Green hydrogen project a blessing – chief Seibeb

Although the Dâures Green Hydrogen project is in the desert, it is a blessing for the Dâures constituency community.

This was said by chief Sakarias Seibeb of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority in a recent interview. He noted that besides creating jobs for 100 people during the construction stage, his people also benefitted from the vegetables grown at the project’s green scheme.

Vegetables were donated to Petrus Ganeb Secondary School and small scale farmers in the community.

“In addition, we have a 10% shareholding in the national project – 7.5% for the Tsiseb Conservancy where the project is, and 2.5% for the traditional authority,” he added, thanking president Hage Geingob for initiating the project.

“I realised that some people face a bleak future because of unemployment in a desert from which little comes,” he said of his decision to allocate land for the project.

Last year Seibeb invited president Nangolo Mbumba to tour the constituency and the green hydrogen project the government is co-funding. The pilot project is envisaged to produce 18 tonnes of green hydrogen and 100 tonnes of green ammonia, and to enable university students to conduct research.

On the contentious reopening of the Goantagab Mine at the Sorris Sorris conservancy under his jurisdiction, which is subject to court proceedings instituted by tourism company Ultimate Safaris and two other conservancies, Seibeb said: “Ultimate Safaris found people mining here. There were rhinos, conservation programmes, and there was tourism.

Peter Hougaard, operated the mine and Ultimate Safaris did not mind.”

He said they now want to control the whole area to the exclusion of the local community.”

In December 2023 Hougaard applied for a permit to export a tin stockpile worth about N$2.5 million to China.

The chief said he is not against tourism nor mining, but wants the two operations to co-exist because they are both important to the locals, as well as to the national economy.

“Both provide jobs and we cannot give one tourism operator exclusive rights over 27 000 hectares,” the retired police officer argued.

Ultimate Safaris and Sorris Sorris, Doro !Nawas and Uibasen Twyfelfontein conservancies agreed to establish a joint management area (JMA) covering 27 000 hectares (27 000 footbal fields). The conservancies applied for a 99-year leasehold, but this was rejected. The Namibian Competition Commission also ruled the agreements establishing the JMA as anti-competition and illegal.

Ultimate Safaris managing director Tristan Cowley insists he only has a 25-year agreement with the three conservancies.

Seibeb dismissed assertions that mining operations would drive away the rhinos – the tourism drawcard – from the area.

“The tour operator brings in tourists by plane, and what is the difference between noise from a low-flying plane and that from mining machinery muffled by the high mountains where rhinos do not even go?”

He said the two parties must discuss terms of coexistence and accommodate each other.

Sorris Sorris conservancy chairperson Elia Manga recently said the ministries of mines and tourism should find a solution to the problem as the two operations resort under them.

On the campaign to oust him as chief, Seibeb believes the people instigating his removal are being used in a political campaign.

“When I took over, the traditional authority office had nothing, and their bank accounts were closed and I approached people to put money and donate chairs and computers.

“The rabble-rousers wrote a petition claiming I had mismanaged funds but were dismissed by a ministerial investigation committee because I am not a signatory to the accounts.”

He also denied selling land to the Chinese to mine.

“I do not give authority to mine.

The mining commissioner does.

What happens if I sell land and the person fails to get the mining licence?”

The chief denied involvement in the Xinfeng issue where N$50 million allegedly changed hands, but acknowledged giving the Chinese company their initial consent letter before their operations were stopped by the government.

He conceded that miners’ contributions to the traditional authority were miserly but blamed the government for it.

“There is no provision in the act dictating what companies should pay traditional authorities, and this becomes a ‘take it or leave it issue’”.

“We have approached the ministry and they see the loophole and are addressing that,” he said.
– matthew@namibian.com.na

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