Latest news with #southwestAfrica
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Angolan Taxi Strike Enters Second Day With Three Reported Dead
At least three people were reported killed during Angola's taxi-strike unrest, with banks and the country's biggest shopping mall closing their doors as the shutdown entered a second day. The government reported more than 100 arrests in disturbances sparked by the protests over surging fuel prices, which tapped into public frustration over the high cost of living in the oil-producing southwest African nation.
News24
22-07-2025
- Business
- News24
Namibia unveils new plan to grow by 7%
For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page. Namibia unveiled an ambitious development plan targeting average economic growth of 7% over the next five years, as it seeks to restore its upper-middle-income status by the end of the decade. The arid southwest African nation was downgraded by the World Bank to lower-middle-income earlier this month after its gross national income per capita fell slightly below the $4 496 (R8 700) threshold to maintain the higher status, amid weaker economic activity and increased population growth. The economy grew 3.7% last year from 4.4% in 2023, due to a decline in mining activity. 'We take this to be a temporary setback,' President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said in the foreword to her government's latest national development plan published Monday. 'It is possible to increase the per capita income above $6 000 by 2030.' The plan seeks to increase Namibia's GDP per capita by prioritising green hydrogen, renewable energy, and value-added manufacturing to boost growth. It wants to almost double its renewable energy capacity to 700 megawatts by 2028 and create 30 000 green jobs by 2030. Green hydrogen, in particular, is expected to anchor new industrial development and support clean energy exports. The country is also targeting significant increases in its production of oil and gas by the end of the decade. Namibia, one of the world's top uranium producers, is positioning itself as a hub for green hydrogen and critical minerals. It also expects to begin the production of offshore oil and gas discoveries as early as 2029. It seeks to increase the share of manufacturing in its GDP to 18% from 15.6%. To finance its goals, the government will draw on domestic and international public and private finance, while channelling resource revenues — particularly from mining, oil, gas, and green hydrogen — into strategic investments.
Bloomberg
22-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Namibia Unveils Bold Reform to Regain Upper-Middle-Income Status
Namibia unveiled an ambitious development plan targeting average economic growth of 7% over the next five years, as it seeks to restore its upper-middle-income status by the end of the decade. The arid southwest African nation was downgraded by the World Bank to lower-middle-income earlier this month after its gross national income per capita fell slightly below the $4,496 threshold to maintain the higher status, amid weaker economic activity and increased population growth. The economy grew 3.7% last year from 4.4% in 2023, due to a decline in mining activity.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Duke of Sussex visits Angola in support of landmine clearance charity
The Duke of Sussex has visited Angola and attended a discussion with the country's president on removing landmines, a charity he is patron of has said. Landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust said that during the meeting President Joao Lourenco 'expressed his intention to continue to support our work'. In 2019, Harry donned body armour and a protective visor while setting off a controlled explosion in a partially cleared minefield similar to one visited by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales. He was highlighting the ongoing threat of the munitions in Angola, the same nation his mother visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons. Just months before she died in a car crash, Diana, wearing a protective visor and vest, walked through a minefield being cleared by the Halo Trust in the south-west African country. James Cowan, chief executive of the charity, said: 'It was an honour to have an audience with His Excellency President Lourenco today alongside Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to discuss Halo's continued demining efforts in Angola. 'We thanked him for his extraordinary dedication to and investment in the vision of a mine-free country, and he expressed his intention to continue to support our work with a further significant contract for the next three years. 'Our partnership is strengthened and renewed, and we are grateful to President Lourenco for his leadership on this critical issue.' During his 2019 trip, the Duke of Sussex delivered a call to action to help rid the world of landmines. He said Angola's continued problem with the buried munitions would likely have been solved if his mother had lived. Diana spoke out against the sale and use of landmines and famously called for an international ban on them during her 1997 trip. She strode through a cleared path in a Huambo minefield, and the images of her in body armour and a mask gave the anti-landmine campaign global recognition.
