Hyphen Hydrogen Energy says its 90% local employment target remains a flexible goal subject to local skill assessments, amid community demands for transparency.
The company says it is still assessing whether Namibia has enough skilled workers to meet the target.
Hyphen project community relationship manager Richie Mutendere says the 90% target was agreed with the government, but still needs to be tested during the project’s feasibility study.
“This is just an agreement we call a target, not a commitment. Now during feasibility we have to test all those targets,” he says.
Mutendere says the company does not yet know whether Namibia has enough people with the skills required for the multibillion-dollar project.
“We say 90% Namibians, but we don’t know whether we have the skills in Namibia,” he says.
SKILLS AUDIT
Mutendere says Hyphen is currently conducting a skills audit in Namibia to establish what skills are available locally and what would be required to meet the 90% target.
He says the company has signed an agreement with the ||Kharas and Hardap regional councils on skills development to help prepare Namibians for employment opportunities linked to the project.
“We are not there yet, but we are still negotiating on how things will go,” he says.
He says Hyphen has also partnered with NamWater, the Namibia University of Science and Technology and the Keetmanshoop Vocational Training Centre as part of its skills development efforts.
According to Mutendere, about €2 million had been secured for the skills development component through the Global Gateway initiative.
He says government scholarships currently being offered are not linked to Hyphen.
“Our initiatives for the Hardap region are still coming,” he says.
Mutendere says the scale of the project means Namibia will need to develop skills that were not currently widely available in the country.
“We are not alone. We have partnered with international players as well,” he says.
The comments come as residents of Lüderitz question whether the town and its residents will benefit from the billions of dollars in investment and natural resources surrounding the coastal town.
Lüderitz is at the centre of several major economic activities, including fishing and diamond mining, while new investments in green hydrogen and oil exploration in the Orange Basin have raised expectations of jobs and economic opportunities.
Hyphen is developing a large-scale green hydrogen project in the Tsau //Khaeb National Park near Lüderitz and Aus, with the project expected to create about 15 000 construction jobs and 3 000 permanent jobs once operational.
‘LOST TRUST’
Affirmative Repositioning chairperson at Lüderitz Titus Petrus during a community meeting this week said residents lacked information about the green hydrogen project and Hyphen.
“The management of the green hydrogen project and Hyphen lack accountability and transparency because most people in the town lack information about the project. Only some people have information, not all,” he said.
Petrus said residents remained hopeful that the project would create jobs once implementation starts.
“We hope people will get job opportunities when the implementation starts. But until then, we are waiting for the project,” he said.
Independent Patriots for Change Lüderitz councillor Nehemia Junior, speaking in his capacity as a youth leader, says information about developments and opportunities often fails to reach the wider community on time at Lüderitz.
He says investors often rely on their websites and social media platforms to share information instead of using platforms that reach residents directly.
Mutaleni says information is often shared at the last minute, making it difficult for residents to participate.
“If they’re trying to say the town is growing, and as we are expecting a lot of investors to come down, our community needs to be informed,” he says.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy this week confirmed it has secured a US$5.93-million (about N$106-million) reimbursable grant from the African Development Bank to support the project’s development, with Hyphen targeting 7GW of renewable energy generation and 3GW of electrolyser capacity at full development.
– The Green Screen is a collaborative platform that strengthens evidence-based reporting and informed public dialogue on Namibia’s green transition and extractive industries. It is part of the European Union-funded Eco Dialogue Collective, implemented by DW Akademie, the NMT Media Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC). This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of The Eco Dialogue Collective consortium partners (DW Akademie, NMT Media Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research, and the Legal Assistance Centre) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
