President Hage G. Geingob
The Presidency of the Republic of Namibia (https://OP.Gov.Na) would like to provide clarity with regards to slanted articles published in The Namibian newspaper on the 22 September 2023 and 17 October 2023, under the headlines “Geingob advised to reject award from Cameroonian oil lawyer” and “Geingob attends energy conference despite controversy”. These articles contain attempts at commentary, particularly from Mr. Graham Hopwood and other dial a quote analyst who shared gratuitous opinions about the process used to identify President Hage G. Geingob as the recipient of the African Energy Chamber (AEC) Lifetime Award under the guise of a bogus concern for the legacy and reputation of the President. The Presidency is of the conviction that there is nothing that should concern Mr. Hopwood about the legacy of President Geingob. Therefore, he can store his futile concerns in a box somewhere.
The Geingob legacy of exceptional service to the Namibian people as a freedom fighter and as a post-independence leader, working hard for the improvement of the living conditions and the prosperity of Namibians is solid. That in itself is a result of wisdom and leadership pedigree. Therefore, the concerns of Mr. Hopwood are mislaid and the President does not need lectures from Mr. Hopwood on which awards to accept.
The facts of the African Energy Week speak for themselves, where President Hage G Geingob was conferred an award in recognition of his stellar contributions to the energy sector through the development of a world-class energy mix, which includes green hydrogen and the discovery of oil and gas. As a researcher, Mr. Hopwood might have done a far better job of acquainting himself with the scale of the African Energy Week 2023. President Geingob was invited to deliver the keynote statement to an audience of 5 000 policy-makers, captains of industry and energy specialists. Among these leaders, were energy industry giants such as Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Total Energies, Sonangol, including senior officials from the Government of the United States, Ministers of Energy and Hydrocarbons from across the African continent. The US Department Secretary of Energy was represented at a high level by Mr Joshua Volz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, Middle-East, Europe and Eurasia who lauded the quality of the event. This is important to mention, solely to demonstrate that even senior US Government officials who Mr. Hopwood may hold (based on Eurocentric views) to a higher canon of governance were present at the event that celebrated the positive achievements of President Geingob and Namibia in the energy sector.
Namibia is emerging from the past difficult 8 years, in which Namibians experienced in one Presidency an economic downturn occasioned by commodity cycle busts; the most severe droughts to have ever been recorded in the history of the country; and later the devasting Covid-19 pandemic, which decimated sectors of the economy. The award President Geingob received this week at the AEC was in recognition of his leadership in turbulent times and the resilience of Namibians and their Government by championing through the Harambee Prosperity Plan II complementary engines of growth, including green hydrogen and non-renewables.
The narrative of Namibia today is positive as a result of the turn-around in fortunes that the country is experiencing through the development of green hydrogen and green industrialization; the discovery of deposits of oil and rising demand for its large deposits of critical raw materials, which are crucial in the green energy transition.
The demand on the time of the President to participate in various domestic and global forums, and to undertake state visits is phenomenal. Unfortunately, the President cannot honour a fraction of the demand. However, with the time that is left in the Presidency, President Geingob will continue to work diligently for Namibians. The President will continue to promote and add the voice of Namibia at platforms (at home and abroad) in order to advance the domestic agenda of development and prosperity. There will be the likes of Mr. Hopwood who serve as dial a quote analysts and commentators. But the majority of Namibians can witness a resurgent Namibia, which is a hotspot and a poster child of processes, systems and institutions that promote and facilitate investments in key sectors of the economy, including energy for which the President received the AEC Lifetime Achievement Award.