News from Namibia and beyond, 16 June.
Breaking the currency peg arrangement with South Africa can lead to hyperinflation in Namibia overnight, analysts have warned, due to its heavy reliance on imports from South Africa.
The controversy surrounding Namibia breaking the peg arrangement with South Africa can lead to hyperinflation, analysts have warned.If the p
The discussion surrounding adopting a different regime should be considered carefully as it could have huge implications on the Namibian currency, particularly for SMEs and key economic sectors such as agriculture and mining.
While the benefits of Namibia currently being a member of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) outweigh the costs, a stronger currency can have a positive impact on SMEs and predictability of the currency is crucial.
2. Namibia needs to reinforce its financial and related bills urgently to avoid being grey-listed by the FATF due to weak measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Chairperson of the National Council Lukas Muha says Namibia needs to urgently reinforce its financial and related bills to evade a potential
Grey-listing could potentially impact foreign direct investment, trade with other jurisdictions, national trade-related payments and revenue for diplomatic missions, among other things.
Muha was speaking at the ongoing financial and related bills workshop in the Erongo region on Monday.
The workshop aims to provide members of parliament with an enhanced understanding of legislative proposals due for consideration during the special session of the National Council to prevent potential international sanctions.
3. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, will lead a roundtable discussion about the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa with heads of state and representatives of development partners on 22 June 2023 on the sidelines of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact convened in Paris. A week ago he was widely reported as saying that Africa has the necessary partnerships and technologies to eradicate hunger during the opening session of the 8th Africa Agribusiness and Science Week (AASW) in Durban, South Africa.
Africa has the necessary partnerships and technologies to eradicate hunger, said African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) President Dr. Akinw
4. A performance audit report has revealed that Namibia's drought-relief programme failed to provide intervention to registered beneficiaries during their time of need, while food was not provided on a monthly basis and in the required amount.
Drought-relief intervention was not provided to registered beneficiaries during their time of need, while food was not provided on a monthly
Traditional authorities did not adhere to the set criteria during the registration process leading to more people being registered, and food was not distributed in full packages as some items took a long time to arrive to the regional councils' warehouses.
The Office of the Prime Minister did not adequately monitor the implementation of the programme, and progress reports on the implementation of the programme were not produced regularly, while an impact assessment was also not conducted to determine its efficiency and effectiveness to inform future planning.
5. The Chinese embassy claims that the Karibib-Usakos road upgrade project is not funded by the Chinese government and that it did not participate in the process that saw seven Chinese companies being shortlisted for the job.
The Chinese embassy says the upgrade of the Karibib-Usakos road is not funded by its government and thus did not participate in the process
The Roads Authority received only three bids from Namibian companies for the upgrade, and the project is being financed by Germany's state development bank, KfW.
Namibian companies will still benefit from the project as they will be afforded 25% of the value of the project to complete, and the winning bidder will be required to work with four Namibian contractors.
6. The Namibian government plans to introduce a Bill to Parliament seeking to modify common law principles to prevent recognition of same-sex marriages solemnized in other countries.
The proposed Bill comes in response to a recent Supreme Court judgment that recognized the spousal rights of same-sex couples married abroad.
Various organizations and leaders have expressed their opposition to the Supreme Court's decision, leading to calls for parliamentary action to overturn it.
See also this reference in a specialist US LGBTQ news outlet.