Geingob promises economic “miracles”

President Hage Geingob has promised economic miracles, with the government banking on recent oil discoveries in the country and the planned implementation of green energy projects. 

Geingob who was speaking on Monday after leading a delegation to the recently concluded World Economic Forum Annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, further called for patient when it comes to seeing positive results from investments.

 “The process of investors settling in a country brings opportunities to create jobs; people must consider what it takes to get on the job and what it takes to create jobs because it depends on how quickly the government reacts to it.Yes, we are all impatient because conditions are poor, but people want immediate results, which will come soon. We will soon announce miracles,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo maintains that it will take over 6 years for the country to see results from the recent oil discoveries. 

“There is a lot engineering work that has to be done to yield results, as for example job employment will not come from the production itself but from the associated industry tied to the start-up of the oil productions.” 

As a result, economic activity will always flow from the beginning to the end. 

The WEF provided an opportunity to highlight Namibia’s innovative approach to kick-starting Namibia’s economic recovery by leveraging Namibia’s renewable energy potential to contribute to a global just energy transition. 

The pronouncement by the President comes as investment advisory firm Cirrus Capital estimates that Namibia has the potential to generate over N$500 billion in revenue from oil-related taxes and royalties over the next decade. 

Cirrus believes Namibia’s oil industry has the potential to double government revenue to N$100 billion, with total government revenue of N$53.6 billion in the fiscal year 2021/22. 

The firm’s co-founder Rome Mostert believes Namibia’s oil industry has the potential to double government revenue to N$100 billion, with total government revenue of N$53.6 billion in the fiscal year 2021/22. 

The renowned analyst, however, warned that the opportunity cost will be massive if Namibia makes a policy mistake and discriminates against investors. 

Further reiterating that oil extraction in the country could take between 7 to 10 years if commercial viability of the find is confirmed. 

NAMCOR and its partners, Shell Namibia Upstream B.V and Qatar Energy, are said to have discovered a working petroleum system for light oil in the Orange Basin, 270 km from the town of Oranjemund, where drilling operations commenced in early December 2021 and were safely completed in early February 2022. 

PSG Namibia forecasts the country to rake in N$7.3 billion (US$502.1 million) in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) this year, up from N$5.7 billion (US$394.1 million) recorded in 2021, driven by increased investor confidence, higher commodity prices, and exploitable opportunities in the country’s renewable energy sector.

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