Airlines Look To Fill The Gap Left By Air Namibia Collapse
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Following on from the collapse of Namibian national flag carrier Air Namibia last month, state-owned Namibia Airport Company (NAC) has welcomed the increased frequency of flights to Namibia by Airlink and FlyWestair. After years of struggle and reliance on handouts from the Namibian government to keep flying, Air Namibia announced on February 11, 2021, that it had ceased operations and was entering voluntary liquidation.
Airlink to add more flights between South Africa and Namibia. Photo: Getty Images
Before the global medical emergency reared its ugly head early last year, tourism was one of Namibia’s bright spots. Foreign tourists, mainly from Germany, contributed millions of dollars to the countries economy while providing thousands of direct and indirect jobs for its citizens.
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Inequality holds Namibia back… analysts call for major socio-economic intervention
2021-03-03
A local labour expert has warned that without a fundamental change in Namibia’s social and economic architecture, the country will continue to see rising levels of inequality.
This warning by Herbert Jauch is issued even though between 1990 and 2019 Namibia’s Human Development Index (HDI) increased by more than 11% from 0.581 to 0.646. Despite this improvement, the UN report shows that Namibia remains one of the most unequal societies in the world where more than 50% of the population earn less than N$1 400 per month. “Socio-economic inequalities do not disappear simply because equal legal rights are introduced. This is clearly shown in Namibia where huge levels of inequality have been maintained since independence. The power imbalance in society has remained and therefore inequalities continue to reproduce themselves,” said Jauch in response to questions by
NAC circles above Air Namibia
2021-03-01
This follows an application by the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) for compulsory liquidation.
Windhoek High Court acting Judge Kobus Miller issued an order to show cause to allow interested parties to give reasons why Air Namibia should not be liquidated and placed in the hands of the Master of the High Court on or before 26 March. According to an affidavit by NAC CEO Bisey /Uirab, the airports company, as well as Challenge Air, should receive preference over other creditors in the winding-up process. He further said the airline owes NAC close to N$714 million for aeronautical services, ground handling service and rental at various aerodromes across Namibia.
Cabinet has clarified that the cost of liquidating the national airline, Air Namibia, will not be borne by government, but rather by the proceeds of the sale of assets of the company.