Sunday Summary January 18th - Two News Excerpts of Southern Africa

My mom and I visited my brother in Namibia over the holidays. We’ve seen beautiful landscapes and felt very much welcomed by the people. However, the country has caught my attention before, it being a former colony of the Empire of Germany.  From 1884-1915 today's Namibia was under German rule and referred to as  “German South West Africa”. Germany’s colonial history is not part of the German Education Curriculum nor the genocide  of the Herero and Nama from 1904-1908.

For those reasons, I’d like to shift today’s news of the week towards the Souhern Africa, more specifically to Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Namibia and Russia agree on further energy cooperation

The relationship between those two has been a long one. During the Namibian War of Independence from South Africa’s apartheid rule (1966-1990), the Soviet Union provided aid for the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Leaders of the SWAPO movement (South West Africa People's Organisation) were trained in guerilla tactics in the Soviet Union. After independence in March 1990, Russia established diplomatic relations with Namibia. 

When Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met Namibia’s international relations and trade minister, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi in Moscow this Wednesday, Jan 14, he emphasized the maintenance of their good relations by pointing towards the thousands of Namibians that were granted education and skills training.  Ashipala-Musavyi described it as a historical, strategic and vast one.

This leads to the two nations’ agreement to prioritize expanding in the areas of mining, uranium and energy. In 2024, Namibia’s uranium mining activities contributed to 12% of the total production globally. But it’s not only Russia that conveys interest: Chinese and Australian mining companies have set foot in the country for a while. In times of a climate crisis and the urgent need for solutions one may hope that Namibia continues the investment in solar energy as an alternative. The potential is considered high as sun exposure is measured for an average of 10 hours. The Namibian government has set a confident goal to rely on 70% of energy to come from renewable sources until 2030. 

Destructive weather in southern Africa

Heavy rainfalls are affecting South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Rivers are flooded, transforming roads into ones themselves. In total 200,000 people have been affected somehow. Whether they've been displaced, they're part of a community that has been cut off entirely, or their house was destroyed. Army helicopters are set in place to rescue trapped citizens. Some are waiting on their rooftop or trees for help.

Around 100 people have lost their lives to the extreme weather. Authorities warn that there’s more heavy rainfall to expect. At least 7 Southern African countries are expected to be affected, according to the United States Famine Early Warning System. The “La Niña phenomenon” may be the reason for the increase in the whole region.

As addressed in last week’s Sunday Summary, we’ll have to expect more and more extreme weather events and uncertainties. How Morocco, Australia, Southern Asia and Europe were hit in the last week and what each of us can do to lower our carbon footprint. Read here.