Namibia’s beef market recorded a 20% growth in cattle marketed for the first half of 2022 in a clear sign of recovery from the prolonged drought, Agribank has said.

Garden Plaza Investment CC and Jimmey Construction (Private) Limited are suing the City of Windhoek for breach of contract, after the municipality allegedly refused to pay the two companies N$919,377.91 after a road construction deal.

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If you are ill, you go to the doctor, if you need legal assistance you use a lawyer and if a waterpipe burst you call a plumber. We seek out experts for important decisions because that is their job - to have the knowledge that we do not.

Canadian gold miner B2Gold says it pumped N$647 million (US$39 million) into the Otjikoto Mine as part of its capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the first half of 2022, including N$315.6 million (US$19 million) into the Wolfshag underground mine development. 

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Defined as the next best alternative forgone, it is a popular concept used to assist entities in making decisions given constraints on resources.

Put differently, given the limited supply of critical resources, what are you giving up on being able to expand those resources on one activity?

Although this is often used by companies, it is a very good concept to assist in making personal decisions too.

The most common way that I get to engage with this concept is around investments as well as borrowing. Often people ask what the best way to save or invest is because they are trying to make the most out of their money.

 Of particular importance is knowing whether it is better to save some money when paying off a loan or simply focus on attacking your debt to pay it off. The answer to that is always “it depends” and the defining factor is the opportunity cost of your choice.

When assessing opportunity cost, it is important to note that you should not only focus on the money you could earn if you were to invest in something but also rather what you can avoid paying if you were to choose an alternative course of action.

For example, you have N$30 000 up for investments. You could do one of the followings:

  1. Invest it in a fixed-term deposit, earning an interest of 5.7%.  If early withdraws are done, you incur a 1.5% penalty on the value of the funds.
  2. Pay off a one-year personal loan with an interest rate of 10%.
  3. Keep it in a call account for emergency purposes with an interest rate of 2.4% with on-demand access to the money.  

What is the cost associated with each of the above options on an annual basis:

  1. If you do not invest in the fixed-term deposit, you will lose out on the interest of N$ 1 710.
  1. If you do not pay off the loan, you incur an additional N$ 1 649 in interest (compounded).
  2. If you invest in the call account, you will lose N$720 interest and either incur an early withdrawal penalty on the funds in a fixed-term deposit or interest on a personal loan if you do not have other emergency savings.

Based on the above, although the short-term loan may appear expensive at an interest rate of 10%, the opportunity cost of paying off that loan then becomes the interest you could have earned if you invested the funds in the fixed term deposit.

This example is, of course, simplified but in real life, there are always more factors to consider. 

Given the current increases in interest rate and inflation, are your investments still generating enough return to offset the increasing costs of servicing the debt you have?

If not, you might have homework to do to ensure your choice of investment is still appropriate.

For more, check out our YouTube channel Money matters with Budget Bee- Namibian Youtuber to learn more on the subject.

*Klestina Kauhondamwa is a Chartered Accountant by profession

Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) has announced the appointment of Andries (Dries) van der Sandt as Manager: Marketing, effective 01 September 2022, following the resignation of Rene Duffy in March this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture has lifted control measures imposed after an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in the Erongo region and killed over 1,000 wild birds, mainly cape cormorants.

Paratus Telecom on Monday commissioned the Armada Data Centre built at a cost of N$123 million funded through listed bonds on the Namibian Stock Exchange in which the Government Institutions Pension Fund participated. 

Trustco Group Holdings says it has won a High Court reprieve after the High Court of South Africa interdicted and restrained the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) from moving ahead with the suspension of the company pending an appeal.

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The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) is demanding repayment of N$529 250 from a former employee, who allegedly defrauded the company by preparing payment requisition documents and instructing Bank Windhoek to make payments into the account of a person posing as a student.

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