July deadline looms for climate fund bid
Namibia is working to finalise a key investment plan that could unlock at least $250m in funding for the country's green industrialisation agenda, with a submission deadline set for the end of July.
The Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme (NGH2P) is preparing its Sectoral Transformation Investment Plan (s-TIP) under the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Industry Decarbonisation Programme, with the document forming the basis of the country's application for the funds.
"Multilateral development banks are assisting us in this process, and representatives will visit on 22 June to review our findings and assess what we have put together. We will submit our Sectoral Transformation Investment Plan by the end of July. There will then be a two-week period for public scrutiny in August. We will submit the final plan to the CIF Trust Fund Committee for consideration at its meeting in late September or early October. Should we receive the green light, we will then begin discussions around implementation," said Joseph Mukendwa, interim head of Namibia's Green Hydrogen Programme.
Mukendwa said he was satisfied with a stakeholder engagement session hosted in Lüderitz on 8 June.
"We gained valuable insights that will enable us to develop a robust and comprehensive plan. The discussions were particularly valuable because we heard directly from a wide range of stakeholders in the region, including traditional authorities, the governor and the local authority, about the interventions they would like to see to address challenges facing not only the region but the country as a whole. All the inputs received will be incorporated into the project pipeline, local training initiatives and MSME support interventions," he said.
James Hawanga, constituency councillor for Karasburg East, said the breadth of participation had given the process credibility.
"The value of today's engagement lies in the fact that different voices were brought together in one forum. We had regional leadership, local authorities, traditional leaders, public enterprises, development partners, project developers, community representatives, youth, women and technical experts. This is how development planning should be conducted. It must be informed by the people who understand the realities on the ground," he said.
Hawanga said communities expected the consultation to produce tangible results and called on government to return with feedback.
"The inputs gathered should be taken seriously and reflected in the process going forward. The people of //Kharas and Namibia expect that this engagement will ultimately lead to tangible outcomes. We also encourage the government to return to the region and provide feedback on the application and review processes. Communities must know what happened to their contributions, what decisions were taken and what steps were followed. Feedback is not merely a courtesy; it is an essential part of accountability," he said.
Mukendwa said the Lüderitz session was only the first of several planned consultations across the country.
"We need to continue engaging with communities and return to report back to the people we have consulted. Going forward, there are several regions where we still need to conduct similar engagements. We held the first consultation in the Erongo Region and the second in the //Kharas Region. We also need to engage stakeholders in the Hardap and Kunene regions. We will assess which other regions would benefit from similar consultations and gather further input on developments taking place on the ground," he said.
He acknowledged that awareness of green hydrogen and green industrialisation remained limited at community level and said communication needed to become more accessible.
"We talk extensively about green industrialisation and the opportunities it presents, but we cannot develop effective solutions without engaging the people on the ground who understand the challenges. Many participants indicated that they were hearing some of this information for the first time. We need to explain these concepts in local languages. I believe we may be missing an important opportunity. If we want to bring our people along on this journey, we must translate some of this highly technical language into simple, understandable terms and communicate it in local languages," he said.You said: A few more headlines, kindly
