Erindi Private Game Reserve is for sale

The Erindi Private Game Reserve has been put on the market for N$1.3 billion and its owners say that the buyer will most likely be Chinese.
The government will also consider buying the highly prized private game reserve that covers 70 719 hectares and boasts 15 000 head of game and over 300 bird species.
The majority shareholder of Erindi, Gert Joubert, announced yesterday that the entire game reserve - or a part of it - will be sold at N$20 000 per hectare.
Namibians also stand the opportunity to earn up to N$65 million in commission if they help find a buyer or partner for Erindi.
Commission of 5% will be paid to the successful agent, broker or facilitator of the transaction.
“We would prefer to sell a share of Erindi, but we cannot dictate to a buyer if he would like to buy a share (or the whole farm),” said Joubert.
He continued: “China would be a very suitable candidate.”
According to Joubert, Erindi needs to be developed to the next phase, where an emphasis is to be placed on upmarket international tourists that fly in every week, bringing between 200 and 400 visitors exclusively to Erindi.
He said China would be the rational choice as a buyer or investor.
Erindi will also be offered to government for purchase. The State would also be approached for approval to sell to other parties.
Joubert said the government is considered a natural choice for the purchase of Erindi, so it can complete its portfolio of game reserves.
He added that the government lacks a game reserve like Erindi in the central highland, which is strategically located between Windhoek and Swakopmund.
Government has been informed about the intention to sell Erindi, but Joubert said they were told they should have a purchase contract ready before the State can consider buying it.
The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Uahekua Herunga, told Namibian Sun yesterday that the ministry will consider making an offer.
“Personally I think that it will be a good opportunity to buy Erindi, but it depends on the affordability.”
When asked what he thinks about the asking price, Herunga said he is not up to date with the hectares and surface area of Erindi, and could therefore not comment.
Joubert said it was very difficult to calculate a valuation for Erindi, because there is nothing similar to compare it to.
He said recently the 13 000-hectare Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa was sold for nearly R1 billion to that country’s government.
“Should you compare Erindi to anything that is available in Namibia or South Africa, a price of N$20 000 per hectare sounds rather cheap.”

Namibia: industrial park negotiations at Walvis Bay

Negotiations between the Walvis Bay municipality and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, for the purchase of 400 hectares of land in the harbour town through the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC), are in its final stages.
The NDC aims to buy the land in order to develop a pioneering industrial estate.
In an interview with Nampa yesterday, NDC Chief Executive Officer Koos Standford said the estate would bring about development in various sectors, including steel, construction, pharmaceuticals, salt, power, mineral beneficiation, biomass and agro-processing.
It also envisages a residential development which would provide accommodation for employees, a business park for traders and recreation for tourism.
The site is strategically located close to the Walvis Bay airport, and a few metres from the railway line.
Standford said preliminary development costs for the entire estate amount to about N$22 billion.
He said as soon as the land is secured, the design for infrastructure and service reticulation will start immediately, with construction possibly starting in 2015.
“A development of this magnitude shall be spearheaded by the government, in smart partnership with private sector through the principle of global value chains, linkages and the Industry’s Growth-at-Home strategy,” he said.
Standford said the industrial estate has the potential to facilitate thousands of jobs and businesses, and significant investments with reference to capital, appropriate technologies and human resources.
It would also generate income for local and central government through rates and taxes payable by operators and employees engaged in the estate.
He added that the government was exploring smart partnership investments with countries such as Germany, South Africa, China, India, Korea and Indonesia for the development of the industrial park.
Standford is one of the members of the Namibian business delegation led by Minister of Trade and Industry Calle Schlettwein, who are currently attending a three-day Partnership Summit in Bangalore, India.

News from Namibian ‘Prophetess’ Justina

Amid a growing public outcry about self-proclaimed prophets, some of whom are allegedly ripping off or abusing their followers, the Onankali-based prophetess Justina Haihambo is at it again, claiming to have received a “divine oracle” to warn the Namibian nation about a coming natural catastrophe.
She is predicting that a comet will hit Namibia in two years’ time, causing mysterious diseases and a major catastrophe. Haihambo has been predicting a comet impact for many years but the fact that it never came to pass does not seem to worry her numerous followers. The calamity was initially predicted to happen in the late 1990s and the early 2000s but nothing happened. In an undated one-page epistle currently being distributed in the northern regions, Haihambo has shifted the date of the falling comet to “after two years”.
She says the resultant catastrophe will cause many deaths and general anarchy.
Haihambo started her vocation as prophetess in the early 1970s. Although many people no longer take her predictions seriously, she still enjoys a significant following and has convinced many of her followers to settle at her Onankali compound in the anticipation of the predicted catastrophe. “She is the messenger of God for our times,” said one loyal follower who claimed that the prophetess had even predicted the dry spell currently affecting many parts of the Oshikoto Region. Her followers travel from all corners of the country for a night-long prayer retreat that is held at ‘The House of God’ - as Haihambo’s compound is known - on the last day of every month. A retired Lutheran pastor, Reverend Petrus Uugulu, provides pastoral care to the pilgrims.
This function was previously performed by the late Reverend Titus Ngula, who for many years was the de facto spokesman and spiritual director for Haihambo. Throughout the years some disillusioned followers have left and spoken out against Haihambo but they were soon labelled apostates and shunned by their former friends.

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Namibia: silly season starts as Swapo/RDP flag fights resume

The traditional tug-of-war between the ruling Swapo Party and the opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) about which party may place its flag on which tree was revived recently when the RDP put up a few flags on trees near the shebeens at Olupandu in the Omusati Region.
Swapo supporters interpreted the RDP action as an uncalled-for provocation and reacted by putting up five times as many flags of their own. With emotions heating up, Swapo party leaders intervened by organising a party meeting where party members and supporters were urged to ignore any provocation from opposition parties.
Speakers at Saturday’s meeting urged Swapo members to ignore opposition flags unless placed on their premises, in which case they have to report the incident to the police.
The Swapo coordinator for the neighbouring Ongenga district, Sakaria Haimudi, who was the guest speaker, said: “Some opposition parties are already provoking us but we should not react to such provocations.”
He encouraged all Namibians of voting age to register as voters. “We, as Swapo members, should set the example and register as voters to be able to elect leaders of our preference,” he
said. The host coordinator, Gabes Hamukoshi, said the registration process was slow and had quite a few challenges at the beginning, but the process is now running smoothly in his district.
The meeting was also attended by Etayi Constituency councillor Bernadinus Shekutamba and the chairperson of the Oshakati Town Council, Teddy Kamwanka.

Namibian man kills snake, bitten to death

A 43-year-old man from Warmbad in the //Karas Region killed a snake but died hours later from the reptile’s bite.
Police yesterday said Benedictus Matroos was asked by neighbours to help kill a snake at their residence on Saturday around 19h00.

“He managed to kill the snake but was allegedly bitten in the process,” police said in a statement, adding that Matroos did not realise that he had been bitten.

Matroos returned to his home in the Namarust location and told his wife, Mina, that he had just killed a snake. His observant wife, however, suspected that there was something wrong with Matroos’ voice, because his speech was slurred. She then asked him if the snake had bitten him, and Matroos said it had not, while lying down on the bed. The wife allegedly inspected him and discovered some bite marks on his right arm. She called for medical assistance but Matroos died shortly thereafter.

Police suspect that Matroos was bitten by a bruinkapel, also known as the Cape Cobra or Yellow Cobra, which is found in Namibia, Botswana, Western, Eastern and Northern Cape, and the Free State in South Africa. The species is commonly found in dry sandy areas, semi-urban areas such as informal settlements, disused termite mounds or rodent burrows.

It has a very powerful and fast acting neurotoxic venom, stronger than any other cobra in Africa. Its bite is life threatening and is a medical emergency since it is responsible for the majority of snake-bite-related fatalities in its range.

There is, however, an anti-venom, which, although required in large amounts, is very effective.

Namibia: Kudu Gas at international oil expo

The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, NAMCOR, will partake in one of the world’s biggest upstream exploration and production expo’s. Scheduled to run over 4 days, the expo will start on 4 February and will be hosted in Houston, Texas.
The North American Prospect Expo serves as a viable platform to raise Namibia’s profile as an attractive investment destination in the petroleum industry sector. According to NAMCOR the rationale behind partaking in the expo is two – fold, aiming to retain existing relations whilst helping to forge new partnerships, and to explain the geology of Namibia to potential investors with a specific focus on the oil and gas opportunities also known as hydrocarbon potential.

The Kudu Gas and Data Management projects will be featured prominently at the event. The Kudu Gas project will be marketed as the main strategic power generation project while the data management project will assist NAMCOR market Namibia’s hydrocarbon exploration potential internationally on the basis of the data at hand.
NAMCOR’s Managing Director Obeth Kandjoze described the company’s participation in the NAPE Expo as an important oil and gas platform that offers an immense network base to NAMCOR and Namibia. NAMCOR Kudu Gas Project Leader Manfredt Muundjua is equally upbeat about the Namibian state owned petroleum company’s participation in NAPE 2014 and said, “It gives NAMCOR and the Namibian petroleum sector appropriate publicity, while at the same time affording a unique opportunity to interact with service providers and potential investors.”

Namibia: Walvis Bay Mayor warns against housing scam

Walvis Bay Mayor, Uilika Nambahu, warned the residents of the harbour town not to be caught unawares by people who are running a housing scam under the guise of the Properties Section of the Municipality of Walvis Bay.

The Mayor made this statement during the first Ordinary Council meeting for 2014 that was held in the Kuisebmond Council Chambers on Tues-day evening.

For the first time the Governor of the Erongo Region, Mr Cleophas Mutjavikua delivered his Annual Address after the completion of the Council meeting.

Mayor Nambahu started her address by saying that 2014 is a great year, brimming with many possibilities and opportunities while at the same time it could also be a very challenging year as it is one year closer to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets of 2015 while at the same time there are fifteen years left before Government's ambitious Vision 2030.

She said that while success stories are being recorded on many fronts such as education and training, employment creation, literacy, poverty eradication, smart partnerships and international cooperation to mention but only a few, several obstacles have refused to give our nation the right of way, in that these obstacles have shown a rare form of stubbornness and continued to hamper development.

However, she said, their resolve as a Council and all their associates have always been to face these challenges head-on and keep alive a resolve to be resilient even in the face of outright opposition. To this end, they must redouble their efforts towards the provision of shelter and other basic human needs as a matter of urgency.

She also said that she believes the town's residents have all the faith in what they can do together, that is why they have exercised Job-like patience for the fulfillment of all Council's promises to them.

Mayor Nambahu then announced that, "Sadly, we have of late uncovered, rather to our surprise that there are people within our City who are making rounds registering people for what is alleged to be a housing scheme aimed at placing people in show houses or requesting people in need of houses to register themselves.

These criminally minded individuals are doing this under the guise that they represent the Municipality of Walvis Bay's Properties Section. It is further being said that in registering, members of the community are guaranteed a dwelling when the show houses will ultimately be built.

To this, I wish to say the following: While we appreciate the urgency in the need for the provision of housing, to date, the Municipality of Walvis Bay has not appointed anyone to conduct a process of registering people in need of housing.

Therefore, I would like to request whoever is involved in this practice to desist from it altogether while I request the community to avail to us further information so that we can pass such information to law enforcement agents and at the same time request that no one should register themselves in such dubious schemes."

She continued her speech by saying that she wants to place on record her greatest regret at the loss of life and property as a result of a shack fire that occurred the previous night in Kuisebmond and noted that this is indeed a great loss to all and a constant reminder of the dire living conditions of our people and the urgency needed to deliver adequate and appropriate shelter to them.

In this regard, she offered her and Council's heartfelt and deepest sympathy and condolences to the bereaved family.

Me Nambahu reiterated the Council's stance on supporting, consolidating and initiating Public Private Partnerships aimed at fast-tracking meaningful development, prosperity generation and quality of life advancements.

In this regard, she concluded, "we remain open to new ideas and creative solutions aimed at solving and mitigating our city's current and future challenges. We extend our hand to you and seek your involvement in joining us to make Walvis Bay a City, second to None."

Only one agenda item was dealt with, namely the rephrasing of a Council resolution and after the Governor's address the open meeting was adjourned, followed by a closed "Council-in-Committee" meeting.

Fuel price rise on 05 February 2014

The price of petrol is set to increase by 38c per litre this week.

According to well-informed sources the Ministry of Mines and Energy indicated this week that the price of both petrol and diesel at the pump will rise at midnight on Tuesday (effective Wednesday 5 February).

The latest fuel price rises will mean:

95 Unleaded to go up by 38 cents per litre to a new price of N$12.26.
Diesel (0.05%) will rise by 30 cents per litre and,
Diesel (0.005%) will up by 34 cents per litre.

Namibia: car crash outside of Karibib

One person was killed in a car crash on the B2 road just outside Karibib early on Saturday morning. Five passengers, including two children, were on route to Usakos when the vehicle they were in left the road and overturned.

From the scanty information available, it appears that one of the occupants, (possibly the driver) of the vehicle was flung from a white sedan traveling in the direction of Usakos.

The accident occurred on the B2 route about 1 kilometre outside Karibib, emergency services reported.

The crash was first reported by the coastal road safety team, West Coast Safety Initiative (WCSI), who confirmed that "a sedan vehicle with five occupants (including two children) overturned after the driver apparently lost control in a bend, resulting in the vehicle veering off the road and overturning."

The name of the person who died in the accident on Saturday had not yet been confirmed by the time of publication.

WCSI said that "other injuries sustained were described as serious and as minor respectively. The injured were all transported to the Usakos State Hospital for further medical observation and treatment.

The organisers of the WCSI said they were publishing the images, not for entertainment or sensation, "but rather to create awareness and for educational purposes" about the need for road safety.

Three killed in crash near Dolphin Park between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay in Namibia

Three people were killed in a horrific head-on collision on the B2 between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund late on Saturday night.

Two - as yet unidentified - females and one male died in what appears to have been a high-speed crash on a stretch of road near Dolphin Park .

The wreckages of a silver Volkswagen Polo Vivo (registration number BX 27 BW GP) and a Toyota Cressida with Walvis Bay registration number disrupted traffic on the B2 and had to be towed away under adverse traffic night-time conditions.

Emergency services were on the scene within minutes and the drivers of the vehicles were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The precise cause of the crash on Saturday night is not yet clear, but it marked the second fatal accident on the B2 within 24 hours, raising the death toll on 1 February to four.

Responding to an update from West Coast Safety Initiative at around 22:00 on Saturday night, one eye-witness said she “just drove past there. It is really bad that everyone stops. Very confusing for moving traffic.

"The car in front of me actually stopped on the side of the road blocking the flow of traffic completely. Hats off to our emergency services they did an excellent job of getting the car moving again and guiding the traffic with torch lights."

The Walvis Bay Traffic authorities have repeatedly warned against recklessness on the roads, as the B2 route has become notorious for risky driving.

Shortly after the crash a passerby reported online that “about 1 km before the accident a bakkie tried to overtake me and the car in front of me on a solid line, that I had to almost come to a complete stop to avoid a head-on collision. I had four small children in the car. What the hell are people thinking these days... No one cares anymore!"

The rampage on the coastal roads has become a serious concern, leading to repeated calls from the public to create a dual carriageway on the B2. The first such pledge to construct the dual carriageway was made by the Walvis Bay municipality more than four decades ago, in the early 1960's.

As a result of accidents over the past weekend the death toll on Namibia’s roads now exceeds 200 for the year to date, with more than 400 people injured thus far. The country's roads are rated among the most dangerous in the world.