The year that was

1. Medical aid fraternity charged as a ‘cartel’ In January, a group of disgruntled private doctors, connected through the Namibia Private Practitioners Forum (NPPF), received support from the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) in their opposition to medical aid tariffs set by the Namibia Association of Medial Aid Funds (Namaf) and its member funds as price-fixing and derived from cartel behaviour. Namaf has opposed the NaCC’s argument, saying the regulator had no jurisdiction over its operations or price-setting procedures. The High Court is expected to give judgement on the matter on March 24, 2016. 2. Central banks revive (then suspend) Oshikango, Santa Clara trade The Bank of Namibia (BoN) and Angolan central bank Banco Nacional de Angola in June implemented a currency conversion agreement, allowing traders at the border towns of Oshikango and Santa Clara to legally cross the border between the two nations with either Namibia dollar or Angolan kwanza. The deal was suspended in late November, given challenges, including charges of currency exchanges beyond the scope of the agreement. It is expected to resume on Monday, December 21 under new rules. 3. Namfisa CEO Phillip Shiimi dies The 43-year-old CEO of the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) died on the morning of Saturday, September 12 while travelling to Grootfontein with his wife to attend a family funeral. He died 68km outside Otjiwarongo on the B1 road to Otavi after his double-cab Toyota bakkie collided with a stationary truck on the road shoulder. Shiimi had taken over the reins at Namfisa in 2009, and was credited with bringing about a welcome improvement in perceptions of the regulator and the non-banking financial sector. 4. Longstanding Nampower head benched Word of NamPower MD Paulinus Shilamba’s suspension by the NamPower board came suddenly on July 22. In the days leading up to his suspension, Shilamba was charged with having been implicated in tender irregularities, including N$30 million spent on a contract initially budgeted at around N$2 million. 5. NBC partners with small traders As part of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation’s (NBC) digital transformation, the public broadcaster in February teamed up with the SME Bank to help turn small businesses into NBC digital decoder wholesalers. The agreement allowed SMEs to apply for bank financing to allow them to make bulk acquisitions of the new decoders. 6. Namibia Breweries Limited calls King Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) in October unveiled its newest entry into the increasingly competitive local beer market, King Lager. The beer is the first to be brewed exclusively with Namibian-grown barley and its launch followed five years of trial processes between the local brewer and Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry to create a local barley supply chain and industry. 7. Global diamond industry convenes in Windhoek Namibia in November hosted diamond industry players and academics for the landmark Omugongo Diamond Conference to discuss diamond beneficiation and sustainability. The industry, and particularly its beneficiation sub-sections, has been reeling from such factors as low consumer demand and quality deterioration, resulting in the closure of three out of 13 local cutting and polishing companies in the past two years, according to Minister of Mines and Energy Obeth Kandjoze. 8. Namibia represented on global atomic energy body In September, Namibia joined Ghana as the only two new African countries with seats on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors. The decision was reached at the 59th session of the IAEA held in Vienna, Austria. The position gives Namibia a say in global nuclear energy policy formulation, particularly in terms of matching nuclear technology development with national priorities. DENVER ISAACS