No dividends from Namcor and NamPower

OF the N$234 million Government expects from dividends and profit-sharing in 2009-10, N$217 million will come from the Bank of Namibia (BoN).

The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) and NamPower will not contribute a single cent, according to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Nothing is expected from Namdeb either, but Rössing Uranium will pay some N$6 million.
Commenting on the BoN’s 93 per cent share in the revenue stream, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said given that the central bank is managing the high cash reserves of Government for a knock-off rate of interest while re-investing it at market rates, this flow of dividends is hardly surprising.
‘One only wonders why these high dividends did not come earlier, since the first budget surplus year of Government was in 2006-07, which is when the cash reserves should have started to accumulate,’ the IPPR said.
Also expected to boost state coffers this year, are the Namibia Airports Company with estimated dividends of some N$365 000, as well as NamPost and Namport with nearly N$5 million each. The Namibia Re-insurenace Company (NamibRe) contribution will be in the vicinity of N$300 000.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in which Government is a shareholder, is expected to pay dividends of N$110 971 this year. Shelter Afrique, the housing and habitat company for Africa in which Government also enjoys a shareholding, will contribute a mere N$15 328 in dividends.
Reacting on the Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila’s comments on dividends by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in her recent Budget speech, the IPPR said ‘there was a bit of hand-waving’.
‘She presented the total dividends received over the past three financial years as amounting to N$916 million, but failed to mention that more than two-thirds of that (N$648 million) were proceeds from the MTC share deal in 2006. Surely the selling-off of state assets does not qualify as dividends?’ the IPPR asked.