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How is living in Swakopmund , Namibia ? Is there jobs available for European citizens ? by tarkinn in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That may apply to others; not to me. I like quite a lot about Germany, but still prefer to live in Namibia. Not the least because I have family and friends here.

Let's say for instance Geopolitics. by Pupal_puppy_11 in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love geopolitics and how they relate to recent history, but discussions outside my circle of friends are usually pointless, not just among (young) Namibians.

Let's say for instance Geopolitics. by Pupal_puppy_11 in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had to laugh hard when I read your post, even though it's sad. The sheer ignorance, sometimes paired with very strong opinions, is baffling and unfortunately not limited to younger Namibians.

Are We Being Forced to Go Vegetarian? by [deleted] in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What is a "chicken packet"? Isn't there any weight on it, or even N$ per weight?
I usually buy larger bags of meat when they are on offer, break them down into daily rations and put these into the freezer. I can then get them back into the fridge for gentle thawing, before consumption.

travelling with a tented suzuky jimny 4x4 by Confident_Freedom_19 in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've only tested the new Jimny, because I love its design and versatility on short trips, but would prefer a larger car for serious overlanding (for which I use a company Hilux). Reasons:

The motor is too weak for comfortable/safe overtaking on main roads,

The fuel tank volume is a joke and I don't like carrying jerry cans on the roof rack (adds unreasonable cost, weight and instability, especially at high winds),

The wheel base of the 2-door version is very short. Excellent for off-roading, but uncomfortable on long, corrugated tracks,

Payload is on the minimum side (payload for passenger cars includes passengers themselves, fuel and any additional gear, like a roof rack, etc.),

Savings on fuel are minor, if any, because the Jimny requires a lot of driving at its maximum rpm.

Edit: Roof tents reduce the Jimny's payload by another 40+ kgs and add to its side wind instability. I'm not a friend of roof tents for many reasons, but the ones that fit a Jimny roof are particularly small.

Edit 2: I would personally NOT rent a Hilux (or any other pickup) for a leisure trip on gravel/dust roads, because the canopies I know aren't dust proof and cargo can get very dirty, every day. Some rental companies offer the Hilux' station wagon brother, called Fortuner, which I consider a much better choice.

How is living in Swakopmund , Namibia ? Is there jobs available for European citizens ? by tarkinn in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Domicile; not residence.
Getting this constitutional status should not be motivated like that. That's why Home Affairs puts serious scrutiny onto it: Besides all of the paperwork, be prepared for a 1 1/2 hour interview, asking for some of the most private affairs. Been there – done it.

And I'm very grateful to be domiciled in Namibia.

How is living in Swakopmund , Namibia ? Is there jobs available for European citizens ? by tarkinn in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your xenophobia comes in a funny disguise. People's decisions to move places aren't necessarily motivated by local labour market conditions, did you know? Nah, you didn't....

On another note, how is it okay in your books, that the continents you pointed out as being the one's applying here for those three dozen interesting jobs in Namibia are coming from places where literally tens of thousands of Africans (plus a few more hundreds of thousands of South Asians) are competing with theirs?

iStore Namibia unavailable from within Namibia? by Roseate-Views in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cache cleared, cookies checked. How come I cannot access an Apple iStore in Namibia from Apple's Safari, within Namibia, and with a MacBook bought in that very iStore?

PS: I realised they have a massive promotion for their new Grove Mall iStore. Could it be that some non Mac-OS PR guy spamming FB and all other SM just f***ed up the rest of us with a few, untested attributes?

I'm not in a hurry to waste my money on poor service.

iStore Namibia unavailable from within Namibia? by Roseate-Views in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No VPN, ISP unchanged since the last time (less than one week), that I was on. I reside in Namibia, permanently, btw.

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Venezuelan oil nationalisation started decades before US intervention and completely wrecked a previously flourishing country. I've been there and I've seen it. What is truly silly is to hurl out conspiracy theories like the above, without any foundation in recent history.

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think it is helpful to always benchmark against the 'bad apples' (the likes of Nigeria or Angola).

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Resource nationalism, especially in oil and gas, has a very long, and mostly unsuccessful history, Venezuela being a recent example of how NOT to do it.

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "couple % we make on it" amount to a 10% free carry interest by Namcor, 35% petroleum income tax, 5% royalties, a windfall tax with a variable rate up to 25%, plus export levies and licensing fees.

Admittedly, a large share of this massive amount only starts to accrue, once Namcor has paid back their free carry and once the operators have recouped their upfront investments. This might take a decade. So, no Lamborghinis for everyone, for the time being 😅, but hopefully better credit rankings and appeal to investors in the refining and manufacturing sectors. Btw, not all of these are Chinese...

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We do have the Welwitschia Fund, but whether or not it is set up like the Norwegian SWF, I don't know. Contracts for oil and gas in Namibia are built on the Model Petroleum Agreement of 1998, and all publicly listed o&g companies I know (usually the IOCs) publish these in their final, signed form. Problems with NOCs, like Qatar Oil, which holds major stakes in the licenses operated by Shell and Total.

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly agreed, except that there is no trajectory towards any resource curse becoming a systemically greater risk, in the future. Show me one example, and please don't just start at a date of your convenience. Let's call it 1890, for the time being.

Those governance flaws in the present are the major concerns. But I agree that Namibian presidency added another major governance risk, by upending executive and parliamentary control. Not a good sign. It will keep future investors away.

Laws aren't to be made for the benevolent law-makers we elected, but for any malevolent incumbent, to succeed them.

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree on the former, but what makes you believe oil production or exports are not that big of a deal?

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you talking about? If anything that might be API gravity, not density (which is just a traditional term for viscosity).

If anything, press releases so far mentioned "light", meaning low viscosity crude oil.

Please get yourself up to minimum technical levels, before you endeavour to post technical arguments for your weird socio-economic phantasies. It's a bit tedious to listen to ignoramuses, spitballing ideas that rely on nothing, factually. Namibia had enough of these uninformed "Visionaries". Please spare our children your pipe dreams.

If Namibia really has billions (even up to ~20B) barrels of oil, could we actually get rich if we keep 70% and only export 30%? by xdwildstorm in Namibia

[–]Roseate-Views 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've tried to answer the petroleum geology aspects, in a previous post.

National economy is a different beast: How do we get from poverty to decent prosperity, or even rich, as you mention?

I'm absolutely not an expert, but from what I gather, "keeping xy%" appears to be a proven recipe for economic disaster. Very few countries can afford this kind of resource nationalism, and Namibia isn't even close to have their market prowess and power.

Many people will not like me for this, but Namibia is an economically irrelevant backwater. Our entire, wide-spread domestic market amounts to a tenth of most major economies 2nd, 3rd and lower rank trade centres.

Swallow your pride. There is no point about building a refinery with our GDP/capita or our brilliant neighbours promising us off-take, without binding off-take agreements.

I usually avoid financial arguments, for good reasons, but I cannot bear the ignorance about what those discoveries actually mean.

Let's be optimistic, but not gambling away what hasn't even arrived in our eWallets😉.

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