Namibia: Major Investments in Tsumeb As Population Grows

Namibia: Major Investments in Tsumeb As Population Grows

By Edgar Brandt, 1 July 2013

Tsumeb — More than N$110 million is being invested in three separate projects in developing an area in the centre of Tsumeb, as the first steps are taken to breathe life back into the mining town. The town council hopes the new investments, together with the just completed tar road linking the town to Katwitwi in Rundu, will boost the town's spending power.

Besides the multi-million investments, the town council is in the process of delineating one of the town's most impoverished settlements, Kuvukiland. This settlement is estimated to house as much as 10 percent of the entire Tsumeb's 34 000 residents. And the settlement is expected to will burst at the seams with over 4 000 residents in the near future, due to the ever-present influx of people seeking work.

The land on which the developments are to take place belonged to Weatherly copper mining company, but the council is currently transferring it back into council's books. "Once this is complete we can start with providing services to the land," said the Tsumeb Municipality's Economic Development Officer, Lemmy Geingob.

Construction has already started on the N$100 million shopping complex in an area that has been lying idle for many years, an area that Tsumeb residents have baptised as 'Donkey Vlakte.' The shopping complex will have tenants such as Pick n Pay, Edgars Active and Woolworths, and there is also an investment of a multi-million dollar trade centre that will host light industries and small and medium size enterprises as well an N$8 million office for the electricity distributor Cenored - the electricity distributor for the central, east and northern regions of the country.

Years ago many Tsumeb residents were of the opinion that the 'Donkey Vlakte' area was not safe due to minerals in the area that reportedly attracted excessive lightning. However, Geingob denied these claims, citing a feasibility study conducted in the area. According to Geingob, the study indicated that the area is indeed safe provided any buildings constructed are no higher than a single-storey structure.

Numerous businesses will soon occupy this space, including local companies and international chain shops. Geingob says the town of Tsumeb, which was once thought to be in danger of turning into a ghost town, is again flourishing as residents' spending power has increased. The new developments are also expected to create at least a few hundred jobs in the town that will soon also see the opening of the Tschunde copper mine. "I trust that any tenants of the new developments will work with us to alleviate the unemployment in the town, the region and the country," added Geingob.

The Economic Development Officer added that the town, in conjunction with major employers in the area, is working to alleviate the huge demand for housing. "Most of the land in the town belongs to the mine. We, as the municipality, are engaged with the mine to transfer the land over to the municipality for development," mentioned Geingob.

Another factor that is expected to contribute to Tsumeb's economy, and will likely see its population and spending power increase even further, is the recently completed road linking the town to Katwitwi. This road, which is yet to be commissioned, is a shorter and more cost effective option for many transporters to Angola.