Dylan Mukoroli
There’s no shame in admitting that Covid-19 has given the Namibian economy a proper beating, and we still feel the effects. The Russian-Ukraine special military operation/invasion has also not made things more encouraging.
But one thing to have come out of this is perhaps the greatest drive, push and political will for economic diversification. This will, in return, have great prospects for economic growth, job creation and economic literature with regard to economic diversification and economic complexity.
The term Hagenomics stems from the economic thinking, efforts and economic modus operandi that President Hage Geingob has been advocating for since his inception into the highest office. It is only right and just that we give it a term that reflects the economic scenarios stemming from his leadership.
Economic complexity can be defined as the composition of a country’s productive output and represents the structures that emerge to hold and combine knowledge. The work currently being done by the National Planning Commission, the economic advisory office in the Presidency and Harvard Growth Lab will greatly inform and change Namibia`s economic scenery.
The work that is being done will allow for greater responsive economic planning and ensure economic policies are realistic and growth-oriented.
Onto green hydrogen, no phrase has been used more by the administration than green hydrogen. The term is not just being championed locally but His Excellency has been promoting its prospects on prominent international stages and platforms. The region by green hydrogen superpowers, such as Belgium, indeed gives assurance that international lobbying is taking off.
Perhaps the most layman explanation and analogy on green hydrogen was done at the Namibia National Students Organisation’s (Nanso) congress plenaries by presidential economic advisor James Myupe.
He gave the most basic, yet exciting overview of what green hydrogen is, its prospects in Namibia, the process of producing green hydrogen, and exciting investments that will change the economic landscape as we know it.
We have surprisingly learned that Namibia is being termed a green hydrogen superpower. Surely, the right amount of momentum is building up, and we refuse to be left out in such exciting development.
Encouragingly so, there needs to be more literacy around the issue and prospects of green hydrogen as mentioned above. The country at large must understand exactly what it is that the government is trying to achieve. There must be a national information sharing program on green hydrogen. The backing from the masses towards this will greatly add to the overall success of the green hydrogen agenda.
We learn from the Harvard Growth Lab that there are great expectations for economic growth for the next few financial years. When one couples that with the growth of green hydrogen, the situation gets more encouraging. The Harvard Growth Lab further draws out attention to Namibia`s economic structure, market dynamics, strategy space and growth opportunities.
This is particularly important, as each component outlines real-time data and information on the scope of Namibia’s economy and complexity. Data from the Harvard Growth Lab indicates that with the unlocking of diversified opportunities, economic growth is set to edge over 4%.
This is the kind of growth needed to create jobs, eradicate poverty and revive the infrastructure sector and its technical jobs.
Simply said, not if but when we, as a country, successfully pull off this green hydrogen agenda, there will be much that we can look forward to.
Another important economic component brought forth by Hagenomics is our very own sovereign wealth fund, named the Welwitschia Fund. The fund is centred on enhancing national resilience by insulating the socio-economic structure against cyclical shocks while promoting intergenerational prosperity for all Namibians through the distribution of benefits flowing from the present utilisation of the country’s natural resource endowments.
The fund will also ensure Namibia does not lose out on key investments in Silicon Valley and other markets that always guarantee returns. Another meaningful approach that the fund needs to embark on is an Invest in Namibia initiative, where the fund aligns its funding towards Namibian start-ups that meet the mark and have the ability to disrupt the MSME space.
The above brings forth a new much-needed debate, which is the case for government intervention in business. These are the mechanisms a government introduces, such as SOEs, pro-growth policies, investment sovereign funds, and so forth.
As a country, there is much intervention by government in the business sector. A wholistic debate must be had on how a SOEs-private sector social compact will build social capital and a new industry growth facilitation structure for the country.