Walvis Bay Corridor Group Annual Review 2019/2020

ANNUAL

RE VI E W

September 2019- March 2020

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TABLE OF

CONTENTS •

THE WALVIS BAY CORRIDORS

3

•

ABOUT US

4

•

OUR MEMBERSHIP

5

•

CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY

9

•

STRATEGIC DIRECTION

10

•

MANAGEMENT REPORT

- Chairman’s Report

12

- CEO’s Report

14

•

LEADERSHIP

- Board Of Directors

16

- Management

18

•

MARKETING & STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

20

•

INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

25

- Zambia

26

- South Africa

30

- Brazil

34

- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

37

•

CROSS BORDER FACILITATION

- Walvis Bay-Ndola- Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) 38

•

SPECIAL PROJECTS

- Logistics Hub

45

- Wellness Service

49

•

SUPPORT SERVICES

- Finance And Administration

54

•

MEMBER REPORTS

- Namport

56

- Transnamib

62

•

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE PERIOD (1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020)

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

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THE WALVIS CORRID ORS

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BAY

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tanzania

Angola Malawi Zambia

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1

Zimbabwe

Namibia Botswana

3

Mozambique

THE WALVIS BAY CORRIDORS: Swaziland

4 Lesotho South Africa

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Trans Cunene Corridor

2

Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor

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Trans Kalahari Corridor

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Trans Oranje Corridor

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Tr a n s K a l a h a r i C o r r i d o r ( T K C ) Namibia, Botswana, SA, Zimbabwe

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Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) Namibia, DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi

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Tr a n s - C u n e n e C o r r i d o r ( T C u C ) Namibia, Angola

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T r a n s - O r a n j e C o r r i d o r ( T O C ) Namibia, South Africa

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4 We are a Public Private Partnership (PPP) We facilitate corridor development

About Us

We promote the Walvis Bay Corridors

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) is a public-private partnership established in 2000 to promote the utilisation of the Walvis Bay Corridors to the Port of Walvis Bay in the Republic of Namibia.

The corridors, serving the port, is a network of transport routes from the neighbouring SADC countries of South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi. The corridors include: • the Port of Walvis Bay, • the Trans Kalahari, connecting Botswana and South Africa • the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (previously known as the Trans-Caprivi Corridor) connecting Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo • the Trans-Cunene connecting Angola • the Trans-Oranje Corridor, connecting South Africa The Walvis Bay Corridors are positioned to give the country a competitive edge as a transport hub for all regional and international trade between the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Europe, the America’s and the rest of the world. Through our world-class commercial port at Walvis Bay, international shipping connection and the added advantage of being a gateway to the west coast of Africa, Namibia plays an increasingly important role in trade, linking the global economic centres with close to 300 million consumers in southern Africa.

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Our Membership Core Members

Associated Members

Industry Members

Strategic Partners

Core WBCG Members The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) is a Public Private Partnership, established as a section 21 Company, an Association not for Gain. The WBCG comprises of members from both the public and private sector, as listed below.

In Namibia, individual membership by the private sector is arranged under the umbrella of private sector organisations, namely the Namibia Logistics Association (NLA), Namibia Transporters Association (NATA) and the Walvis Bay Port Users Association (WBPUA). These associations pay a round membership fee, as members of the WBCG. Private companies, who are interested in becoming a member of the WBCG, are encouraged to join one of these associations.

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WBCG CORE MEMBERS continued

MEMBERS OF WBCG

MEMBERS OF THE WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

Namibian Ports Authority (Namport): Namport, operating as the National Port Authority in Namibia, manages and promotes the Ports of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz as the preferred links for seaborne trade with Namibia and SADC countries. The key roles of Namport is to manage the port facilities to cater for current trade needs and to develop the ports for future demands. In Addition, the efficient, reliable

and cost-effective supply of port services contributes to the competitiveness of the SADC region’s trade. Namibian Ports Authority facilitate economic growth in Namibia by enabling regional development and cross-border trade. www.namport.com.na

Roads Authority: Roads Authority focuses on managing the national road network

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

and on improving the standard of Namibian roads with a view to a safe and efficient road sector. Namibia’s road network has been ranked among the safest, most efficient and sustainable, and is the envy of many countries.

The growth of the road infrastructure and the expansion of the road network have contributed immensely to the economic development of Namibia and the SADC sub-region as a whole. www.ra.org.na

Road Fund Administration: The Road Fund Administration (RFA) was established through an Act of Parliament; the Road Fund Administration Act, (Act 18 of 1999), (Government Gazette Number 2217 of 1999), to manage the Namibian Road User Charging System (RUCS) and the Road Fund. The RFA’s main objective is to manage the RUCS in such a manner as to secure and allocate sufficient funding for the

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WBCG CORE MEMBERS continued

payment of expenditure as contemplated in Section 17(1) of the RFA Act, with the view to achieve a safe and economically efficient road network in Namibia. www.rfanam.com.na

TransNamib Holdings Ltd: TransNamib is the national transport logistics provider in Namibia and specialises in bulk freight and containerised cargo, utilising a combination of rail and road transport. The company introduced transformation initiatives to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness to provide rail and transport solutions that meet customer demands and expectations. In doing so, TransNamib creates substantial costs savings for consumers and end-users, with direct result on the costs of everyday goods displayed on supermarket shelves. Overall, TransNamib’s efforts illuminate why rail transportation is safe, defies congestion and copes with mobility. Rail is environmentally friendly, an undeniable relief to the road with macro-economic advantages for society and it enhances sustainable integration for transport. www.transnamib.com.na

N amibia Logistics A ssociation Namibia Logistics Association (NLA): NLA represents the Namibian logistics industry, namely small and large companies operating in road transport, freight forwarding, courier services, and customs clearing. Founded in 2009, NLA is an independent non-profit organisation serving as the industry’s collective voice, bringing to the fore the interests of its members, thus serving as a platform to voice shared concerns. NLA offers its members a wide array of services, which includes public sector advocacy, group benefits, training & capacity building, facilitation of business linkages, market intelligence and marketing platforms. www.nla.org.na

Container Liners Operators Forum (CLOF): CLOF represents all Container Shipping Lines only calling and servicing the Walvis Bay port directly. CLOF has established itself into a regulatory body allowing clients to know how many containers they have at the port, where they are standing and what their status are. Their main aim is to enhance productivity, efficiency, to keep costs low and to create volumes for Namibia.

Namibia Transporters Association (NATA): A collective of Namibian-based small and medium logistics service providers comprising of various transporters and freight forwarders. NATA is a business association of road transporters whose broad objective is to provide a common voice to articulate business constraints facing its members, while also contributing towards the realisation of a safe, reliable, efficient, professional and environmentally friendly road freight industry in Namibia.

Walvis Bay Port Users’ Association (WBPUA): The WBPUA represents all entities associated with cargo, freight and shipping activities in the Port of Walvis Bay. WBPUA ensures that problems of a common nature are resolved through one body as opposed to individual companies directly approaching the ministry involved. A benefit of this association is the accumulated wealth of knowledge and experience to facilitate trade on the corridors. There will always be a need for a platform where companies can gather and discuss problems of common interest, find solutions and to share this knowledge.

Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI): The NCCI serves as the country’s business chamber and, therefore, serves as a convenient central point of enquiry for any potential Corridor user who wishes to gain insight into Namibia’s business community. The NCCI is promoting prosperity for all Namibians by ensuring balanced private sector growth, enterprise development and global competitiveness.

The target beneficiaries are chamber members, small and large businesses, export promotion companies, potential exporters, SMEs and small business people. www.ncci.org.na

Walvis Bay Municipality: The Municipality of Walvis Bay represents the social and economic interests of the town of Walvis Bay, which is a tax haven for manufacturers, importers and exporters as it harbours both the Port of Walvis Bay and an Export Processing Zone. The Municipality is committed to providing quality and continuous basic services to all the residents and businesses of Walvis Bay. With its strategic location, Walvis Bay is also a growth hub with great potential for expansion and investments. www.walvisbaycc.org.na

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Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development

Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Namibia Investment Centre: This Centre is Namibia’s official investment promotion agency and first point of contact for investors. Its role is to attract, encourage and facilitate investment in Namibia. The NIC was established in 1990 and is operating within the framework of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It offers a wide variety of services and special investor incentives, and works closely with key ministries as well as service and regulatory bodies. The NIC has investment promotion representatives in strategic locations in countries such as Germany, India, South Africa, France and the USA. www.mti.gov.na

in the different modes. The Transport department responsibilities are to avoid deterioration, upgrading road links to neighbouring countries and further development of port infrastructure, amongst others. www.mwt.gov.na

Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigrations

Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigrations, Department of Immigrations: This department focuses on the activities and schedules of immigration entry and exit points. This includes the facilitation of the movement of people in and out of the country, to process the documentation and issue visas, passports and permits, and to drive service delivery and support businesses. www.mha.gov.na

Ministry of Works and Transport

Ministry of Works and Transport, Department of Transport: The Ministry of Works and Transport’s mandate is to develop sectoral policy and regulation, and to ensure infrastructure development and maintenance on transport and state asset management. The Department of Transport is responsible for transport in the different modes, namely road, rail, air and sea. Its mission is to ensure the provision of safe and efficient transport services and infrastructure in the country in balance with demand

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Finance, Department of Customs and Excise: The Department deals with all Namibian customs and excise matters and mainly encompasses the control of international movement of goods, people and conveyances. This requires the implementation of policies, regulations and procedures. Namibia is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), as are Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland. www.mof.gov.na

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

Associated Members The Walvis Bay Corridor Group also welcomes other transport and logistics companies from the region and abroad to join its efforts through associated membership with the Group. Associated membership allows these transport companies to benefit from Group member rates applicable to the Walvis Bay Corridors, as well as from marketing and logistics enquiry services provided by the Group.

Stategic Partners The Walvis Bay Corridor Group has established national, regional and international links with institutions such as the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), the Southern African Global Competitiveness Hub, the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (FESARTA), the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Programme (SSATP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and regional bodies such as the Trans Kalahari and Walvis bayNdola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor’s Management Committees established to optimise the utilisation of the Corridors.

The WBCG has established continental and regional partnerships with African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Group also established other international partnerships with institutions such as the Afro Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, southern African Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, the Singapore International Investment Centre and numerous representative Embassies and High Commissions in Namibia to develop a strategic international network to promote the Walvis Bay as the preferred trade route for southern Africa.

The WBCG is a member of the African Corridor Management Alliance (ACMA) which aims to provide strategic direction with respect to corridor development initiatives and activities, and align the key objectives and priorities of the participating countries and institutions with the policies and strategies for achieving the long-term continental goals that are consistent with AU Agenda 2063. At present our CEO holds the position as Interim Chairperson of ACMA. The Walvis Bay Corridor Group is continuously looking at potential partnerships that can strengthen its mandate to develop the Walvis Bay Corridors as the leading trade routes in southern Africa.

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Corporate Philosophy The Walvis Bay Corridor Group envisions being the leading trade route for southern Africa. We are committed to facilitate and promote transport and trade along our secure and reliable corridors and to provide “innovative” service offerings to our customers. We strive to consistently exceed our customers’ expectations and to add value through our unique Public - Private - Partnership (PPP) model. Our corporate mind-set is anchored on the values and principles of good corporate governance.

We value commitment, cooperation, professional service delivery and integrity.

VISION

We shall facilitate the best logistics hub for Africa.

MISSION

We are committed to: • Promote trade along our corridors.

• Provide innovative and competitive service offerings to our customers.

• Add value through our unique Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).

VALUES

Good Corporate Governance

Confidentiality

Integrity, trust and mutual respect

Teamwork

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Strategic Direction Key Indicators and objectives Key indicators

Volume growth:

Transit time reduction: ü TransKalahari Corridor ü TransCunene Corridor ü Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor ⇒ Lusaka ⇒ Lubumbashi

Key objectives 7% increase per annum

ü Average not exceeding 48 hours ü Average not exceeding 5 days

ü Average not exceeding 6 days ü Average not exceeding 4 days

Key success factors

Core Strategy

The key success factors needed to support the expected growth in volumes in the Port and along the Corridors are:

We shall facilitate the development of the Namibia logistics hub by focusing on:

1. Realise business opportunities by closing the deals.

2. Well-functioning transport infrastructure.

3. Business intelligence – regular benchmarking of our competitors in order to ensure a competitive edge.

4. Adequate financial resources to the secretariat.

5. Support of business development by appointing a new business executive.

6. Sustainability of the Wellness Project.

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

1. positioning and branding the Group competitively through partnerships to increase balanced import/export cargo volumes.

2. effectively promoting the corridors as the preferred trade routes to all our customers.

3. continuing to be committed to provide adequate and cost effective capacity and efficient services.

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Strategic Role

Business development

Cross border facilitation

Advance Namibia's Logistics Hub

Infrastructure development

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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2019/2020

Mr. Kavin Harry Chairman of the Board of Directors

Greetings in the spirit of trade facilitation and the seamless connectivity of our corridors, ports and the markets. It gives me pleasure and honour as the Chairman of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) to share the achievements as well as the prospects of the Group for the year under review. WBCG has notably become the leading corridor management institution and a benchmark in Africa, mainly because our unique Public Private Partnership model on which we are founded is working and the fact that we are yielding positive results as a result of our focus and hard work.

The commissioning of the long awaited new container terminal in August at the Port of Walvis Bay is a significant milestone not only for Namibia but for SADC, international maritime shipping industry, transport and logistics sector at large. This important piece of infrastructure places Namport and the Corridors on a new pedestal and the capacity of the port of Walvis Bay to be able to handle approximately 750,000 TEUs per annum, a capacity boost and increase of 114.3 % from 350,000 TEUs before the construction of the project. This infrastructure will increase the competitiveness of Walvis Bay and give us more comfort to attract more cargo especially transit and transshipment cargo.

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

13 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

Another breakthrough has been the revitalization of the Trans Oranje Corridor with the commencement of the export of manganese from the Northern Cape to the port of Lüderitz creating job opportunities and economic returns along this corridor. This corridor is increasingly becoming the preferred trade route for new manganese mines setting up operations and is poised to handle the largest volumes in the coming years compared to other corridors. Amidst these trying and competitive times, it is commendable that we recorded corridor volumes of 1,063,488 tonnes compared to 822,335 tonnes during the previous year, which is a 29% increase. This is the highest figure recorded ever and a new record for us.

The Walvis Bay Ndola Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) remains the mainstay and flagship for our corridors as it continues to attract and carry the largest volumes for transit cargo between the port of Walvis Bay and the port-linked countries of Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe and Malawi taking a wide catchment area in SADC. We have made tremendous strides in these markets and it is imperative that we increase momentum and sustain these relationships that we have built successfully over a number of years.

The dryports in the port of Walvis Bay dedicated to some landlocked countries puts impetus and comfort for WBCG to engage more and attract additional cargo through our port. This competitive advantage will go a long way to secure long term relationship with our clients in our neighboring countries and secure sustainability for the corridors.

their endeavors to implement strategies and plans detailed in the blueprint, Namibia’s Logistics Hub Master Plan, thereby attracting more volumes and additional investment into key infrastructure along the corridors to realize this vision. Transportation and logistics are intrinsically interrelated, whilst former is focusing on moving humans, animals and goods from one location to another, the latter has more to do with organization, management and integration of complex operations including the information flow. With the trust and confidence that the Government of the Republic of Namibia has placed in WBCG to champion this project, we are enhancing our business development activities to attract new opportunities to and via Namibia.

Equally, we need to develop capacity of our human capital in transport and logistics industry in our region in order to catapult and fast-track regional integration and economic development.

Our employees are the most valuable assets in the company, therefore, our approach is to capacitate and empower them in order to deliver higher results for this high performance driven company.

In conclusion, and on behalf of the Board, I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the CEO Mbahupu Tjivikua, his management team and staff for their dedication and hard work.

WBCG remains true to its strategic vision that “We shall facilitate the best logistics hub for Africa”. The Board of Directors fully support management in

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CEO'S REPORT 2019/2020

Mr. Mbahupu Hippy Tjivikua Chief Executive Officer

It is pleasing to report about our operational performance of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) for the period 2019/2020.

WBCG operates in the global economy where efficient, reliable and sustainable transport of goods and well-functioning logistics systems are an imperative for the maintenance of our competitive advantage.

This is a very dynamic industry where shipping routes are changing and where the cost of transportation and logistics are key determinants on how and where goods are channeled to. Our competitive advantages lies in the efficiency in the movement of goods to and from the neighboring countries, fast turnaround times, safer and more secured corridors. In addition, we provide a unique world class wellness service along our corridors, that puts the truck drivers, transport operators and the community they interact with at ease in terms of free and accessible health care.

It prides is to recorded a sterling performance for the year under review mainly because of the breakthrough in unlocking the potential of the port of Lüderitz by securing the export of manganese from the Hotazel area in the Northern Cape. The Trans Oranje Corridor (TOC) which has been dormant for a very long time partly due to the lack of the railway link between Aus and Lüderitz has seen a new lease of life after the railway line was rehabilitated. Overall corridor volumes reached a record of 1,063,488 for the first time even despite the challenging economic and financial times in the construction, agriculture and the public sectors in SADC. We observed a single digit growth in the premier markets of eight and three percent in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, respectively, on the Walvis Ndola

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

15 CEO'S REPORT

Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNDL). The Botswana market on the Trans Kalahari Corridor (TKC) recorded a 42% growth which a testimony that our business development efforts, information sessions and stakeholder relationship engagement in our neighboring countries are fruitful. The Malawian market equally looks very promising for our corridor. It is unfortunate that the volumes on the once-upon-a-time shinning Trans Cunene Corridor (TCuC) decreased tremendously over a number of years despite our strategic proximity to southern Angola.

The completion of the new Container Terminal in Walvis Bay reaffirms Namibia’s serious commitment and ambition to position as the Logistics Hub in SADC. This important infrastructure with increased capacity of 750,000 TEUs will conveniently attract transshipment and transit cargo through Walvis Bay. The old terminal had a capacity of 350,000 TEUs and this is a renewed boost of 114.3% for Walvis Bay. This will give confidence to shipping liners, container liners, logistics service providers and port users to re-align their logistics and doc in at Walvis Bay for loading and offloading and access complimentary and auxiliary services such as ship repairs, oilrigs maintenance, ship stores and spares, bunkering services, crew changes, stuffing and destuffing of commodities into containers, amongst others. The freed space from the old container terminal is now ideal facility for bagging from bulk to breakbulk and to attract new minerals and chemicals to handle at the port. The dry ports of Botswana and Zambia continued to provide services supporting corridor volumes by handling and temporary storage of transit cargo, containers and cargo that enters or leave Walvis Bay to the neighboring countries.

This is all a perfect support system for the Walvis Bay Corridors and marries with our objectives of

positioning Namibia as a Logistics Hub and our Mission of “Promoting trade along the corridors” as well as to “Provide innovative and competitive service offerings to our customers”.

WBCG is proud to have been identified as a leading Corridor Management Institution (CMI) in establishing the African Corridor Management Alliance (ACMA) and integrated management of economic corridors through enhanced investment in infrastructure and ultimately to actualize transformation in the continent. I foresee WBCG’ role changing and enhanced in the near future especially with the adoption of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) where trade is liberalized, creation of a single market, 90% of tariffs on goods are removed and the deepening economic integration on the African continent. Another foreseeable role is for WBCG to actively promote Intra-Africa trade where our corridors and ports are seen as better conduits to achieve this ideal in the largest free trade area in the world, with consumers of over 1.2 billion and a GDP of over US$3trillion.

In conclusion, I would like to thank our directors and stakeholders for their engagements and valuable support they have rendered to WBCG for the past year. Our intensive stakeholder engagements mainly with our members, transporters, truck drivers, border agencies, markets and key populations along the corridors are yielding positive results as it helps to translate their needs into WBCG’s goals and creates a basis for effective strategy implementation. We value the shared understanding which is essential for WBCG to building a cohesive vision for the future.

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J o h ny S mith

Transna m ib & V ic e C h a i r m a n

Wi l l e m Goe i e man n

Mi n i s t ry of W orks & T ra nsport

Imman u e l ! H a n a b e b Na mport

BOARD OF DIRECTORS As at 31 March 2020 K avi n H a r r y C ha irpe rson

Susan Beuk es

Min is tr y o f F in an ce

Neh e mi a Ngh i s h e k w a Mi nistry of H ome A ffa irs

Il l on a Nk a n d i

M inistry of I ndustrialisat ion, T ra de & SM E D e v elopment

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Ali Ipinge

C onr ad Lutombi

Road F u n d Au th or i t y

Roa ds A uthority

A go stinh o Vict or

W i l l i e Pros s e r

Muni c ip a lity o f W a lv i s B a y

Haro ld S c h midt

Nami bian L o g is tic s As s o ci a t i on

Wa l v i s B a y Port Use rs A uthority

C h ari ty Mw i y a

N a m i bi an C ha mbe r of C omme rc e

Marti n L o u w

C onta ine r L ine rs Operat ing Forum

Joh n D i a s

Na mibia n T ra nsporte rs Associat ion

& I ndustry

BOARD OF DIRECTORS As at 31 March 2020

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Kla udia Mwa l a

G i l b ert Bo o is

Manager : P r o jec ts

Ma n a ge r : F i n a n ce & A d m i n i s t r a t i on

E d w ard S h i vu te

M a na ge r: W e llne ss Se rvic e

C i n d y - L u H a s he e l a M a na ge r: Market ing & C omm unicat ions

MANAGEMENT As at 31 March 2020

Mb ahupu Hippy T jiv ikua C h ie f E x e cu t i v e O f f i ce r

E ri c S hi m u m b w e

C onsultant : Clust er Se c re ta riat WBNLDC

Ja m e s Kap o sa

Busi ness D evelo p m en t Manager : Z a m b ia

Irv a a n Ma ha raj

B u s i n e s s De v e l o pme nt M a n a ge r : Sou t h A f ric a

Je n Mbay o C h u n gu B usine ss D e ve lopme nt M a na ge r: D RC

R i cardo L a t ka n i

B usine ss Development Re pre se nt at ive: Brazil

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Time Savings due to efficiencies

High Safety and Security

Reliable Routes

Sound Financial Environment

Benefits of the WALVIS BAY CORRIDORS

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Marketing & Stakeholder

ENGAGEMENT

Cindy-Lu Hasheela Marketing & Communications Manager The level of engagement with WBCG’s internal and external stakeholders has increased to strengthen business development initiatives. The department’s ability to be innovative and agile has allowed us to perform well, complementing the marketing, business development and project management programmes of the WBCG.

Stakeholder Engagement The WBCG’s Marketing and Communications team consists of professionals that serve the WBCG’s projects and business development team, members, project partners and media. In the areas of brand marketing and management, interactive media, communications, stakeholder relations and event management.

The department promotes the company’s reputation and Namibia’s logistics industry to all audiences in the country as well as in the region and internationally through traditional mass media, social media, print and online publications, video, web and messaging platforms.

The department further follows WBCG’s engagement strategy, which focuses on two-way communication and face-to-face engagements. In the reporting period, the department upgraded and implemented new tools to support this strategy. Concerted efforts were made to engage key stakeholders to identify their needs and better facilitate connections.

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

As a core function of the WBCG’s business strategy, engagement with our stakeholders has guided our communication and marketing activities. We continue to maintain existing relationships and build new connections and align ourselves better, to benefit the company’s goals.

The team participated in numerous local regional and international trade fairs and conferences, which provides a versatile and conducive platform for the WBCG to engage with multinational operators and potential investors. Participation at these events enable the WBCG to effectively market and promote Namibia as a Logistics Hub to diverse audiences within the transport, logistics, trade, mining, energy, manufacturing, agriculture and health sectors.

In the area of hosted events, the department organised networking engagements nationally and regionally to create awareness of the service offering of the Walvis Bay Corridors. These events included information sessions, forums and workshops to support the WBCG’s business development drive.

Information sessions were hosted in Walvis Bay, Grootfontein and Zambia. We additionally co-hosted

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information sessions with the Trans Kalahari Corridor Secretariat in Gaborone Botswana and Johannesburg South Africa. Forums to engage the Namibian logistics industry on the Logistics Hub project were hosted in Walvis Bay and Grootfontein.

The launch of the new container terminal at the port of Walvis Bay, gave us a fantastic opportunity for crucial stakeholder engagement. Existing and potential corridor users, along with key strategic partners were invited to this event held in August 2019. Many business meetings were held during the period to strengthen relations. We further invited regional and international media to increase the coverage of the event. We arranged and assisted The Zambia National Broadcast Corporation (ZNBC) to produce a documentary on Namibia’s growing logistics Industry and to cover the launch of the expansion at the port. The documentary has aired three times on their television station during the period under review.

The 11th Annual Transport and Logistics Workshop was co-hosted with the Namibia German Centre of Logistics in Windhoek in November. This platform focuses on bridging the gap between academia and industry in the logistics sector by presenting practical case studies to improve engagement between participants and enhance the learning process in the logistics sector.

Several business development missions to key markets were undertaken during the period under review. These engagements allow the team to not only engage prospective corridor users and business partners, but further allows us to gather crucial information to aid our drive to increase the cargo volumes on the Walvis Bay corridors.

The department worked with the Business Development Managers to redefine and repackage the WBCG’s Associated Membership. This portfolio is necessary to allow corridor users who are located outside Namibia to become a part of the WBCG family. Several companies have joined the WBCG using this

membership option, which is a promising sign of the regional support to the WBCG.

Strategic partnerships Partnerships are imperative to our business model and allow us to expand our reach. We continued to develop strategic partnerships to enhance our role as a facilitator for trade , transport and logistics.

Extending our network connections has enabled us to carefully select the events and partnerships that allow us to derive maximum value for our stakeholders, offering them the opportunity to meet new clients. These partnerships do not fail to bear fruit: as new audiences hear our message, increased opportunities are created for our members.

Brand management Although the WBCG has a strong brand presence within the industry, improved awareness of our role is required. We continued to strengthen our message to educate the general public in Namibia and in the region to address this gap.

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The WBCG’s Wellness Service has a well recognised brand and have become a respected service provider in the industry. Support to the project entails developing content and artwork for articles, advertorials, posters, pamphlets, promotional items, corporate wear and the branding of the projects assets. The Marketing department once again provided branding support to the WBCG’s wellness team for the National AIDS Day commemorations held in December.

The WBCG maintains a good relationship with the media in Namibia as well as regionally and internationally. We have taken those media relationships a step further and developed strong partnerships with important outlets. During the year under review we focused on developing our contacts to media organisations in all the relevant markets in order to expand our channels of communication. Various advertorials were placed in national, regional and international transport and trade publications, which include the Freight and Trading Weekly (FTW), the Namibia Trade Directory and various local and international publications. In order to keep Namibia’s logistics news in the print media we submitted regular media releases and articles specifically requested by journalists. Stories

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sourced from our newsletter were published in local newsprint and by online news agencies. Marketing and Communications circulated media clippings of relevant local and regional information to keep our members and team informed on the changes in the logistics and trade landscape in the SADC region.

During the past year, our Zambia advertising campaign generated more interest in the Walvis Bay corridors and port of Walvis Bay. The campaign included print and radio advertising, a 25-minute TV documentary, TV and radio interviews and billboard advertising. The campaign was supported by the Namport’s commercial and communications team.

Feedback received from Zambia’s industry has been positive. The campaign has significantly increased our brand presence in the country and has aided our business development activities in Zambia.

As recognition of our brand continues to grow and interest in the route increases, we push forward towards our vision of a world-class logistics hub for southern Africa.

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Communications

Way forward

Our digital publications and online presence supports our marketing and stakeholder engagement efforts.

Our monthly online newsletter, the eCorridor, provides updates on key developments and accomplishments and allows us to feature the various activities of ourselves, our members and partners. We continually upgrade the look and content of the publication to improve our reach to the targeted audiences.

We remain passionate advocates of brand-building and stakeholder engagement. Our commitment to our members is to advocate for and promote the transport and logistics industry in Namibia.

The new WBCG website is continuously updated with the news articles and relevant information.

The WBCG’s social media presence has taken off.

The Facebook and LinkedIn pages attract new interest daily and has grown significantly during the period. With regular updates and engagements we are able to talk to a younger audience about the logistics in Namibia on Facebook, as well as reach the global business community with our LinkedIn presence. We additionally link our pages to relevant industry stakeholders and share their news. These platforms carry news items, upcoming events, advertisements, vacancies and photo and video uploads. We have added a YouTube channel to assist in the posting of videos produced by the department. These platforms are clearly having an impact, and have helped lift our brand amongst new audiences.

We work with our members, public and private sector companies, associations, intergovernmental organisations, event management companies and the media to engage audiences and strengthen our message.

We are living in an exciting time of change, in which technological and human systems are coming together. We aim to foster change, build the brand, educate and inform their business performance.

This has been – and remains – our key conviction: when people come together, magic happens. The department aims is to reflect this transformation in our work and creativity. In this spirit, we adapt our services to meet the request for more engaging and strategic solutions, incorporating the latest marketing and digital tools to our offering.

At the dawn of the 4th Industrial Revolution, being a part of fast growing industry and respected corridor management institution, we will continue to look for and implement new methods to increase the awareness of the Walvis Bay Corridors and support Africa’s vision of an integrated, unified continent.

Whatever the future holds, we commit to progress and be a trusted, strategic advisor to our team at the WBCG.

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We shall effectively promote the corridors as the preferred trade routes to all our customers.

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International & Regional Business Development The core function of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group is business development, marketing, promoting trade facilitation and infrastructure development along the corridors in order to provide landlocked SADC countries access to transatlantic markets.

The WBCG has four regional offices, which were opened in Zambia, South Africa, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2005 and 2012.

Lusaka, Zambia The Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s office in Zambia was established in 2005, to focus primarily on marketing and promoting the utilisation of the then Trans Caprivi Corridor, through the Port of Walvis Bay, in Zambia, DRC and Zimbabwe. Further, to facilitate trade along the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) through strategic partnerships with the public and private sectors under the umbrella of the joint WBNLDC Cluster comprising members of the Republics of Namibia, Zambia and recently DRC.

Gauteng, South Africa The WBCG’s office in Gauteng, South Africa was officially opened, on 16 September 2009, by the Honourable Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe, Minister of Transport, South Africa with the aim of increasing business presence within the Botswana and South African market along the Trans Kalahari Corridor.

Since the WBCG has entered the South African

market, the WBCG has established a comprehensive data-base of all the Strategic and Logistics providers within the Gauteng area. The WBCG has also established good working relationships with key strategic supply chain operators, shipping lines, manufacturers, government officials and government agencies. Relationship building, networking and awareness creation is a major focus for the WBCG office in Gauteng to maintain a close working relationship with clients.

Sao Paulo, Brazil With a focus on relationships and partnerships in the Brazilian market and in Latin America at large, the office in Sao Paulo, Brazil was opened in 2012. Our business development office continuously pushes to increase volumes by focusing on a multitude of commodity exports from the Brazilian market, produced by sectors like the food industry, mining and oil, which will support Namibia’s Logistics Hub development and thereby Namibia’s national development plans.

Lubumbashi, DRC The Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s office in DRC was established in 2012, to focus primarily on marketing and promoting the utilization of the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) to extend further to other provinces in the DRC.

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James Kaposa Business Development Manager: Zambia

ZAMBIA Zambia’s developmental agenda continues to stimulate growth in the key sectors of the economy.

There are increased economic activities in sectors like agriculture, energy, construction, infrastructure development of roads, health and education facilities, mining and manufacturing.

Though the drought effects of the last three years prior to 2019 farming season caused crop failure in some parts of the country, irrigation methods of farming have been widely adopted by medium to large scale farmers which has resulted into production sustenance of major cash crops increasing Zambia’s export capacity of non-traditional products.

Due to the drought effects, electricity generation was also negatively impacted upon that resulted into power cuts that in turn hampered the mining and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

The above factors have caused a downward trend in the growth of our national GDP which has fallen to below three from six percent per annum. Other factors like huge external debt and the economic stress experienced by mining firms that arose from attempts by government to replace VAT system with sales tax system further weakened the economic growth.

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Our prospects for providing an efficient logistics solution to this market steadily increase. In an effort to raise awareness of the corridor, we have continued marketing and business development strategies to entice the Zambian industry to use the Walvis Bay route.

The WBCG’s Business Development office in Zambia focused on engaging in key activities that provide the potential to add volumes to our corridor, while other activities were aimed at building the brand and increasing awareness of the corridor. We have aligned ourselves with various business forums, creating partnerships between private and public companies that serve to engage them on the use of the Walvis Bay corridor as an alternative route for both exports and imports.

During the period, we have cultivated strategic partnerships with intergovernmental development agencies aimed at showcasing the investment opportunities in the country. Discussions and linkages with Zambian and Namibian service providers like transport companies and forwarders are an on going endeavour.

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Business Development Activities The WBCG hosted an information session in Lusaka on the 25th of June 2019. The annual event attracted key stakeholders from the public and private sectors of both Zambia and Namibia. Senior government officials from the Ministries of Works and Transport for both countries were in attendance.

Joining the programme were Namport, TransNamib, African Union Cargo, the Truckers Association of Zambia and the Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia. The event provided a platform for business networking and information exchange, highlighted the efforts of WBCG in promoting legitimate trade along all its corridors and showcased infrastructure developments at the port of Walvis Bay and corridors.

Copperbelt Agriculture And Mining Expo (CAMINEX) was held in May 2019. Key takeaways were the engagements with Copperbelt exporters and importers. Among those companies engaged was Africa Inland Container Terminal and a company looking to install a fertiliser facility at the port of Walvis Bay. Chisambia Agri Expo was held in April 2019 and key takeaways were engagements with prospecting investors from Europe and their local partners. Among major ones are the Euro bagging working to establish a packaging plant in Zambia, Goviex uranium from Canada are setting up a uranium mine in Chirundu.

The Lusaka Agriculture show was held in Lusaka in August 2019. The show continues to be a good platform to engage Zambian and foreign companies from the manufacturing industry.

Among the major companies engaged was Growmore Zambia Limited who have plans to replicate their operations in southern Angola, and import cargo via Walvis Bay. As a member of the Zambia Chamber Of Commence And Industry, we attended various business forums organised by the chamber to deliberate on proposals for solutions on cross border trade challenges submitted to government.

Attended the India business conclave organised by the Zambia Development Agency. The meeting aims to create synergies between Zambian entrepreneurs and their Indian counterparts. Trade opportunities for imports and exports between the two countries were highlighted and challenges for import via Walvis Bay were discussed. Discussions with companies like Mansa Sugar, Consolidated Farming Limited, SaroAgro and Zambia Manufacturers Association continue.

Participated in the South Africa - Zambia Outward Trade and Investment mission. The purpose of the engagement was to create synergies between Zambian companies and their South African counterparts. A connection was made with PRELEC mining supplies, who have engaged Namport for space to establish their operations in Walvis Bay. The company intends to establish a facility which will become their distribution centre for the SADC region.

The Business Development Manager attended the launch of the new Container Terminal at the Port of Walvis Bay. Various meetings were held with WBCG members in Walvis Bay during the

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INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

trip, which allowed for the exchange of information related to the challenges and opportunities for the corridor. A crucial meeting with Glencore and Africa Union Cargo was held, to solicit copper exports from Zambia and the DRC. Discussions are on going.

Identified challenges The fact that the port of Walvis Bay is still in the process of installing facilities to handle bulk cargo like fertiliser and sulphur, presents a critical challenge for balancing the north- and south-bound cargo on the corridor. As a result, some key Zambian traders consider our route to be more costly than other corridors, with regards to road freight charges.

Limited transport service capacity is another serious challenge on our corridor. In many instances, new companies wishing to import or export cargo via Walvis Bay find it difficult to acquire transport services. They find that the majority of transporters operating on the route are fully committed and have no immediate room to accommodate new business.

The inadequate border facilities and services at the Katima Mulilo border post creates a bottleneck, as the congestion from increased traffic delays the cargo adding to the cost of transporting cargo via this corridor.

There is a need to increase awareness of the port of Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor. An aggressive marketing campaign is needed to educate the public and build the brand in the country.

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Accomplishments Continuous engagement with various companies operating in the Zambian market are gradually starting to see results. Interest in the port of Walvis Bay is increasing, with a greater number of companies now investigating the facilities and logistics options the route has to offer. A number of transporters are testing the route and increasing their capacity on the corridor. We continue to engage the industry passionately, as the number of successful engagements steadily grow.

A Zambian based company, Africa Inland Container Depot visited the port in 2019 to discuss a proposal with Namport to build a multi-facility depot at the port of Walvis Bay. The facility will handle cargo that includes bulk commodities like fertiliser, sulphur, maize and Agro-chemicals.

Sunline International visited the port to discuss replicating their operations in Walvis Bay. The facility will handle chemicals imported from China for the DRC and Zambian markets. Discussions are on going.

Two transport companies moved some of their operations to the Walvis Bay corridors. Sabot International, commenced operations on our route last year, with thirty interlink trucks. There are indications that they will be increasing their fleet this year. Venture Transport started operations with more than thirty interlink trucks and they are pleased with our corridor. They too plan to increase their fleet on the route.

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Although Zambulk Transport Limited is currently only transporting acid from Namibia to Zambia and the DRC, the transporter plans to expand their services on our corridor. They are comfortable running their trucks on our corridor and are actively considering setting up operations in Namibia that includes servicing a wider variety of commodities.

Searching and linking operators with interest and the capacity to set-up facilities to handle and manage bulk cargo like fertiliser, sulphur, maize, tobacco and agro-chemicals at the port of Walvis Bay remains crucial. All efforts must be marshalled to achieve this goal of increasing capacity, thereby decreasing the cost of operating on the route.

The information session held in Lusaka is gaining traction. The event attracted a larger number of stakeholders who are keen to know more about the Walvis Bay corridors and its ports. The event was highly engaging with the industry in Zambia and the momentum generated from the event continues to bear fruit.

Expansion of border facilities and services at Katima Mulilo border needs urgent attention. With the steady increase in trade volumes on the route, serious attention must be given to upgrade the border post to alleviate the bottleneck it is currently creating on the corridor. The WBCG will continue to engage the relevant border authorities on the matter.

J&J Transport company’s plans to commence operations on our corridor this year were halted due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The transporter intends to start using the route once normal operations resume.

The corridor volumes via the port of Walvis Bay continues posting a growth trend from the total market output for Zambia. This is observed from the increased accumulative annual volume recorded in the 2018/2019 period, compared to 2019/2020.

We have seen key transport companies open up services on the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor and have a number of newcomers planning to open their services on our corridor in the near future. As we the WBCG’s Zambian office celebrates its 15th year of promoting the Walvis Bay corridors and ports, we commit ourselves to continued engagements to strengthen the linkages between the Namibian and Zambian stakeholders to ensure that we provide an efficient, secure and cost effective route for our customers.

Way Forward Continuous engagements of with new transport companies to bring additional capacity to our corridor remains critical. Creating linkages between new cargo owners and new transporters is a vital undertaking, if we are to realise our goal of volume growth on the corridor.

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SOUTH AFRICA Irvaan Maharaj Business Development Manager: South Africa very open economy. A closed economy would be a country that does not trade a lot and manufacture or supply its local market with mostly domestically produced/manufactured goods. Due to South Africa's economy being so open, it does lend itself to greater volatility as the local economy is in a large part influenced by global events and economies.

The economy of South Africa is the second largest in Africa. As a regional manufacturing hub, it is the most industrialised and diversified economy on the continent.

The country has a comparative advantage in the production of agriculture, mining and manufacturing products relating to these sectors.

As a leading economy, many global corporates operate their continental and regional head quarters from here.

Due to this fact, the WBCG’s Business Development Office in this market plays a crucial role in forging strategic relationships with these multinationals.

SOUTH AFRICA’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK Currently the value of imports and exports per quarter equates to roughly 60% of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). So trade is an extremely important part of the South African Economy. The overall size of imports and exports as a percentage of our economy points to the fact that South Africa is a

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South Africa's Revenue Service (SARS) released the latest trade statistics numbers and looking at South Africa's top 5 trading partners for both imports and exports as well as covering the value of our exports and imports.

Exports: 1. China (10.1%) 2. Germany (8.6%) 3. United States (7.3%) 4. United Kingdom (5.5%) 5. India (5.1%) Imports: 1. China (19.2%) 2. Germany (7.8%) 3. United States (6.5%) 4. India (5.5%) 5. Nigeria (5.0%) Total value of goods traded : Exports: R 116,902,027,397 Imports: R 110,804,693,420

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Gauteng is by far the biggest contributor to South Africa's GDP, with it contributing more than double than what KwaZulu-Natal, the second biggest contributor to South Africa's GDP contributes. The Western Cape is the third biggest contributor to South Africa's GDP. The Durban harbor is the busiest port in South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal has the the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, a dedicated port for South Africa's massive coal exports.

HOW HAS NAMIBIA POSITIONED ITSELF Some entities in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe consider Namibia to be the fastest trade gateway to global markets. Port of Walvis Bay has seen an increase of copper from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and is expected to handle an increased amount of the commidity fom these countries in the future. Both countries are among the top 10 copper producers in the world.

The expectations of Namport customers, which are predominantly major shipping lines, is that the port authority continues to focus on productivity, reliability, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.

The majority of the customers based in South Africa make procurement decisions for their offices in other SADC countries. Some of these customers are starting to show a keen interest on how to facilitate their cargo via port of Walvis Bay, specifically for cargo for the Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and DRC markets. Feedback received from the market indicates that it makes more economic sense to move cargo via Port of Walvis Bay as it is a feasible alternative trade route.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES South Africa has a large number of global and procurement decision makers who influence a lot of the international players concerned with investment and trade opportunities. We have been able to intercede and facilitate various projects as opportunities for the South African market in Namibia. Customers vary from freight forwarders, cargo owners and transporters and shipping lines who continue to utilise the port of Walvis Bay because it is centralised for the SADC region and to the rest of the world.

During the reporting period, WBCG’s South African office has worked on numerous feasible projects with members and prospective corridor users. Some of the projects are aligned to the various corridors, especially the Trans Kalahari Corridor (TKC), the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) and the Trans Oranje Corridor (TOC).

A number of projects have called for the collective efforts from the WBCG’s business development offices. The business development team stationed in the various markets, work in synergy to attend to client needs and requests.

A key collaboration between the South African office and the Brazilian office is to realise the company’s mission to develop a direct call from Brazil to Walvis Bay. Great efforts have been made to investigate

The on-going challenges at the South African ports, provides an opportunity to present the ports of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz to the market. The port’s efficiency and the security of route have nudged cargo owners to consider and utilise the Namibian gateway into the region.

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how cargo destined for the southern African market originating from Brazil can be imported via Walvis Bay. There is further collaboration on numerous projects with counterparts at the WBCG’s Zambian and DRC offices for potential cargo destined for the Zambian and DRC markets.

The synergised efforts have started yielding results, as the WBCG’s business development team have secured cargo via Walvis Bay. These include automotive parts for Botswana from China, frozen foods for Zambia and Botswana from various main ports in South America and copper cathodes from Kolwezi to China.

Additionally, constraints at the port of Durban have resulted in importers and exporters bypassing Durban in favour of less busy ports in the region, like Walvis Bay. With the new container terminal commissioned at the Port of Walvis Bay in August 2019, the port has become more attractive to the shipping lines. A moderate amount of cargo has been successfully diverted from the port of Durban and the North South Corridor, and now moves via the port of Walvis Bay on the Trans Kalahari Corridor and Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor. Clients looking for a time efficient and secure logistics solution are happy to use Walvis Bay. During the reporting period, the office has focused on facilitating discussions on increasing cargo through the port of Lüderitz, in an effort to revive the Trans Oranje Corridor. A great opportunity of cargo for this corridor exists with manganese mines in the Northern Cape, which offer a maximum production output of between 600 000 - 1000 000 tonnes of bulk manganese per annum. While these mines are still under construction to be commissioned in 2021, a team which includes Namport and key strategic partners and WBCG members have started discussions to offer logistics solutions via the Port of Lüderitz.

While the rail link from the port of Lüderitz to South Africa has great potential, a major challenge is the limit on the railway line’s capacity due to an upgrade required on a section of the railway line.

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Mining houses require the rail to carry more than 30 000 tonnes of bulk manganese, in order to make it economically viable for them to use the route.

TransNamib is currently working on a solution and continues to update the potential clients.

ACHIEVEMENTS AVZ Minerals Limited is one of the largest mineral exploration company focused on developing the Manono Project which is one of the world’s largest lithium deposit project in the DRC. We invited the Managing Director to visit Namibia in December 2019 where we arranged meetings with our Stakeholders, TransNamib, African Union Cargo, Namport. AVZ Minerals Limited was greatly satisfied to meet the team and to see our operation set up in Namibia especially the efficiencies and benefits at the port of Walvis bay at the new container terminal .We are making excellent progress were we are discussing 250 000 T Bulk lithium deposits from Manono ,DRC via the port of Walvis Bay. During the new Container Terminal commissioning in August 2019 I Invited various sectors of the industry from cargo owners, transporters and the shipping lines in South Africa who attended the commissioning of the Namport container terminal and arrange meetings with our members in Walvis Bay to discuss potential imports via the port of Walvis Bay. The TKCS/WBCG information session which was held February 2020 was fully subscribed with over 130 customers where I invited the SA market to see the potential of Namibia for logistics and trade.

Secured three new members to be part of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group.

Facilitated and secured approximately 5000 t per month of commodity frozen foods from various main ports in South America via the Port of Walvis Bay and worked on this project with Namport.

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THE WAY FORWARD The Gauteng market remains the biggest opportunity to ship imports and exports from Europe and the Americas via Walvis Bay in less than 25 days to their destination the industrial heartland of Southern Africa. Our service offering regarding Europe and the Americas remains the best in transit time and we are therefore focusing on our long-term strategy to build volumes as we manage to convince the relevant stakeholders of the time saving and security benefits.

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group offers a unique service to the logistics industry. Developing and maintaining relationships with all customers and members of WBCG is absolutely fundamental. A combination of persistence and service delivery have seen the business development efforts of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s South African office grow steadily, with tangible outcomes as a result.

The way forward will be to maintain relationships especially with customers on key projects that want to facilitate their cargo via the port of Walvis Bay. Persuade and strongly encourage as much customers to visit Namibia, meet our logistics members and stakeholders and a site tour of our new and old container terminal in Walvis Bay. We have been hard at work introducing new clients to the concept of the Walvis Bay route. A list of projects was compiled which we use as a baseline to develop business over the medium to long term. As part of this process market intelligence is gathered and new business opportunities are created for the members of the WBCG. Through interaction with our members we also aim to offer a better service to importers and exporters in the Gauteng market.

Our passion for what we do makes us pioneers in our sector.

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Brazil

Ricardo Latkani Business Development Manager: Brazil

MARKET OVERVIEW With continuous shifts in the global trade landscape, countries from around the world are increasingly looking to Brazil as a partner ripe for trade and investment. Brazilian stocks reached an all-time high in the first half of the year, showing that the country is truly starting to make its mark as a key, competitive player on the global stage. With the country’s natural resources, innovative businesses, and creative mind set, Brazil has catapulted to the front of the international trade frontier, with three key exports in particular shaping Brazilian trade: machinery, sustainable agriculture, and aerospace.

The economy, however, lost steam in sequential terms in Q4 2019. Fixed investment fell to an over three-year low, while consumer spending softened. Shifting to Q1, although growth prospects had looked optimistic at the start of the year, intensifying headwinds—mainly from the coronavirus outbreak—could have derailed momentum. The epidemic’s impact on the Chinese economy, commodity markets, and global financial conditions appears set to curtail Brazilian economic activity in Q1, particularly in manufacturing, tourism, and trade. Moreover, the virus’ emergence in Brazil raises concerns that a full-on outbreak could cause the reform agenda to take a backseat.

On 16 March, the government announced a USD 30 billion emergency bill to combat the fallout from the coronavirus. Measures include social assistance payouts, deferring corporate taxes and direct funds to mitigate the spread of the virus. That said, the government reaffirmed its commitment to its spending cap and noted that the package would be funded by cuts elsewhere in the budget.

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Over the last 12 months, Brazil’s foreign trade volumes decreased by 7.3%, resulting from factors such as structural adjustments in the trade relationship between the largest economies in the world, with increased global uncertainty and adverse developments in GDP growth in international trade. On the domestic front, there is an economic recovery taking place, with a clear impact on the country’s trade balance.

Foreign demand for Brazilian products last year was hit by the slowest global growth in a decade, uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-China trade dispute, and a wave of political and economic turmoil across Latin America.

OPPORTUNITIES The Brazil to Walvis Bay international trade corridor offers significant opportunities for traders between the Latin American and southern African markets.

The potential exists for Brazil to utilise Namibia as a hub for a myriad of products. The food sector, where Brazil is an export leader, is especially appealing as this sector relies on time-efficient logistics solutions.

The following opportunities could be of interest:

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White and yellow maize: There is a significant shortage of white maize in the region, particularly in the DRC market. The Brazilian office has since the end of 2018, contacted potential producers of white maize that are non Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to offer the opportunity to export their product to the region via Walvis Bay. The DRC, in particular, is concerned about the shortage of this product and could, in regards to the actual situation, import yellow maize as a suitable replacement.

Brazil is the top producer of yellow maize and could supply the DRC market with this product.

Rice: The consumption of rice in southern Africa is growing. Currently South Africa supplies the region with the product imported mainly from Asia. Brazil is a major producer of this commodity. By the SACU MERCOSUR trade agreement, the patty rice could be shipped from Brazil to Namibia with zero tax.

The rice could then be polished and packaged in Namibia, before it is distributed to the regional markets. This value adding service will create jobs and could see Namibia become the hub of rice distribution in SADC. Hake: Namibia as one of the top producers of hake, could export this product to the Brazil market, who is big importer of hake. Namibian Hake would need to be registered for human consumption in Brazil.

Namibian fish exporters are encouraged to register their hake in Brazil to increase the export volumes from Namibia to Brazil. The Brazil office is ready to facilitate between Namibian exporters and Brazilian importers of the product.

Frozen products: Brazil is a top producer of frozen poultry, beef, pork and freshwater fish. Brazil currently supplies the southern African market

via South Africa. Potentially, Namibia as a closer landing point for Brazilian products, could become a distribution hub for these frozen products.

Copper and salt: Brazil imports copper and salt from Chile, which takes more than 15 days to reach Brazil. The opportunity exists for Namibia, Zambia and the DRC to export these commodities to the Brazilian market.

Sanitiser: South Africa imports this product from Europe and distributes it to the region. Brazil produces reasonably priced sanitiser. The opportunity exists to have a Brazilian company invest in setting up a manufacturing facility in Namibia along with a Namibian partner. The facility could then export the product to the region.

CHALLENGES The Brazilian market provides immense opportunities as a trading partner with SADC. The challenge remains in finding a way to reduce high sea freight costs between Brazil and Namibia. The push to establish a direct call resumes. Continued efforts to build the connection between SADC and Brazilian importers and exporters is key. The WBCG’s Business Development offices are collaborating to improve these links in order to boost the south-tosouth connections.

The lack of a direct call impacts the sea freight rates and time-to-market of bulk agricultural products such as rice, maize and sugar exporters, which requires bulk vessels that offers this direct service between Brazil and Namibia. Walvis Bay further needs to erect silos to allow for the bulk

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product to be offloaded directly into these facilities.

Repackaging services could also be established in Walvis Bay. After considerable engagement with potential clients in the Brazilian market, we have found that there is a need for vessels providing direct calls for containerised cargo. Our research has indicated that there is enough volumes to warrant a direct call for containerised cargo destined for the southern African market via the port of Walvis Bay. Discussions with major shipping lines have been positive, where they are conducting their own research with their clients about a direct call linking the ports of Itajai, Navegantes, Paranagua and Santos to Walvis Bay. To support this activity, the WBCG’s business development team are contacting importers in southern Africa to consolidate their volumes into the project.

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WAY FORWARD The importance of the direct call to Namibia’s Logistics Hub service offering cannot be understated. Direct calls for both bulk and container vessels, between Brazil and Walvis Bay is essential. As we continue to engage the shipping lines, exporters and importers, we are confident that this service will be realised.

The potential for cooperation with Brazilian companies to explore business and trade between South American and southern African countries remains. The Namibia Logistics Hub Project, developments at the Port of Walvis Bay and general opportunities in Namibia as a potential distribution hub into sub-Saharan Africa has caught the attention of Brazilian business. The WBCG endeavours to remain steadfast in its search for opportunities between Brazil and Namibia into the region, in order to ensure the accelarated development of our logistics sector.

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D E MO C R AT I C R E P U B L I C OF CONGO

Jen Mbayo Chungu Business Development Manager: DRC

Mr. Jen Mbayo joined the WBCG team as the new business development manager for DRC market in March 2020.

Mr. Mbayo has a keen interest in developing the business relationship between Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

trade and trade collaboration with the country’s public sector. “I therefore understand the need for economic growth of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and the importance of strategic partnerships with key stakeholders”, he says.

Assuming the role of Business Development Manager (BDM) for the WBCG’s office in the DRC, Mr. Mbayo brings with him a vast array of expertise and experience.

As BDM for the DRC office, Mr. Mbayo sees his role as a significant contributor to WBCG’s mandate.

“While I am still assessing the industry as a state of business in DRC, I anticipate a lot of business development activities that will increase cargo for Walvis Bay”, he says.

Mr. Mbayo holds qualifications in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) as well a qualification in Business Studies from the Institute of Commercial Management in the United Kingdom. He further has working experience in international

Officially opened in 2012, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s DRC office focuses primarily on marketing and promoting the utilisation of the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC).

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Cross Border Facilitation W A LV I S B A Y- N D O L A LUBUMBASHI DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR Eric Shimumbwe Consultant: Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor

THE WALVIS BAY-NDOLA- LUBUMBASHI DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR INTERIM SECRETARIAT The Walvis Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor interim secretariat was established in Livingstone, Zambia on 5th March 2010 when the respective Ministers responsible for transport matters of the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed the tripartite agreement. The Ministers from the member states were Helmut Angula, Geoffrey Lungwangwa and Laure Marie Kawanda, respectively.

The political will and Presidential directives preceded the agreement in 1997, by the former heads of State and government of the three member states, respectively. This high level political initiative accelerated the formation of the Walvis Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor’s interim secretariat under the umbrella of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG). The secretariat seeks to facilitate the removal of physical and nonphysical barriers for the movement of goods and people transiting through Namibia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Since its establishment, the WBCG has coordinated the activities of the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) in the Republic of Namibia, and has also hosted the interim secretariat at its Lusaka office in the Republic of Zambia.

Through the terms of reference set out in the tripartite agreement, the corridor committee has been collaborating with both the public and private sectors in the member states in finding common ground in making interventions aimed at the resolution of various cross border challenges and non-tariff barriers affecting the corridor. As in many other regional transport and development corridors, this partnership is premised on the values of deeper regional and continental integration through trade, soft and hard infrastructure regulatory governance and global corridor best practices.

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OVERVIEW OF THE SECTOR - CHALLENGES AND ACHIEVEMENTS Daniel Munkombwe tollgate commissioned in Choma. On 7th June 2019 the National Road Fund Agency of Zambia officially commissioned the Daniel Munkombwe toll plaza in Choma along the WBNLDC corridor.

Revenue generated from the tollgate would form part of the road fund for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads in Southern Province and Zambia at large. There are now two tollgates between Livingstone and Lusaka, the other one positioned at Shimabala toll plaza in the Kafue district and eight tollgates along the entire corridor from Katima Mulilo to Kasumbalesa border posts.

Construction works on the Livingstone (Kebby Musokotwane) toll plaza had reached advanced stages and would be commissioned soon.

Rehabilitation of the Kafue - Mazabuka Road.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) funded the rehabilitation works for the 68km road infrastrucure from Turnpike (Kafue weigh bridge - turn-off) to Mazabuka, the home of Zambia. The contractor was appointed and commenced construction work.

Rehabilitation works were still in progress at the end of the reporting period.

Zambia bans importation of mechanically deboned meat. During the period under review the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries’ veterinary services department suspended the importation of Mechanically Deboned Meat (MDM) into Zambia.

The suspension was necessitated by hygienic concerns in the production, distribution and usage of MDM.

The ban was temporary and was aimed at addressing livestock diseases such as Listeriosis, which was traced to MDM imported from Australia in 2018. Resumption of MDM imports would only commence once all the hygienic requirements were addressed and appropriate inspection procedures put in place. Imported MDM must solely be used as a raw material in the processing of meat by the importing entity and is not to be sold to the public.

Authorisation of transit of Mukula logs through Zambia. The Zambian government through its Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection issued Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 96 of 2018, amended by SI No. 8 of 2019, and further amended by SI No. 58 of 2019, the Control of Goods: Import and Export of Forest Produce (Authorisation of importation from Democratic Republic of Congo) Order, 2018. The SI allowed DRC to transit 3,400 forty-foot containers of Mukula logs through Zambia for a period of six months starting 28 December 2018 to 28 June 2019. As at 15th October 2019, only 361 containers had transited through Zambia to various destinations.

A notable challenge in this exercise included the tedious and cumbersome processes in obtaining export permits in DRC. Clearance delays at

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Kasumbalesa border further compounded the challenge, along with insufficient reliable trucks transiting through Chirundu, Kazungula and Katima Mulilo. As a solution, the technical committee and escort teams recommended that the trucks should move only when they reach a threshold of sixty trucks at Kasumbalesa border. Trucks from DRC were further to be advised to follow the prescribed Zambian axle load limits to avoid over-loading.

Ministry of Transport and Communications to implement 50% quota system of out-bound cargo retained to Zambian transporters The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Zambia introduced a new policy that intends to give 50% of outgoing cargo to indigenous Zambian transport companies. The policy intends to support local transporters by crowding out foreign transporters, enhance job creation and ensure funds are retained in the Zambian economy. In 2018, the Ministry had passed a policy that compels all transporters to move 30% of heavy and bulk cargo from road to railway.

Wilson Chakulya Toll gate commissioned on the Kitwe - Chingola road. The Wilson Chakulya tollgate on the Kitwe - Chingola road along the WBNLDC corridor was commissioned on 10 December 2019. The tollgate is set to be the biggest along the corridor and in Zambia. The new tollgate was commissioned in line with statutory instrument No.73 of 2013, which introduced road tolls and tolling in the Republic of Zambia.

Other prominent tollgates along the corridor are the Daniel Munkombwe tollgate in Choma, Shimabala in Kafue, Manyumbi and Kafulafuta in Central and Copperbelt provinces, respectively, Levy

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Mwanawasa, Michael Chilufya Sata, as well as the Kebby Musokotwane tollgate to be commissioned in Livingstone in the near future.

The Road Development Agency (RDA) and the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) employs the system of internally generated funds, under the road ‘user pays principle’, in order to build a sustainable road fund capable of adequately supporting road maintenance programs.

Zambia launches mobile SMS line for reporting non-tariff barriers to trade. In order to make it easy to report Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to trade, a user-friendly SMS inexpensive reporting, monitoring and resolution mechanism was developed. The new reporting line was launched by the COMESA secretariat and is hosted by the Zambian government through the Ministry of Commerce Trade and Industry. The mechanism aims to enhance transparency and easy follow - up of reported and identified NTBs across Zambian borders.

Zambia Revenue Authority introduces selfassessment for customs declarations. The Zambia Revenue Authority’s Customs Services division introduced a self-assessment system for all transactions by importers and exporters as well as their declarants and clearing agents.

This is a trade facilitation measure that intends to improve operational efficiency, revenue collection and increase compliance levels in the logistics industry. Interventions by customs will only be made when reviewing declarations that have red flags or anomalies such as extreme under-declaration and under-valuation.

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TRADE FACILITATION ACTIVITIES The activities of the WBNLDC’s secretariat are premised on the need to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs of doing business along the corridor. This involves activities such as monitoring corridor performance, advocacy role on various cross border challenges experienced by transporters along the corridor, promotion of infrastructure development and spatial development initiatives or road-side stations, and promotion of business development along the corridor. The secretariat also supports transparent regulatory policy environment regulation and harmonisation of road user charges and transport related costs, streamlining and documentation of procedures, promoting the use of SMART corridors, capacity building in key institutions engaged in transport operations, and provide information services to stakeholders and promote an integrated regional single window.

In facilitating the removal of soft and hard infrastructure barriers to trade along the corridor, the WBNLDC has created a robust stakeholder network in the Republics of Namibia, Zambia and the DRC. The network includes a cluster of captains of industry, cross border players and policy makers.

Many of these stakeholders are also present on the whatsapp social media platform which promotes information sharing, interaction and ensures that most trade facilitation challenges along the corridor are communicated at supersonic speed and addressed in an efficient and effective manner.

Tripartite meetings provide a platform and an opportunity for policy dialogue for stakeholders in Namibia, Zambia and DRC when they engage and discuss trade facilitation challenges and possible solutions along the corridor.

WALVIS BAY-NDOLA-LUBUMBASHI DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR

A partnership working towards the free flow of goods between Namibia, Zambia & the DRC. Facilitated by:

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Namibian cluster meet to discuss Katima Mulilo border challenges. On 8th August 2019, a cluster meeting with Katima Mulilo border post officials was held at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi region. The meeting aimed to address cross border delays and congestion at the border post. Numerous challenges were identified that called for urgent interventions from the Namibian government. Some of the challenges identified included inadequate parking space for trucks at the border, power outages due to a faulty back-up generator and manpower shortages at customs, Roads Authority and other border agencies. The Forestry department lacks presence at the border.

This means that truck drivers are required to go into the town of Katima Mulilo to obtain transit permits for timber consignments. This adds to the delays and congestion experienced by truckers at the border.

Katima Mulilo border and Sesheke - Kazungula road assessment. In November 2019, the Walvis Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor’s management committee led a team of Namibian and Zambian senior government officials and private sector representatives on a tour of the common border at Katima Mulilo and Wenela border posts on the Zambian and Namibian sides, as well as the 90km Sesheke – Kazungula road.

The tour aimed to raise awareness and get an appreciation of the numerous trade facilitation challenges at the common border. The team’s task was to identify the problem areas that require urgent intervention at the common border and secondary corridor infrastructure. The tour was followed by a stakeholder meeting, chaired by the Director Transportation and Policy Regulation at

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the Ministry of Works and Transport of Namibia, Dr. Cedric Limbo, who is also the Co - Chair for the WBNLDC Corridor Committee - Namibia.

The investigation was extended to the 90 km deteriorated section of the Sesheke – Kazungula road and the inspection of the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) facility currently under construction at the Kazungula Bridge project, which is scheduled for completion in mid 2020. After touring the Sesheke - Kazungula road and the Kazungula Bridge Project, another stakeholder meeting was hosted by Kazungula District Council at the Kazungula District Council Chambers and chaired by Mr. Vincent Sasele, Divisional Manager for Transport Inspectorate at the Roads Authority of Namibia.

Some of the key challenges identified at the common border are understaffing, lack of sufficient parking space and clearance delays. This was especially evident at the Katima Mulilo border post.

Following the visit, transport companies from the private sector came forward to help alleviate some of the infrastructure challenges. To create more office space for Namibian customs officials and to enhance operational capacities at the border, A Van Der Walt (AVD) transport donated a refurbished 40-foot office container to the Katima Mulilo border post. The new fully furnished office space also came with two computers. Buks Haulage Limited (BHL) transported the container from Swakopmund to the Wenela border post. It is important to note that there were no conditions attached to the donation, as it was a public - private - partnership trade facilitation initiative, aimed at addressing, traffic congestion and clearance delays experienced at Katima Mulilo border post.

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Joint cross - border management meetings are held every two months by both Zambian and Namibian border authorities. This compliments a common corridor work program for the corridor committee.

Deputy Minister of Works and Transport assesses Katima Mulilo border post. Namibia’s Deputy Minister at Ministry of Works and Transport, Hon. James Sankwasa visited the border post at Katima Mulilo in December 2019. The Deputy Minister led a team of engineers from the Ministry of Works and Transport, Customs and Excise officials from the Ministry of Finance and officials from the Road Fund Administration to examine the infrastructure at the border for planned expansions.

The expansion aims to address some of the identified challenges that affect the border post’s efficiencies.

The protracted standing time of trucks, due to clearance delays, result in in an increase to the cost of doing business at the border. This has a direct impact on the transit volumes on the corridor.

Hon. Sankwasa called for the integrated border management at Katima Mulilo border post in order to increase the handling capacity of increased trade volumes. He further highlighted that political will is required by all the countries along the corridor in order to speedily resolve the various barriers to trade at all the border posts.

The visit by the deputy minister was a positive and encouraging engagement for the Walvis Bay Corridor Group and Walvis - Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor. We are deeply appreciative for the time taken by the Hon. Sankwasa to attend to the concerns at the border.

One - Stop - Border - Post Control at Katima Mulilo still on the cards. At the Zambia - Namibia bilateral meeting held in Sesheke in February 2019, it was resolved to pilot the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) control system by December 2019. The project was however deferred as both member states requested more time for further consultations. By the end of this reporting period, Zambia had forwarded the draft bilateral agreement to the Attorney General’s office for scrutiny.

Over 1,000 trucks marooned at Kasumbalesa border post. During the period under review, the DRC’s Kasumbalesa border post was severely compromised, as trade was critically slowed down due to the heavy congestion of trucks. Over 1,000 trucks were parked in the surrounding mining towns of Chambeshi near Kitwe, Chingola and Chililabombwe towards Kasumbalesa. The congestion started with a four-day protest by truck drivers over security concerns in DRC and the three tolling points between Kasumbalesa and Lubumbashi (90km distance) with very high road user fees. The congestion was further compounded by parking space shortage at the border, which was drastically reduced due to construction works. The works allowed for single lane only access for both entry and exit. The congestion of trucks at Kasumbalesa border posed serious sanitation and wellness challenges, due to inadequate sanitary facilities for drivers along the roads.

In an attempt to clear the backlog of trucks, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) stopped processing transits from other entry points in Zambia. The suspension of transit processing destined for Kasumbalesa created a domino effect, resulting in the congestion of all of the country’s entry points. Refrigerated trucks carrying frozen fish and other perishable foodstuffs destined for the DRC market were stranded at Namibia’s Wenela border post at Katima Mulilo.

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During this time, the secretariat conducted extensive stakeholder engagements with relevant stakeholders along the corridor, to resolve the various challenges that arose. In an effort to clear the backlog of trucks, Zambia and DRC agreed to create a fast lane for precleared trucks and the ZRA extended its operating times from 18h00 to 20h00. ZRA further suspended late exit penalties at Kasumbalesa as provided for under clause 127 (2) of the Customs and Excise General Regulations (Statutory Instrument No.54 of 2000).

It was observed that the problem of truck congestion at Kasumbalesa could be resolved if long term measures such as investment in infrastructure at other border posts like Mokambo and Sakanya are realised, in order to divert some of the heavy traffic from the border post at Kasumbalesa.

As the suspension was a non-tariff barrier for trade, the secretariat engaged both industry and government to ensure all parties worked together to find a resolution. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock called for a stakeholder consultative meeting in Lusaka in June 2019 to discuss the matter. The WBNLDC’s secretariat along with the Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia presented the interests of all Namibian transporters that were affected by this ban at this platform.

Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) hosts its Annual General Meeting in Zimbabwe. The Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) held its final edition of the Annual General Assembly and Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe from 25 to 29 November 2019.

Suspension of import and transit permits for poultry, meat and fish into and through Zambia. In the reporting period, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock of Zambia suspended the issuance of permits for the importation and transit of live animals and livestock products. This included fish, mechanically de-boned meat, dairy products, biotechnological and all animal feed inputs.

The WBNLDC’s secretariat participated in the technical experts meetings as well as the General Assembly.

The meetings mainly focused on road safety and the theme for the next Development Plan 4 (2021-2025): Decarbonising transport modes and using digital technologies to revolutionise the transport sector in Africa; regional connectivity, economic integration, resilient road asset management, sustainability; urban mobility and accessibility.

Despite the legal mandate under the animal health act, the suspension of transit permits that were already issued breached the World Trade Organisation (WTO) principles governing international transit regimes on road transport.

PERIOD AHEAD

Government found it necessary to initiate the permit suspension due to pressure from local stakeholder associations, who believed that the importation of the above mentioned products have the potential to stifle the local livestock industry and have negative impact on public health. Transit fraud on some consignments further motivated the suspension, along with an outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FDM), which affected many parts of Zambia.

The WBNLDC management committee and partners have worked tirelessly to resolve the challenges experienced by transporters using the corridor.

The unpredictable and inconsistent regulatory environment in the member states, need for infrastructure upgrades along the route and the unaligned fees and processes need to be addressed.

The good will and stakeholder network established in the member states and sub regions of Africa provide continuity for corridor programs. The secretariat commits to continued engagement and efforts to ensure the smooth movement of cargo on the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor.

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LOGISTICS HUB I N I T I AT I V E Gilbert Boois Project Manager: Logistics Hub

As Namibia advances towards becoming an important transit route for cargo into southern Africa, we continue to develop and transform ourselves into a logistics hub for the region. Appointed by the government to spearhead the effective implementation of the Namibia Logistics Hub Initiative, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) continues to create platforms to have thematic dialogue with the industry, share information, solicit input and keep the momentum going towards Namibia becoming a Logistics Service Centre for the region.

The Logistics Hub Forums to engage industry on specific thematic discussions proved to gain the necessary momentum towards implementing Namibia’s Logistics Hub Master Plan. Whilst Namibia made significant strides to continue positioning itself into a logistics hub for the SADC region, the world at large has been confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic that brought about unprecedented disruptions worldwide.

The implementation structure of the Logistics Hub Master Plan clearly depicts the National Planning Commission (NPC) as the Chair of the National Steering Committee, with the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) as the Executing Agency. There are however several stakeholders from the public and private sector supporting the WBCG and NPC

ensuring its implementation. Key technical partners like Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), continued to provide technical and financial assistance to ensure the implementation of the various programmes being developed under Namibia’s Logistics Master Plan.

During the period under review and following completion of JICA Phase I technical cooperation, and based on detailed survey and status quo analysis, Namibia and JICA concluded the Phase II technical cooperation in February 2020 that is due to start in June 2020 for a period of 40 months.

Following the establishment of the four working groups focusing on the development of the logistics hub centre, the strategic marketing programme,

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the capacity development programme and the integrated border management programme, the WBCG continued to coordinate working group activities that in turn report to the steering committee and Cabinet Committee on Trade and Economic Development (CCTED) for political and policy endorsement. During the period under review the WBCG, as Executing Agency of the Logistics Hub Master Plan made a formal submission to the CCTED to secure Cabinet endorsement for this role.

As a sequel to the successful completion and launch of Namibia’s very first State of Logistics Report in March 2019, the Namibian- German Centre for Logistics (NGCL) with financial assistance of GIZ is compiling the second State of Logistics Report that is due for completion in December 2020.

GIZ and Federal State of Bremen commissioned Bremenports, under the Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in Namibia programme, a subsection of the logistics support offered by GIZ, to undertake a baseline assessment study at the Port of Walvis Bay and its hinterland connection that was successfully completed in February 2019 during a validation workshop in Walvis Bay. As an outcome of said baseline study designated officials from the Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) and WBCG undertook training and capacity development in Bremen during May 2019. Following the aforesaid intervention and based on recommendations of the baseline assessment study, the WBCG and Bremenports determined that there is need for further support to Namport in terms of training in labour and environmental protections in ports, as well as support to TransNamib in terms of baseline analysis of current status of implementation of TransNamib’s capacity development strategy and logistics master plan. The second Bremenports

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intervention will also culminate in their participation in working group activities as well as training of TransNamib, Namport and WBCG employees in Bremen during 2021.

Another notable initiative in support of the Logistics Hub Master Plan is the five – year cooperation between Namport and the Port of Dunkerque, France that started in February 2019 and will focus amongst other on improving the efficiency of the port of Walvis Bay, development of maritime flows and regional positioning, port concessions, and green port developments. The French Development Agency (AFD) supports this initiative.

With the evolution of the Biomass Industry as a sustainable industrial value chain in Namibia a clear synergy emerged between the Logistics Hub Initiative and Biomass Industrial Parks (BIP) envisaged in Otjiwarongo. The WBCG, as a steering committee member of Bush Control and Biomass Utilization (BCBU) Project supported by GIZ and Advisory Board member of Bush-procession Value Chains in Namibia Project supported by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), actively coordinate the synergies between Logistics Hub Initiative and Biomass Industrial Parks. The ground breaking for the first BIP, to be jointly developed by Boabab Growth Fund and Namibia Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) in collaboration with UNIDO was done in March 2020. During a biomass study tour to Germany in September 2019 and with Germany’s ambition to phase out the use of coal as a source of energy by 2032, the City of Hamburg expressed keen interest to consider Namibian biomass as an alternative source of energy and once realized the sheer volumes of wood chips and pellets to be exported via the port of Walvis Bay will add further impetus towards realizing the logistics hub initiative.

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Given the need for capacity development in the logistics industry the WBCG and Namibia Training Authority (NTA) saw the need to forge cooperation, underpinned by Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between the two parties in March 2020 for duration of five years. The MoU will focus amongst others on collaborative research, technical and vocational education training (TVET) activities and skills planning. The agreed action plan for the said cooperation will be jointly implemented by the WBCG and NTA, in close cooperation with the Transport, Warehousing and Logistics (TWL) Industry Skills Committee (ISC), of which WBCG is also a member.

Following the successful completion and commissioning of the new container terminal in Walvis Bay during August 2019, the Port of Walvis Bay experienced significant cargo volume throughput given the additional capacity on offer to potential customers. The old container terminal at the port of Walvis Bay is now well positioned as a multipurpose terminal and to make provision for the logistics hub centre that is envisaged in Logistics Hub Master Plan.

Going forward the logistics industry needs to reinvent itself. The industry needs to be more ingenious to ensure sustained cargo volume growth for the foreseeable future.

Due to the collaborative efforts of public and private stakeholders from Namibia and South Africa we achieved a significant milestone for the logistics hub initiative in terms of manganese exports from the Northern Cape Province in South Africa via the port of Lüderitz and Trans Oranje Corridor.

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Creating alternative trade routes Reduction in supply chain cost Reduce transit time Continuous improvement Increase in Intra & Inter Regional trade WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

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WELLNESS SERVICE Edward Shivute Project Manager: Wellness Service

OVERVIEW OF THE HEALTH SECTOR IN NAMIBIA In Namibia, the scourge of HIV/AIDS remains one of the most devasting diseases and continues to threaten socio-economic growth and loss of life in many sectors. The Ministry of Health and Social Services and other stakeholders including the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) are in the process of implementing the National Strategic Framework (NSF) on HIV/AIDS response in Namibia (2017/182021/22) to guide planning, programming and implementation of the national multi-sectoral and decentralised HIV and AIDS response. The design of the NSF is premised on the Investment Framework and Results-Based Management (RBM) approaches. The framework is catalytic, supporting delivery of innovation and best practices, necessary to ensure provision and sustainability of a quality and comprehensive HIV response. The key NSF message is to do “better and more of the right things at the right time and at the right scale” during the implementation.

PROJECT OVERVIEW The WBCG continues to contribute significantly to the outcome results of this framework by implementing strategic and sustainable comprehensive health and wellness programmes in Namibia. At the beginning of our journey, we set goals in the form of commitments and resolutions. These were designed to reveal particular ways of addressing health and wellness concerns for our stakeholders and the communities in the most effective, innovative and affordable manner. We are therefore pleased to note that over the past year we have seen steady advances on our promise to deliver quality health and wellness services to our stakeholders. While we acknowledge that it has not been an easy path to a rather successful year, we look back proudly and applaud the efforts of the WBCG dedicated and fully committed wellness personnel.

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As the saying goes “health is wealth” and you get wealth by working, hence, it is mandatory that workplaces also think about the health of their employees from a human capital perspective.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), emerging health and wellness challenges affecting people is increasingly threatening growing economies and productivity levels amongst various key economic sectors including the transport sector.

A workplace should be healthy, safe and hygienic for the employees to ensure high productivity. An HIV/ AIDS and general employee wellness programme increases productivity, boosts moral and help reduce workplace related stress. When an institution has healthy employees, both the institution and its staff reap the benefits. Having an employee wellness plan can help a business attract and keep its clients and good employees because they view it as a benefit they would like to have at work and be associated with. With high productivity, comes good outcomes which can help the institution to increase its profits.

But wellness programs could also provide benefits to companies that can clearly affect and improve the bottom line.

Understanding the need to sustain the human capital within any sector, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), in relation with its core mandate, which focuses on trade facilitation, initiated a strategic programme to address the health and wellness needs of various community groups, key and mobile populations such as long distance truck drivers, sex workers, sea farers, cross border communities and other vulnerable people operating along the major transport corridors. In addition to our workplace programmes, for the last decade, WBCG has run its health and wellness programme targeting the Namibian transport workers and specifically longdistance truck drivers, who are perceived to be at

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significant risk of contracting diseases including HIV while on the road. The organization remains resolute in its pursuit to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS within this important, economic-driving industry.

Through the HIV/AIDS cross border initiative that was implemented in partnership with the SADC secretariat since 2012. One of the main target groups are female sex workers whose age range between 15 to 39. According to the Namibia Population Based HIV Impact Assessment conducted in 2018, women aged 15-24, have a far higher HIV incidence rate (0.99 percent) than same-aged young men (0.03 percent) in the country.

This highlights the continued need for expanded primary HIV prevention in young women. This age group is considered one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. Through collaboration with the MoHSS and with support from the Global Fund through NANASO, WBCG has since January 2018, actively engaged in strategies to target out of school Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) with HIV prevention interventions including HIV testing and through this partnership over 8000 girls have been tested in Ohangwena, Kavango East and West Regions and now know their HIV status. A further 10 900 general community members have also accessed HIV testing services.

Significant progress has been made this reporting period in terms of optimising on current resources to strengthen performance indicators on our various key projects. The project continues to increase its footprint in the Namibian health market and expand its horizons beyond borders.

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Developing innovative and sustainable health and wellness programmes will result in more productive and economic sustainable companies and a sector that can significantly contribute to the country’s economy through its human capital.

However, a lack of a measurable, effective, sustainable health and wellness programmes within this sector, threatens the sustainability of the human capital and socio-economic development of the country (WBCG, 2018). The Ministry of Works and Transport (2018) reported that about 23,5% of transport workers including long distance truck drivers are suffering from high blood pressure, while 16,3% presents with high cholesterol levels caused by unhealthy lifestyle habits. The study further found that 20% of long-distance truck drivers in the transport sector had poor eye vision, which in itself has posed a road safety risk, as these drivers spend most of their time on the road and mostly during the night. Furthermore, 16.5% of the sector employees are living with HIV and AIDS and could be laid off if they become too ill to work due to a lack of supportive treatment and care programmes. Hence,

the WBCG Wellness initiative and services has and continue to benefit both the employer and employee, as well as other companies within the private and public sectors respectively in terms of identifying strategies to improve health outcomes of individuals and potentially save the company and sector money in the long term as well.

Furthermore, the WBCG being a local indigenous organization and through its Wellness Service initiative is implementing specific HIV/AIDS and broader general workplace wellness and community based health programmes in Namibia since 2003.

This is done through the provision of a package of effective and sustainable health services that are tailored to address the needs of the Namibian people from various sectors of the community.

These strategic and targeted health and wellness interventions coincides with our vision to be the prime driver of self-sustaining HIV and AIDS and Employee Wellness Workplace programmes in the Namibian transport sector and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The component of establishing roadside wellness clinics is one our best practices to date as they are strategically located to reach out to the most vulnerable people in our communities. The roadside wellness clinics are located along the transport corridors and provide comprehensive health and wellness services with a special focus on addressing HIV/AIDS and other primary health care related services such as blood pressure and glucose testing, cholesterol and haemoglobin testing as well as tuberculosis screening and condom distribution to mobile and other key populations.

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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

PROJECT EXPANSION

Effective and open communication and awareness of stakeholders remains critical to the success of this project.

The WBCG Roadside Wellness Centres are located along the major transport corridors in Namibia and at identified hotpots. The WBCG’s fixed container clinics are located in Oshikango, Walvis Bay, Katima Mulilo and Windhoek.

The overall success of this project is based on the pillars of smart partnerships and community collaborations with optimal support from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, development partners, civil society organisations and other relevant institutions from various sectors within the country.

The WBCG will continue to work with various stakeholders including the media, MoHSS, Global Fund, USAID, FHI360, Intrahealth, GIZ, civil society organisations and most importantly the various corporate and private sector companies that continue to believe in our model and strive to walk this journey with us all the way.

Four new container clinics are planned in the upcoming year for Keetmanshoop, Otjiwarongo, Gobabis and the Erongo region. The first in Keetmanshoop clinic aims to support the activities in Rosh Pinah and Oranjemund with the support of a mobile wellness clinic. A second container clinic in Otjiwarongo will be established at a proposed truck port to support specific health and wellness services for mobile populations. This clinic will support activities from neighbouring districts such as Grootfontein with a mobile wellness clinic. The fourth container clinic in the Erongo Region still needs a confirmed location, and aims to support the current clinic in the region. This clinic will extend its services to Omaruru, Usakos and Arandis.

PROJECT FOCUS AREAS ==> Strengthening current partnerships and develop new relations. ==> Expand project to other regions in Namibia and across the borders ==> Scale up on current package of services ==> Develop new systems to create seamless and effective service delivery models ==> Participate in value addition conferences for learning and application purposes ==> Sustainability of the WBCG Wellness Project – Funding Opportunities. ==> Training & Development (Capacity Building) – Staff. ==>

Monitoring & Evaluation (Quality Assurance).

==>

Marketing & Promotion of Wellness Services.

==>

Maintain Only High Impact Wellness Activities 80/20 Pareto Principle.

==> Maintain and develop new Smart Partnerships.

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The mobile wellness clinics will be expanded to navigate through various project sites and the regions to provide community outreach and employee workplace wellness services, especially for clients who are unable to reach the fixed health facilities.

pay fee model is used to compliment membership fees to ensure the sustainability of the project. A sustainable marketing plan will be developed to increase our brand profile and increase awareness of the project’s services.

OPPORTUNITIES

The project continues to work and foster smart partnerships with key stakeholders such as Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), Ministry of Works and Transport and other development partners including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) project, Global Fund, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), UNAIDS, World Health Organization (WHO), Namibia Transport and Allied Workers Union (NATAU), Intrahealth, Civil Society Organizations and the broader transport and logistics industry stakeholders.

Despite the current funding challenges faced by many civil society organisations in Namibia coupled with a relatively low uptake of both workplace and community-based health and wellness services, the WBCG continues to identify strategic opportunities in terms of new funding sources, partnerships with corporate companies within the private sector and well as the public sector.

It is therefore essential to note that the overall success factors of this project are based on the pillars of smart partnerships and community collaborations with optimal support from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, development partners, civil society organisations and other relevant institutions from various sectors within the country.

WAY FORWARD The Wellness Service project continues to strengthen its investment concept by strategically positioning itself in the market. We target high impact clients through the 80/20 Pareto Principle and offer our services to identified corporate companies. A user

Opportunities remain for development partners to support innovative and targeted strategies. Hence, our approach remains focused on creating smart partnerships with institutions that will add tangible value to our strategic initiatives. Our wellness brand has grown significantly and we need to sustain it by providing only the best quality of services and focusing on results more than the cost of doing business.

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Finance & Administration Klaudia Mwala Manager: Finance & Administration

The Finance and Administration Department remains an integral part of the organisation. Over the past twelve months the department focused on alignment of resources to provide support to the overall organisation strategies and goals.

As a non-profit organisation, depended on members contribution and donors funding. The fact that the WBCG operates in the international transport and logistics market makes us vulnerable to the forces of market supply and demand. The depreciation of the South African Rand, to which the Namibia Dollar is pegged, had unfavourable effects on our cash flow position because our operational expenditure in Namibian dollars at our regional offices increased significantly. Therefore the core focus of the Finance and Administration Department remains on sustainability and prudent financial controls.

Another focus is continuous review of the funding risk assessment action plans and work with other departments to mitigate the identified risks.

The prevailing economic challenges in Namibia and the Region at large, coupled with the fact that the WBCG operates in a highly competitive market, required strict financial controls and constant evaluation of projects and departmental spending which in turn resulted in a positive and healthy cashflow for the period under review. This deliberate intervention greatly contributed towards effective execution of the WBCG mandate.

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

Finance & Administration has an important role in coordinating the funding of the various projects between relevant donors and internal support functions. On-going communication and followups between these parties have ensured that the WBCG remains a strong partner to the relevant development institutions. The WBCG’s strict adherence to corporate governance, donor policies, donors reporting, transparency and accountability has allowed us to consistently ensure that we can utilise opportunities in the form of new and continuous project funding from relevant donors.

Our strength lies within the consistent improvement and delivery of our various projects such as the Wellness Service, Projects and Funding portfolios as well as the Logistics Hub projects, which are leading us to new opportunities in the national, regional and international markets.

Over the years WBCG has maintained a highly skilled workforce to execute the business strategy.

We have remained a robust company where staff turnover has been relatively low. A strong

55 FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

emphasis has been placed on capacity building through training, developing leadership and management skills, exposure and consistent improvement are the main factors that keep human resources at the WBCG. The WBCG currently has a staff compliment of 45 employees.

We continued to modernise and harmonise our information technology at the head office to ensure that we have a system that supports our growing needs in business and human resources.

The WBCG knows that the future will bring more changes in Information Technology.

Therefore we have to keep our systems and technology updated.

This has created significant value in terms of improved communication between our head office and our regional and international offices, and also reduced communication costs and operational expenditure for the WBCG in general.

The unqualified audit reports, continuation of our projects and operations are a clear testimony of our successes and the confidence which our donors, members and stakeholders have in the WBCG. With the support of the Projects and Funding portfolio, the development of long-term funding remains a priority to provide for the gaps in WBCG activities.

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Member Reports NAMBIA PORTS AUTHORITY The Namibian Ports Authority (referred to as ‘Namport’ or the ‘Authority’) is a body corporate established by the Namibian Ports Authority Act, 1994 (Act 2 of 1994) as a state-owned enterprise which manages and controls the ports of Namibia, namely the Port of Walvis Bay and the Port of Lüderitz.

ABOUT NAMPORT We have as our sole object and general duty: • To manage and exercise control over the operation of ports, lighthouses and other navigational aids in Namibia and its territorial waters; • To provide facilities and services normally related to the functioning of a port; and • To conduct our business in accordance with sound and generally accepted business principles.

Furthermore, except where otherwise required in the national interest, Namport conducts its business in such a manner as to ensure that the facilities and services relating to a port are operated to obtain maximum usage of such facilities and services at competitive prices, which will yield a fair and reasonable profit to Namport.

Our ports operate in the maritime subsector of Namibia’s transport sector, as well as in the competitive landscape of the ports and logistics industry in the southern African region. Namport, together with its subsidiary companies, Elgin Brown & Hamer Namibia (Pty) Ltd, Namport Property Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Lüderitz Boatyard (Pty) Ltd, and

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MEMBER REPORTS

Namibia e-Trade Services (Pty) Ltd, are referred to as the ‘Group’. From its headquarters in Walvis Bay, Namport manages Namibia’s ports in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz.

GLOBAL CONTAINER MARKET The global container fleet stood at 23.2 m TEU at the end of 2019, which is 4.1 percent higher than that at the end of 2018. Deliveries amounted to 1,059,000 TEU and were dominated by vessels larger than 10,000 TEU. According to Drewry, port throughput volumes grew by 2.3 percent in 2019. Global port throughput growth is expected to be slightly higher in 2020. However, this was before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The container port industry continues to combat structural challenges stemming from the cascading of large container vessels, reinforced carrier alliances and capacity increases in many ports. The increased load on terminals is triggering requirements for upgrades of the terminal infrastructure, equipment, manning and planning capabilities, leading to more capital expenditure and operational cost, but lower utilisation. Weak growth in global trade volumes in 2019 weighed on the broader logistics segment. Gross margins in the freight forwarding market remain under structural pressure from digital offerings.

Technology is working as a key pull-and-push factor, shaping global trade flows by empowering individuals to demand goods whenever and wherever they choose, while supply chains are being pulled closer to the end customer and are required to be more responsive to changing demand patterns.

OUTLOOK ON TOP TEN SHIPPING LINES GLOBALLY The liner shipping industry is emerging from the longest downturn in its history. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the industry has been mostly unable to cover its cost of capital. Following a substantial number of mergers, the world’s ten biggest liner shipping companies now account for almost 85 percent of the global capacity. This consolidation, as well as the use of ever larger ships, has led to a significant reduction in unit costs.

However, the likelihood of large mergers is low. There would only be few potential synergies, greater integration risks and probably stricter controls and conditions from the competition authorities. As a result, at present, no further significant consolidation is likely. Given that the largest liner shipping companies are already cost-competitive, the challenge for them now is to differentiate themselves commercially from one other.

OVERALL OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20

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MEMBER REPORTS

Total cargo handled during the period declined nominally from 5.8 million tonnes to 5.6 million tonnes due to the subdued economic climate. During the financial year, container volumes remained stable with a total of 148,642 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) being handled. Although both container imports and exports increased by nine percent and eight percent respectively, transshipment TEUs reduced by 46 percent.

general cargo exports such as salt and ship spares was also recorded.

The growth in container imports came on the back of an increase in commodities such as rice, sugar and vehicles whereas the growth in container exports were attributed to increased frozen meat, charcoal, copper, manganese ore and scrap metal exports.

General cargo volumes handled during the year amounted to 3.5 million tonnes, which represents a decrease of eight percent compared with the previous financial year. This reduction was due to decreased imports such as coal, copper concentrate, second-hand vehicle imports and frozen fish destined for transit markets. Concomitantly, a reduction in

In the reporting year, Namport’s revenue from commercial activities has increased, which is a major achievement in light of the tough economic times experienced locally and globally. Even though transshipment revenues have declined, volumes from the Corridor-linked countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, have increased, offsetting lower transshipment volumes. Revenue from project cargo has also increased year-on-year.

• 148,642 TEUs container throughput • 5.6 million tonnes overall cargo volume • 9% and 8% increase in container imports and export respectively • 1,747 vessel visits

IMPORTANCE OF TRADE CORRIDORS The

importance

of

hinterland

transportation

MEMBER REPORTS

connections ports are an integral part of the overall transport and logistics chain. Port authorities and governments therefore need tolook beyond national boundaries to achieve the best regional efficiencies, and to increase port catchments beyond national borders. At the same time, port development also needs to focus on maximising value creation for all stakeholders. As ports are a node in a transport system, their efficiency is linked to overall transport infrastructure capacity.

Of the 54 countries in Africa, 16 are landlocked, making land-transport connections between ports and the hinterland even more important.

CROSS-BORDER VOLUMES INCREASE BY A STAGGERING 30 PERCENT Total cargo traffic through both of Namport’s two ports for the year ended March 2020 amounted to 5,561,999 tonnes of total cargo handled, representing a marginal four-percent decrease in comparison to the total cargo handled in the 2018/19 financial year, when 5,796,292 tonnes were handled. Of that volume, Namport has managed to handle 1 million tonnes of cargo carried along the various corridors, which is a 30-percent increase compared with the 780,000 tonnes cross-border volumes in the previous reporting year.

The largest portion of growth is reflected by the increased activity along the Trans-Oranje Corridor as 204,301 tonnes of manganese ore was exported via the Port of Lüderitz. The benefit of the Trans-Oranje corridor is to serve the mines in the Northern Cape, as it is a much shorter route versus using a South Africanbased port. This logistics initiative between Namport and logistics company TradePort Namibia, came to fruition early in 2019. The first consignment was received through the

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MEMBER REPORTS

Port of Lüderitz in September 2019. This arrangement will further contribute to Namport recording a total of 36,000 tonnes of cargo perannum through the Port of Lüderitz, which is set to increase from 30,000 tonnes per month to 60,000 tones. This increase will double the annual throughput from this commodity to 720,000 tonnes, resulting in a predicted 60 percent overall volume increase as the Trans-Orange Corridor increases its share of cargo volumes for the 2020/21 financial year.

Due to this development, Namport is currently in discussions with the Oldendorff Shipping line to investigate a barge option to transport the cargo. A barge is a long flatbottomed boat for carrying freight on canals and rivers, either under its own power or towed by another.

Steel rails for upgrading railway line. The second consignment of 3,860 steel rails (around 7,500 metric tonnes) was discharged from the general cargo vessel Vestis Isle at the Port of Walvis Bay in November 2019.

The rails were meant for the upgrading of the Walvis Bay-to-Kranzberg railway line section, which is 210 km in length. In late July 2019, the first batch of 6,679 tonnes of steel rails arrived at the port. This was part of a consignment of 20,000 tonnes intended for the upgrading of the railway infrastructure.

First passenger cruise vessel docks at new container terminal. The MV Boudicca, a passenger liner, was the first vessel to officially dock at the new passenger liner terminal on Sunday, 27 October 2019.

This is a significant milestone, not only for Namport, but for Walvis Bay as the development of the passenger jetty will usher in more passenger liners to the Port of Walvis Bay.

WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP

Queen Elizabeth cruise vessel. In the early morning hours of 17 November 2019, the Queen Elizabeth passenger vessel docked at the passenger terminal of the Port of Walvis Bay. The vessel, which was carrying 1,915 passengers and 998 crew members, came from Santa Cruz de Tenerife and made a nine-hour stop at the port, giving the passengers a chance to disembark and visit local tourist attractions in and around Walvis Bay. The nine-year-old vessel sails under the flag of Bermuda and was destined for the port of Cape Town in South Africa. The number of passenger liners received at the Namport’s ports has increased significantly over the past three financial reporting periods, as follows: 27 liners, 31 liners, 33 liners respectively.

Crossborder Cargo Market Share, 2019/20: Angola2% Botswana5% Congo (DRC)13% Malawi2% South Africa20% Zambia47% Zimbabwe9% The main exports from Zambia and southern DRC were destined for the international markets rather than regional ones and these comprised mainly copper in various forms, such as copper anodes and cathodes and blister copper. Most of the copper is exported to China, with some also going to Europe.

These results that Namport has managed to attain are due to the efficient and improved turnaround times at border posts, securities in its corridors, efficacy at both ports, the strong relationships that Namport has managed to foster with customers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and South Africa, Namport’s constant presence in these markets, as well as the dedication and unwavering commitment of the Namport staff members to rendering world-

MEMBER REPORTS

class service to their clients. More than ever before, the Namibian Ports Authority remains committed to making Namport the port of choice for international markets.

Pyrolusite imported During the reporting year, the third and fourth consignments of 7,500 metric tonnes of pyrolusite (manganese oxide) was discharged at the Port of Walvis Bay at the multipurpose terminal.

The pyrolusite, mainly used in the production of uranium in Namibia, originated from Safi in Morocco and was intended for Swakop Uranium. Each time, around 5,000 bags, each weighing about 1.5 tonnes, were loaded on to trucks and transported to their destination. The utilisation of the Trans-Kalahari corridor, an efficient logistics and supply chain route, allowed for a quicker turn-around time of vessels at the port. Since January 2019 Namport handled more than 37,000 metric tonnes of pyrolusite (manganese oxide), in comparison to about 29,800 metric tonnes in 2018.

OUTLOOK During the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the global economy.

While the long-term implications are still uncertain, it is expected that global economic activity will rebound in the second quarter of 2021 on the presumption that a safe and effective vaccine will be found. he Authority therefore expects cargo volumes through its two ports to remain stable or decline nominally on the back of weakened commodity prices and low demand for mining commodities.

To alleviate the impact of a weak economy on Namport’s business, cost containment and diversification of our business offering will take centre stage during the next financial year.

In addition, major operational and capital expenditure will be streamlined and prioritised and only the most essential equipment will be acquired to ensure business sustainability. Similarly, initiatives to further streamline and instil consistency in productivity levels will be pursued.

With the completion of the new container terminal and the increased burden to repay the African Development Bank loan, there will also be an increased strain on Namport’s finances. The Project Management Office has to play a greater role in: • Assisting the executive team to improve the management of Namport’s project portfolio to ensure scarce organisational resources are devoted to the right projects; • Offering greater support to project managers/ coordinators to ensure projects are managed efficiently and deliver the intended benefits to Namport; • Creating an environment to enable the sharing of good project management practices between Namport project managers/coordinators to continuously improve project management.

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TRANSNAMIB Rail in Namibia celebrates 125 years of existence in 2020. Rail’s humble beginnings when the first local railway was constructed in 1895 by the Damaraland Guano Company for commercial purposes and has since become a vital player in the transportation industry. TransNamib’s headquarters are located in the capital of Namibia, Windhoek and serves both Namibian and regional markets and has a vast range of commercial depots in all key towns in Namibia.

Namibia’s railway lines cover 2,682 kilometres countrywide, and stretch from Nakop in the South, to Oshikango, in the Northern part of Namibia and from the central parts of the country to the coastal towns of Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Lüderitz. On the eastern and north-eastern side, the railway line stretches up to Gobabis and Grootfontein respectively, providing interconnection to neighbouring countries via the Trans-Zambezi and Trans-Kalahari highways.

With the anticipation that industries and economies in the SADC region will continue to grow and eventually exceed the current capacity of our roads

infrastructures, rail is set to play a pivotal role in developing a country’s economy.

SUCCESSES During the previous financial period, TransNamib generated revenue of N$517 million which is an 10.5% increase in revenue year on year. Despite the challenge of rolling stock, TransNamib managed to attain its highest percentage increase in revenue in over a decade. The company's performance is well aligned to its strategic objective of reaching break through financial performance by 2023.

Freight volumes increased by 8% during the year bringing both revenue and freight to best levels in more than 10 years. TransNamib also received its first unqualified audit in over decade, which is significant for the company as it will open more opportunities for the business from a financing perspective. Other significant achievements were a reduction in monthly operational loss and a re-branding exercise to reenergise the TransNamib brand.

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In addition, TransNamib re-introduced the route between Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz which was closed for 18 years and is currently moving more than 15,000 tonnes of manganese per month which is currently being upscaled to 30,000 tons per month.

One of TransNamib’s successes was establishing the Grootfontein Dry Port. Two of the largest logistics service providers and truck operators are working with TransNamib to establish the railhead to enable rail replace the 623-kilometre Grootfontein-Walvis Bay road leg between the port and the Copperbelt.

Trucks from the north will transfer cargo in the hub, and then return to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Angola.

This will improve the efficiency of the truck operations, while reducing the road traffic on Namibia’s main highways. The ultimate goal is to extend the line to the border with Zambia, and for the Zambian authorities to build a link into their rail system. Replacing the bulk of the road transport with an efficient rail system will reduce the overall cost of doing business in the region.

The Grootfontein dry port is a facility with public authority status, equipped with fixed installations and offering services for handling and temporary storage of any kind of goods (including containers), carried under customs transit by any applicable mode of transport, placed under customs control and with customs and other agencies competent to clear goods, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward transit and outright export.

The Grootfontein station is 700 km from the Port of Walvis Bay and it is the last railway station along the Walvis-Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Corridor en-route to Zambia, DRC and Malawi. From the station there is a

distance of 623 kilometres to the border with Zambia at Katima Mulilo and another 1,617 km from Katima Mulilo to the Copperbelt Region in Zambia.

The Grootfontein Dry Port offers the offloading and unloading and storage of imported and exported goods, packing and unpacking (stuffing and destuffing) of containerized export and imported goods and container depot services. The current capacity of the Grootfontein railway station and dry port can easily substitute more than 30 trucks enroute the Walvis-Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Corridor on a daily basis with one train service between Grootfontein and Walvis Bay. The Grootfontein Dry Port has a number of benefits for transporters. All the customs documentation can be done at Grootfontein instead of the Port of Walvis Bay. Importers can accomplish all the necessary documentation and take delivery of their cargo at Grootfontein as it provides a convenient interface for traffic to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, the Port provides handling and temporary storage of containers, general and/or bulk cargo that enter or leave the dry port by any mode of transport such as road, railways, inland waterways or airports. The dry port also offers full customsrelated services and other related services such as essential inspections for cargo export and import and the freight consolidation and distribution of cargo.

CHALLENGES The rail company is still faced with significant financial challenges. The financial challenges of maintaining a 2600km network with a backlog of work means that the company will continue to rely on Government support for the foreseeable future. Rail has high fixed costs and is capital intensive.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20

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MEMBER REPORTS

TransNamib continues to face challenges with its rolling stock. With the reduction of the number of locomotives the rail company has managed to move more freight with less locomotives, but the condition of the current old locomotives still contribute to an unreliable service. TransNamib is in the process to get a tender to the market for the remanufacturing about 33 locomotives.

The outlook for the next financial year remains challenging, particularly given our challenge with the limited rolling stock to advance growth in our business but we know that there is more business to made, more strategic partnerships to align ourselves with and grow the company. Our agenda at TransNamib is simple – to drive transformation and make TransNamib stronger.

WAY FORWARD The improvement of the current rail infrastructure and the development of new railway networks to the neighbouring countries remains critical for economic development in the SADC region and beyond.

The political will is there to make the interconnectivity with the rest of Namibia’s neighbouring countries apart from South Africa.

Thus, in future, TransNamib will be connected to Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in order to fulfil the desire for an uninterrupted, seamless and complete railway connectivity.

TransNamib continues to look to the future and a major renovation programme of TransNamib locomotives is part of the company’s strategy to become one of the greenest rail companies in the region. Instead of electrifying the over 2 300 kilometres of rail in the country, the company is looking at using green energy in the form of hydrogen fuel cells. The company is also investigating ways of introducing wireless signalling. In terms of wireless signalling TransNamib’s biggest advantage is that more than 80% of the rail lines are already covered by cellular connections. All locomotives are already being tracked wirelessly, and individual wagons will soon have their own transponders as well.

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HI G H L IG H T S 1 APRIL 2019 TO 31 MARCH 2020

ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20

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H IG H LIG H T S

1 APRIL 2019 TO 31 MARCH 2020

MAY 2019

APRIL 2019 CUSTOMS REFORM TO POSITIVELY IMPACT CROSS BORDER TRADE Namibia’s newly formed Revenue Agency (NamRA) aims to improve compliance through increased access to regulatory information and functions as one of their components going forward. NamRA’s objective to improve coordination between Customs units, includes the coordination between Customs and other border regulatory agencies at an national and international level.

They further aim for enhanced detection of irregularities and

illicit consignments through the collection and analysis of data.

“In support of Namibia’s Logistics Hub endeavours, NAMRA aims for faster clearance times for legitimate trade and increased transparency in regulatory processes and decision-making”, says Acting Customs Commissioner, Ms. Thandi Hambira.

WBCG ASSISTS NAMDEB WITH EMPLOYEE WELLNESS CAMPAIGN Namdeb signed a Smart Partnership with the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) to strengthen its employee wellness programme.

The WBCG provided high quality employee wellness screening to Namport employees.

The special month-long wellness campaign kicked off on May the 20th with onsite testing at the mine’s land-based operations centre in Oranjemund. The partnership aimed to promote health-seeking behaviour amongst Namdeb’s employees.

JUNE 2019 NAMIBIA –ZAMBIA CORRIDOR TO GET RAIL LINK

WBCG HOSTS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ENGAGEMENT WITH ZAMBIAN INDUSTRY

Zambia is investing in the expansion of their railway system network, that includes the 200 km Livingstone – Kazungula - Sesheke rail project, and the 800 km Solwezi – Kaoma - Sesheke western rail project to link Zambia and Namibia up to the port of Walvis Bay.

In a constant effort to inform the logistics community on the advantages of using the Port of Walvis Bay and its Corridors, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) hosted a Beyond Borders information session in Lusaka, Zambia in June 2019.

On the Namibian side, plans for the 767km Grootfontein – Rundu - Katima Mulilo railway line is already in motion, with the commencement of the feasibility study slated for later this year.

This initiative is a deliberate government policy to link the new mines and mining activities that are not already connected to the railway grid and network along the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor.

The session this year brought together over 100 of Zambia’s business people such as road hauliers, freight forwarders, importers and exporters and government agencies to engage with the Namibian

team. The event was addressed by the High Commissioner of Namibia to Zambia, Ambassador Remigius Haindongo, Permanent Secretary of Transport and Communications Zambia, Mr. Misheck Lungu and Namibia’s Executive Director for the Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Wilem Goeiemann. Speakers from the WBCG, Namport, Transnamib and Africa Union Cargo reflected on the latest developments, followed by BHL and Zambulk sharing their experience of utilising the WBNLDC.

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HI G H LIG H T S 1 APRIL 2019 TO 31 MARCH 2020

ZIM NOW LINKED TO SEA THROUGH WALVIS BAY

JULY 2019 WORKS AND TRANSPORT MINISTER REAFFIRMS SUPPORT TO WBCG The Minister of Works and Transport, Hon. John Mutorwa visited the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) Head Office to better acquaint himself with the company’s activities.

Met by the Board of Directors, along with the Acting Chief Executive Officer, and WBCG's management team, Hon. Mutorwa was briefed on the configuration of WBCG and given an update on the company’s mandate and the various projects it manages.

As part of his presentation, The CEO highlighted WBCG’s endeavors to consolidate the activities of the Namibia transport sector towards the successful implementation of the Namibia logistics hub Project.

D&M RAIL PRAISES WELLNESS SERVICES

ZIMBABWEAN President, H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the country's newly launched N$50 million dry port at Walvis Bay will increase trade for the land-locked country. Mnangagwa inaugurated the dry port in the company of Namibian President H.E. Hage Geingob during his state visit to Namibia at the end of July.

Most of the country's trade is with the United States and Europe, while trade with Asia is on a steady rise. “We were landlocked but were landlinked to others in the region; now we are sealinked through Namibia with our own dry port,” the President said.

WBCG’S

“The quality and efficiency of the services provided by WBCG is something we greatly applaud”, says D&M Rail Managing Director, Mr. Dawie Moller about the employee wellness screening campaign recently conducted by the WBCG Wellness Services in Walvis Bay in July.

“The preliminary work was done in a very professional manner and the session was carried out successfully. We look forward to working with WBCG for the duration of our agreement”, Mr. Moller says of the first session of the Employee HIV/AIDS and Wellness Programme Implementation Agreement signed between the two entities in March this year, concluding in 2021.

AUGUST 2019 TRANSNAMIB MOVES FIRST SHIPMENT OF NORTHERN CAPE MANGANESE FROM ARIAMSVLEI TO LÜDERITZ A milestone has been achieved with TransNamib moving the first shipment of Northern Cape manganese from Ariamsvlei to Lüderitz. The train departed Ariamsvlei on Thursday, the 1st of August and arrived at the Port of Lüderitz the following day.

520 tons of manganese was offloaded at the storage facility in Lüderitz on Saturday, 03 August 2019. This rail shipment filled 20 wagons loaded with

26 tons of manganese per wagon and was pulled by two locomotives.

This is the first major movement of cargo on this route, which has not been operational since 1998. The railway line was recently rehabilitated and upgraded Aus and Lüderitz.

H IG H LIG H T S 1 APRIL 2019 TO 31 MARCH 2020

AUGUST 2019 NEW CONTAINER TERMINAL GOES LIVE Walvis Bay’s new container terminal went online on August 24, with RDO Favour being the first container vessel to dock at berth 11.

According to Elzevir Gelderbloem, Namport project manager and port engineer, the port’s regular cargo handling operations seized between August 17 to 23 to move 1 131 containers from the old container terminal to the new area, as well as the necessary ground-handling equipment.

PORT OF WALVIS BAY PHASES INTO SEMI-AUTOMATION To further improve efficiencies at the Port of Walvis Bay, the Namibian Port Authority (Namport) has upgraded its operating systems by introducing Navis N4 technology. Namport ICT executive, Mr. Victor Ashikoto, said that automation and investment in management and security systems are crucial to ensure that cargo is handled as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Navis provides operational technologies that unlock greater performance and

efficiency for the world's leading terminal operators. N4 optimisation solutions help terminal operators automate decision making and elevate productivity across a range of critical operational and business processes. This N4 technology takes a holistic approach to streamlining operations to ensure that land, labour and equipment are used in the most productive fashion.

According to Mr. Ashikoto, the main areas to initially use this technology is the container landing, yard management and security systems.

SEPTEMBER 2019 WBCG WELCOMES NEW CEO

BHL SHORTENS ROAD LINK BETWEEN WALVIS BAY AND THE COPPERBELT

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group welcomed its new chief executive officer, Mr. Mbahupu Hippy Tjivikua, who joined the team on the 1st October. Mr. Tjivikua rejoins WBCG, after serving as Project Manager for the Safe Trade and Transport Corridors project in March 2008 to May 2011.

Taking up the call for private sector involvement in infrastructure development in the transport sector, Buks Haulage Limited or BHL as they are commonly referred to, have done just that. To contribute to time savings on the Walvis Bay-NdolaLubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) , BHL upgraded a 221km stretch of gravel road between Kaoma and Kasempa in Zambia.

This improved section of road means that the route to Walvis Bay from Solwezi has

Mr. Tjivikua has close to twenty years of experience in the corporate sector, with eleven of those years spent in the transport and logistics industry. He was previously the Executive for Commercial and Marketing at TransNamib, also serving in other senior roles such as Executive: Strategy and Stakeholder Management and Senior Manager: Operations.

been shortened by 400 km for trucks and saves two days worth of travelling time for them.

CEO and Founder of Buks Haulage Limited (BHL), Mr. Buks van Rensburg, explains that the construction works started in 2017 and was completed in 2018. “The shorter route has already seen a 10% increase in cargo movement on this corridor for the year.”

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OCTOBER 2019

NOVEMBER 2019

WBCG TALKS LINKS BETWEEN PORT AND MARKETS AT DURBAN CONFERENCE

NAMIBIA & ZAMBIA OFFICIALS VISIT KATIMA MULILO AND WENELA BORDER POSTS

Speaking at the African Ports and Rail Evolution in Durban earlier this month, WBCG’s CEO, Hippy Tjivikua said that despite Africa’s trade challenges, corridor updated conference delegates on Namibia’s progress of the region’s newest logistics hub. The various infrastructure developments in road, rail and port were highlighted along with the country’s procedural and capacity building developments.

On 7th November 2019, the Walvis Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor’s management committee led a team of Namibian and Zambian senior government officials and private sector representatives on a tour of the common border at Katima Mulilo and Wenela border posts on the Zambian and Namibian sides.

According to Mr. Tjivikua, WBCG remains steadfast in its efforts to promote the Walvis Bay corridors and has called for the continuation of effective coordination of various stakeholders to maximise inter-regional trade.

DECEMBER 2019

The tour aimed to raise awareness and get an appreciation of the numerous trade facilitation challenges at the common border. The team’s task was to identify the problem areas that require urgent intervention at the common border and secondary corridor infrastructure. The tour was followed by a stakeholder meeting, chaired by the Director Transportation and Policy Regulation at the Ministry of Works and Transport of Namibia, Dr. Cedric Limbo, who is also the Co – Chair for the WBNLDC Corridor Committee - Namibia.

INDIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER PLEDGES SUPPORT TO NAMIBIA’S LOGISTICS HUB

WBCG PROVIDES SUPPORT TO KHOMAS WORLD AIDS DAY ACTIVITIES

During a courtesy visit to the Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s (WBCG) head office in Windhoek this month, the High Commissioner of India, H.E. Prashnat Agrawal commended the relentless efforts of the company, towards trade facilitation as a strategy for the implementation of the logistics hub master plan in Namibia.

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) Wellness Service supported the country’s AIDS day activities by providing testing services at the World AIDS Day commemoration event held at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek on the 2nd December.

“I admire the efforts of the WBCG and the good that has come of it to positively impact the Namibian economy.” The High Commissioner further commended the country on the transport infrastructure upgrades.

H.E. Agrawal noted that the embassy receives regular queries from India’s business community and investors keen on doing business in Namibia. The Embassy team therefore actively promote the port of Walvis Bay as a gateway for India’s cargo into and out of southern Africa. He therefore was vising the WBCG to garner more insight into Namibia’s logistics development plans and to better understand the setup of the sector.

The team further provided testing services and exhibited at Namibia’s first regional AIDS conference held at the Safari hotel on the 3rd and 4th of December in Windhoek. The two-day conference was jointly hosted by the Office of the Governor of the Khomas region, the Khomas Regional council, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Regional AIDS Coordination Committee (RACOC), the City of Windhoek and support groups of people living with HIV.

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FEBRUARY 2020

JANUARY 2020 WALVIS BAY’S NEWLY BUILT PASSENGER JETTY DELIVERS Walvis Bay’s newly built passenger jetty has received nearly 5000 passengers since the start of 2020. Additional five passenger vessels were expected to have called at the port for the remaining weeks of January.

Speaking on board of the MSC Ochestra, one of the many passenger vessels calling at the port of Walvis Bay, Mr. Ross Volk, Managing Director of the Mediterranean Shipping

Company (MSC) South Africa, said that Namibia is fast developing into favourable tourism hub and should ready itself to host more MSC vessels.

“From next season we will have two vessels based in Southern Africa, increasing our number of call to 22 from Cape Town.

FEBRUARY 2020 WBCG WELCOMES SCANIA NAMIBIA AS NEWEST WELLNESS MEMBER Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s Wellness Project Manager, Edward Shivute has announced that SCANIA Namibia recently joined as its newest member.

Scania Namibia joins other transport sector members to become a member of the WBCG Wellness Service.

According to Jaco Zondagh, Sales Manager for Scania Namibia, the interaction with and feedback from WBCG has been phenomenal.

“WBCG is an important entity in the logistics industry and their wellness programme is accessible and comprehensive for all their stakeholders”.

WBCG BOARD TREASURER RETIRES: JACK DEMPSEY’S LEGACY IN INDUSTRY REMAINS After nearly twenty years of service to the company, Treasurer to the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) Board of Directors, Mr. Jack Dempsey has retired his pocket calculator.

With the establishment of Trans-Namib in 1988, Dempsey joined as Manager of Procurement.

During his years at Trans-Namib, he served as the Head of Marketing as well as the Head of Operations consecutively. In 2009, he retired as Technical Advisor to the CEO and started his own consultancy, Dempsey Multi-Consult.

He has served on the WBCG Board since 2002, when he was named a director of the company’s board as an independent consultant.

MARCH 2020 WBCG WELCOMES NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR DRC Assuming the role of Business Development Manager (BDM) for the WBCG’s office in the DRC, Mr. Mbayo brings with him a vast array of expertise and experience.

As BDM for the DRC office, Mr. Mbayo sees his role as a significant contributor to WBCG’s mandate. “While I am still assessing the industry as a state of business in DRC,

I anticipate a lot of business development activities that will increase cargo for Walvis Bay”, he says.

Officially opened in 2012, the Walvis Bay Corridor Group’s DRC office focuses primarily on marketing and promoting the utilisation of the Walvis Bay-NdolaLubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC).

ANNUAL REVIEW 2019-2020 Produced by the Marketing and Communications Department of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group