation and offers a key economic opportunity. 

An astronomical increase in prices for household oils and fats, which increased by more than 15% in March 2022 compared to 9.4% recorded during the same time last year, is beginning to take its toll on informal traders. 

For the month of May 2022, Namibia’s exports earnings stood at N$5.7 billion, down by 5.2% on monthly basis, while the imports bill amounted to N$10.2 billion, up by 1.9% on monthly basis resulting in a trade deficit of N$4.6 billion. This is up 12.3% when compared to 4.1 billion observed in April 2022. 

Mines minister Tom Alweendo has reiterated his stance that the presence of oil in Namibia can be beneficial, and does not automatically need to lead to the dreaded oil curse.