Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Bank of Namibia (BoN) has added its voice to the concerns of analysts on the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the country’s economy and fuel prices.
The BoN leadership yesterday paid president Hage Geingob a courtesy visit. BoN deputy governor Ebson Uanguta said Namibia’s economic growth largely depends on the mining industry, as well as the tertiary sector, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict could threaten these.
“Russia is not a small player in a number of global commodity products, and it is an especially big player in the diamond industry,” he said.
Russia contributes to almost 12% of global products. The country contributes 16,6% in global gas exports, and 11% in wheat. “If you take the combination of Russia and Ukraine in terms of wheat, it almost accounts for one third of the global supply.
“The great risk we are facing now is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine … We need to recognise that those two countries, especially Russia, are not small players in a number of global commodity products …
“Certainly, some of these key products, like oil and, in our case, wheat, have a direct bearing on the livelihoods of our people. It is really a situation we need to monitor,” Uanguta said.
He said sanctions have already been imposed on Russia’s diamond industry. “At the moment, when diamonds are supplied, you do not really know – especially when it comes to retailers – whether the diamond is from Namibia or Russia.
“If those sentiments of classifying diamonds for instance as blood diamonds kick in, that may have serious implications on the demand for diamonds overall. But, we hope we are not going to reach that level,” he said.
Blood diamonds are diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army’s war efforts, or a warlord’s activities. BoN governor Johannes !Gawaxab said he shared these fears with the De Beers Group leadership, although they said they have a distinctive way to identify Namibian diamonds.
Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, the presidential adviser on constitutional affairs and private sector interface, said diamond consumers in the United States (US) are beginning to boycott diamonds.
“We must be aware of the risks, really serious risks, that can affect that sector if those consumers continue to call for boycotts of diamonds,” she said.
PETROL PRICE COULD GET WORSE Uanguta said if the current trend of increases in the oil price continues the country can expect the current N$17 per litre to rise.
“Already, as we are seeing, South Africa is estimating that their pump price for oil is going to be in the range of R40 per litre. We are already standing at more than N$17 per litre, and with increases in the oil price, it is likely to go much higher than that,” he said.
The US two days ago announced a petrol price of U$4,14 per gallon (N$17 per litre). The deputy governor said the price of oil has a direct impact on transport – especially the transportation of goods and services.
“With the new developments, especially with oil galloping, it is likely that the outcome of inflation around the end of the year is going to be different. If those oil sanctions are imposed, we are definitely going to feel the pinch,” he said.
Furthermore, they are also concerned about winter, which could see a rise in Covid-19 infections. “Risk to the global outlook still remains, and most of it emanated from Covid-19. There has been some kind of supply disruption, and Covid is not over, especially since winter in our region is coming.
“We do not know if we have overcome it, but we are hoping this is the case,” he said. SANCTIONS
According to the BBC, the US has banned all imports of Russian oil and gas, while the United Kingdom plans to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of this year.
The European Union, which currently imports a quarter of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia, has not announced a total ban. Germany has already put on hold permission for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to open.
“But the European Commission said it would switch to alternative supplies and expand clean energy faster, hoping to make Europe independent from Russian energy ‘well before 2030’,” the BBC has reported.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
