31/12/2022
New Year'sMessage by Preident Hage Geingob:
Fellow Namibians,
It is New Year’s Eve, a time to celebrate endings
and a time to look forward in anticipation to new
beginnings. With the New Year comes new
thoughts, new ideas and new goals. It is also a
time of reflection, as we look back on the year
that was, on pleasant memories, as well as
unpleasant ones, on opportunities seized and
opportunities missed, on times of struggle and
times of victory, on those that arrived and those
that departed. One thing is for sure, in a year we
were called upon to reimage Namibia, we did so,
against all odds and created a new image of
Namibia; a Namibia no longer burdened by the
pessimistic atmosphere of an economic
downturn and Covid-19, but a Namibia moving
towards the green shoots on the horizon and the
optimism of economic revival and the promise of
a brighter future.
Indeed, we have navigated through heavy
storms, headwinds and rough waters but we
have done so with patience, poise and a
collective sense of purpose, ensuring that no
matter how difficult things seemed, we kept the
ship intact, keeping it on course towards the
shores of progress and prosperity.
After a protracted and costly two-year battle
against the unwelcome visitor of Covid-19, we
prevailed, with the help of our international
partners, we were able to lift all Covid-19
restrictions in August of this year, bringing to an
end the most devastating challenge this nation
has faced since independence. At this juncture,
let me thank all Namibians for their heroic
efforts and our partner countries for their
display of international solidarity. Together, we
weathered the storm and emerged more
resilient than ever.
Although we rejoice at the fact that we
overcame what seemed like an absolute
catastrophe, a sense of melancholy still lingers
as we remind ourselves of those Namibians who
did not make it through the difficult days of our
fight against Covid-19. They are casualties of a
war against an invisible enemy. We remember
their smiles, laughter and company. We shall
never forget them. In their memory, we must
endeavor to pursue our dream of prosperity and
work together in unity, so that we grab the low
hanging fruits that the New Year brings and
take our country to greater heights.
Fellow Namibians,
It has been said that, “Peace cannot be kept by
force. It can only be achieved by
understanding.” Understanding leads to
diplomacy and dialogue, for where diplomacy
fails and people stop talking to each other,
conflict begins. I am proud to say that
throughout the Year of Reimaging, Namibians
across the country have demonstrated the
maturity, patience and understanding needed to
maintain peace.
At the social level, it is pleasing to note that we
can agree to disagree without being
disagreeable. However, when it comes to
national interests, we can always set our
differences aside for the sake of peace and
harmony. For instance, when civil servants
decided to go on strike in August, through a
5
vote, I cancelled planned visits to Jamaica and
Cuba where I was scheduled to undertake key
engagements in the interest of advancing
Namibia’s bilateral interests. However, the
decision was made to forfeit these trips, in order
to avert what would have been an economically
devastating strike. I called a meeting of key
stakeholders, where consensus was reached
and we held hands. Therefore, we avoided what
could have been the most devastating strike to
our economy.
As we celebrate the conclusion of the Year 2022
and look forward to the New Year, let us
appreciate the fact that we live in a country
where peace prevails. Let us not take this peace
for granted. As we look forward to a year of new
promise, let us endeavor to keep the peace by
behaving responsibly and celebrating the dawn
of the New Year in a spirit of love, compassion
and understanding, keeping in mind that one
person’s freedom ends where another person’s
freedom begins. Therefore, let us go into the
New Year knowing that in this land blessed by
many gems and natural resources, unity is one
of our most precious treasures. It is our
collective responsibility to protect it and prevent
anyone from stealing it from us. There are those
that want to see Namibia crash and burn. Let us
hold hands in solidarity and continue to prevent
their efforts.
Fellow Namibians,
After a period characterized by protracted
economic headwinds and persistent droughts,
there are positive signs that our economy is on
the rebound and that 2023 promises to bring
with it better fortunes. With a projected 5.6%
growth in the second quarter next year, our
economy is expected to perform better in 2023,
than in the past two years. Agriculture, mining
and ICT are the main drivers for this growth and
given the fact that our Tourism Sector is
experiencing a post Covid-19 rebound, there is
room for more optimism in future. With the
acquisition of the world’s most advanced
diamond recovery vessel, The Benguela Gem by
Debmarine Namibia at a cost of US$ 420 Million,
new jobs were created and the diamond sector
is likely to see an annual increase of 45 percent.
Our experts also tell us that 2023 SACU
revenues will show marked improvement.
For these reasons, as we conclude 2022, we
have cause to look forward with optimism and a
renewed sense of an improving economic
situation at the dawn of 2023, and beyond. In
this regard, our country is now economically
healthier and with brighter prospects than the
recent past. The Harambee Prosperity Plan I and
II is our short-term impact plan, aiming to
accelerate implementation of our long-term
National Development Plans and Vision 2030.
The Government remains on track to deliver an
impactful economic recovery.
The green shoots on the horizon, are amplified
through efforts to develop a Green Hydrogen
ecosystem, and the recent discovery of
commercially viable oil reserves. In a world
determined to find solutions to reduce global
carbon dioxide emissions and to mitigate global
warming, Namibia holds the potential answer
through Green Hydrogen.
In this context, the Namibian Government has
taken the lead together with national and
international stakeholders to unlock the
massive potential of Green Hydrogen.
Therefore, the Government established the
Green Hydrogen Council, which for the past
three years has worked tirelessly to position
Namibia as one of the leading players in the
global market for Green Hydrogen. These efforts
have brought home unprecedented amounts of
new investments and partnerships.
Consequently, Namibians have visibly started to
benefit from the low hanging fruits in this
emergent sector.
In Egypt, during COP27, Namibia signed a
landmark agreement with the European Union
to collaborate on the production of Green
Hydrogen and the responsible extraction and
value addition to critical raw minerals in
Namibia. Following this agreement, Namibia
received pledges in grants valued at over
N$1.52 billion, to start developing a world-class
synthetic fuels industry through construction of
various Green Hydrogen related projects in the
Erongo and ǁKaras regions, starting as early as
2023.
In the same vein, His Excellency Robert Habeck,
the Vice Chancellor of Germany, visited Namibia
with a strong business delegation of 50 people.
The visit was to reinforce Europe’s most
industrialized nation’s support for Namibia in
various ways, including as a customer for Green
Hydrogen to be manufactured in Namibia.
Additionally, Government launched the Youth
for Green Hydrogen Scholarships through which
60 Master’s level and 30 technical and
vocational education scholarships were
awarded this year. Many more are to come in the
near future, to prepare Namibians to
successfully participate in the unfolding Green
Hydrogen economy.
The Government’s negotiations with Hyphen
have proceeded well and the implementation
agreement is expected to commence in the first
quarter of 2023, preceded by a feasibility study
reported to be in the amount of N$2.4 billion.
Thus, in the Green Hydrogen sector, the
agreements we have signed and the foreign
direct investment mobilized this year, bode well
for 2023. Once funding gets deployed, jobs will
be created, construction activity will commence
and the plans we have so carefully laid out in
this year will begin to bear fruit.
Fellow Namibians,
The discoveries of potential giant oil reserves in
the form of Graff and Venus reservoirs, offshore
Namibia in the Orange Basin, near Lüderitz by
Qatar Energy, Shell and Total Energies, are set
to positively transform the economic landscape
of our country and the well-being of our people.
These discoveries are ranked among the top 20
globally in the last decade. According to
international experts (Wood Mackenzie),
Namibia stands to receive N$500 billion in
Foreign Direct Investment in this regard.
Furthermore, with an estimated production of
6.5 billion barrels of oil, the discoveries could
earn Namibia between N$60 to N$95 billion
annually in taxes and royalties. It is estimated
that the two oil projects will generate over 3 600
jobs at the peak of production and double
Namibia’s Gross Domestic Product by 2040 to
about N$636 billion. Of course, further drilling
work and evaluations are ongoing to determine
the precise commercial viability of these finds.
However, the renewed interest means that
Namibia can expect increased foreign and
domestic direct investment inflows, not only
into the gas and oil sectors but also into the
broader economy, both in the short and medium
terms. This bodes well for the acceleration of
our economic recovery.
Fellow Namibians,
To ensure that benefits deriving from our
natural resources will not only accrue to the
current generation but are evenly shared with
future generations, we launched in May this
year, the Welwitschia Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Moreover, we are in discussions with friendly
countries that possess a wealth of experience
and policy know-how in the oil and gas sector to
help beef-up our policies and regulations. In this
way, Namibia will not only escape the “resource
curse,” but proudly take its place among the
league of oil and gas rich countries that are
successfully managing these resources for the
benefit of their people.
Fellow Namibians,
As a country, we are prepared for our
rendezvous with destiny; a future shaped by
information technology, robotics and the
Internet of Things (IoT). In this context, we
appointed an eight member Namibia Fourth
Industrial Revolution (4IR) Task Force, which
was led by Professor Anica Peters, with the
purpose of, amongst others, conducting a
country assessment to determine Namibia’s
readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
(4IR). Having successfully completed its work,
the Task Force presented its recommendations
to Government, which we plan to implement as
soon as possible. Furthermore, the landing of
the Google Equiano subsea cable and the
accompanying inland ICT infrastructure moves
Namibia one step closer to fully leverage the
opportunities presented by the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.
Given these positive scenarios, we should pull
ourselves out from the perennial frame of mind
of pessimism, and rather collectively put the
shoulder to the wheel with optimism, to realize
these national projects.
Therefore, let us all pull together as Namibian
citizens, each at his/her respective level of
responsibility to achieve inclusive and shared
prosperity in the Namibian House, where no one
should feel left out.
I themed 2022 as the Year of Reimaging, and
challenged all of us to endeavor to think anew
as a nation and move forward with renewed
enthusiasm and vision. I also said that a new
and different mental picture should guide the
actions we will undertake in the Year of
Reimaging. As we close 2022, there is no doubt
that we have been able to reimage our nation.
As a nation, we now have a good reason, to
cease looking backwards, but rather to look
ahead and pull forward into the direction of
inclusive progress and prosperity. We say
goodbye to 2022, the Year of Reimaging and say
welcome to 2023, the Year of Revival, which is
about reigniting the strength of a resurgent
nation, a nation that looks into the future with
renewed hope and optimism. It is time for our
collective revival, to shape our future, one step
at a time as we march towards shared
prosperity.
Happy New Year Namibia.
May you all have a prosperous 2023.
May God bless you all and may God bless the
'public of Namibia.'
