Economic Progress Since Independence – Klaus Schade

Namibia’s population is young. In 2011, 45 percent of the population was 18 years of age or younger and even 63 percent 27 years or younger. Hence, almost two out of three Namibians have hardly any memory of the country at the time of Independence. Therefore, our 27th Anniversary of Independence provides an opportunity to […]

Supply and Demand Forces versus Price Controls – Klaus Schade

Remember, about ten years ago? Uranium prices peaked at USD135.00 per pound after climbing continuously over more than three years from about USD20.00 per pound. However, the financial and economic crisis hit the commodity sector and uranium prices dropped to about USD40.00 per pound. They recovered again before the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi reactors […]

Pubic debt and Public Investment – By Emmet Kiberd

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive and ambitious set of targets designed to support sustainable economic and social transformation between now and 2030. In Namibia, there have been, over the years, many ambitious sets of development targets, including the recent Harambee Prosperity Plan. In such situations, one of the most important roles for […]

Roads vs Streets: the Economic and Social Cost – Martin Mendelsohn

A few years ago, I read that Namibia has the highest number of deaths per capita from vehicle accidents in the world. I decided that there probably aren’t statistics for the worse off places, but it’s something that’s been bothering me ever since… I’ve slowly come to realise why Namibia may have such a high […]

Rural-Urban Migration – A Blessing in Disguise? Klaus Schade

Namibia’s urban population increased from 28 percent of the total population in 1991 to 47 percent in 2015 and is expected to rise further to 60 percent in 2030. This trend is not unique for Namibia, but can be observed in developing countries across the world. The visible signs of this trend are among others […]

Housing and sustainable urban development in Namibia – By Dylan van Wyk

It is estimated that by 2030 about 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. The developing world in particular, has seen a huge increase in rural to urban migration. This is especially evident in many African countries, Namibia being no exception. Based on data from the 2011 Namibia Population and Housing census […]

How can Namibia’s Mining Sector Contribute To Sustainable Development?

When the terms ‘mining’ and ‘sustainable development’ are used in conjunction, it raises some rather perplexing questions and issues given the strong juxtaposition in their meanings. Mining in its absolute nature is a finite activity with an expected time frame of operation, whereas sustainable development refers to a process which ensures that economic activity focuses […]

SASSCAL – promoting knowledge-based policy- and decision-making in support of attaining the SDGs – Br Dr Peter Erb

Weather and the atmosphere ignore national boundaries, as do fluxes of water, food and migrating people. Many ecological processes and mechanisms link neighbouring countries functionally. The fate of downstream riparian communities may depend on decisions taken by upstream communities in a different country; similarly, fire, drought and epidemics are accompanied and partly controlled by trigger […]