WINDHOEK, March 12 — Expectations of decreasing Namibia’s unemployment rate are partly dependent on investment opportunities worth about N$88 billion, which have the potential to create 122 000 jobs, according to an official from Namibia’s Investment Promotion and Development Board, Nangula Uaandja.
Uaandja told Namibian president Hage Geingob during a visit to state house that recent oil discoveries and developments that roped in green hydrogen had seen an influx of investment opportunities, while NIPD had a significant pipeline saturate with active investments.
Relating to the recent preferred bidder for Namibia’s green hydrogen project Hyphen Energy, Uaandja added that promoting Namibia had become an easy task, adding that the amount of active investments earmarked to create the 122,000 jobs, were “exclusive of the big investment of Hyphen Energy.
Renewable energy looks set to boost Namibia’s investment portfolio and help the country in rebuilding the economy and shaving off percentage points on unemployment.
Namibia’s unemployment rate reached a level of 36.8 percent in 2021, Namibian Tax Specialist Cameron Kotze said Thursday, adding that Namibia’s local economy had steadily declined since 205, when it had grown by 4.3 per cent.
“The decline in economic growth bottomed out in 2020 when it contracted by 8.5 percent. At the same time, unemployment has reached an alarmingly high level of 36.8 percent in 2021. It is expected that the unemployment rate will stabilise in the mid-30 range over the next few years,” said Kotze. – XINHUA
