Business

The national rail services operator, TransNamib, recently successfully hosted its first annual general meeting (AGM) in seven years where it presented the government, as its sole shareholder, with an unqualified audit for the past financial year.

The prolonged recession that has gripped the domestic economy for the better part of the last three to four years is expected to be something of the past, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday projected that Namibia will see positive growth in 2020 as the drought fades and mining production picks ramps up.

Air Namibia on Sunday confirmed the suspension of three of its senior managers with immediate effect. The suspensions, which took effect on Friday, 28 February were of Wimpie van Vuuren, senior manager: sales and  marketing; Johannes Blaauw, manager: cargo sales, and Abraham Nasab, manager: cargo operations.

Standard Bank has cautioned the public to be vigilant as incidents of vishing are becoming more prevalent, resulting in many clients losing their hard-earned money at the hands of criminal syndicates.

Some relief for motorists and consumers is expected on Wednesday, 4 March, as the Ministry of Mines and Energy has confirmed that Diesel 50 PPM will decrease 30 cents per litre, while 95 Octane Unleaded Petrol will remain unchanged

The just-released 2019 Fraser Institute survey of Mining Companies indicates a slight improvement in Namibia as an attractive mining jurisdiction.

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has predicted economic growth of 1.5% this year; however, a key sector such as agriculture is expected to remain in contraction.

The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) is a statutory pension fund that was created by the Namibian government to provide pension and other related benefits to civil servants as well as employees of participating institutions established by Acts of Parliament. GIPF is a defined pension fund that provides guaranteed pension benefits to its large membership base, and the benefits are defined in terms of the Rules of the Fund.

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Nico Smit said the loopholes created by the tax concessions for Export Processing Zone (EPZ) companies and certain manufacturing firms have long been a direct and substantial source of revenue loss for the government.

Telecommunications giant MTC has set its sights on providing low-cost houses to the homeless and targets to hand over close to 270 houses in the next two years, said Tim Ekandjo, chief human capital and corporate affairs officer at MTC.