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Meme Kapana take-away
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- Waldo
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Amidst limited employment opportunities in Namibia, women in Windhoek have decided to do something about their fate. They started selling Kapana at the Wanahenda Bus Stop in Katutura with the long-term vision to generate an income and educate their children. Sophia Johannes (picture) is self-employed and sells Kapana, a male dominated market. Having missed out on the chance to attend school due to the colonial era, she is not sitting back and waiting for government hand-outs. (Photograph by Lorato Khobetsi)
Phosphate EIA a ruse
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- Clemencia Jacobs
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The area off the west coast of Namibia which will be mined for phosphate should have been studied in detail to provide baseline conditions. Rod Braby, coordinator of the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) project, says this has not been done and most findings presented in the environmental impact assessment report for the Sandpiper project are from desktop studies using insufficient or extrapolated data.
The Sandpiper project is based on a marine phosphate deposit situated about 60km offshore and 150km south of Walvis Bay in water depths of 180-300m. Recently, the developers of the project submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. In the report, no significant environmental issues regarding the marine component were found
However, conservationists have cried foul saying that the project poses a threat to the country’s fisheries industry as it could result in a loss of habitat, impairment of food chain functionality, possible release of hydrogen sulphide into the water column, removal of typical spawning and feeding grounds and interference with fish behaviour.
Tourism saturated – NTB
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- Nyasha Francis Nyaunwa
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The Namibia Tourism Board CEO, Digu //Naobeb believes there is market saturation in the local tourism industry and supply is now outstripping demand as evidenced by the sluggish growth recorded in recent years.
In an exclusive interview with the Economist this week, //Naobeb said while the number of tourism related businesses had increased to 3600 up from 640 in 2004, the arrival figures have grown at a nominal rate.
//Naobeb added that average occupancy rates of all types of accommodation establishments in the country have remained subdued in recent years, recording figures below 50% on average.
“What we are observing is that we have reached maturity levels, the figures have remained constant for a number of years now.
“... if you compare back in 2004 when we first registered tourism businesses, we had 640. Now we are sitting with about 3600 businesses while the arrival figures continue to grow at a very nominal rate,” //Naobeb said.
Epangelo misses out on Otjikoto
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- Nyasha Francis Nyaunwa
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Despite widespread panic in the mining industry following the establishment of state owned Epangelo mining company which was set to have a stake in all strategic minerals in the country, the company is in the lurch once again after failing to secure a stake in the Otjikoto Gold project.
Canadian Junior gold miner, B2Gold recently snatched a 92% interest in the Otjikoto Gold Project in a deal in which all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Auryx were transferred to B2Gold including a cash payment of US$0.001 for each Auryx share.
The other 8% shareholding in Otjikoto is owned by black economic empowerment group, EVI mining led by Dr Leake Hangala, Joshua Kaitungwa and businessman Sidney Martin.
In November last year, Epangelo was again left out in the cold after reports emerged that Swiss-based commodities trader, Glencore had been offered Exxaro’s 50.04% stake in Rosh Pinah Zinc and Lead mine in a deal worth US$56 million.
Katuka helps build careers
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The Katuka Mentorship Programme, which aims to empower and encourage entrepreneurs, held its first training session for 2012 this week. Fifteen new mentees (right) formally joined the programme on Wednesday under the guidance of seasoned trainer, Sabina Ruegg. The young women will be guided and mentored throughout the year by their designated mentors (left) on how they can climb the corporate ladder and eventually start their own businesses. The Katuka Mentorship Programme was started in 2001 by the late Lena Markus, then Businesswoman of the Year. The programme has trained more than 200 women since its inception. It is sponsored by Telecom Namibia and by Namibia Economist. (Photographs by Yvonne Amukwaya)
