Habeck: Germany offering Namibia energy deal with benefits for people

Windhoek — German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned Namibian leaders on Monday against falling foul of "green energy imperialism," as he continued his search for alternative energy sources in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Habeck said in Windhoek on Monday that a planned green hydrogen project in Namibia must also benefit the people of Namibia.

"The last thing we should accept is some kind of green energy imperialism," he said. There could not be, he explained, a situation whereby Namibia developed the energy, Europe or Germany sucked it away and left the country with nothing.

Habeck spoke with Namibian President Hage Geingob and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo during his visit on Monday.

The project in question involves an investment of about $10 billion. A German company is also involved.

Habeck said Germany was making Namibia an offer that was perhaps different from other "energy-hungry" economies. Germany, he added, wants the country to develop more, people to be qualified, jobs to be found and unemployment to fall.

Geingob for his part emphasized that Namibia was exploring new ways of cooperating with Germany, while Alweendo described Germany as an important partner.

"Green" hydrogen, produced using renewable energies such as wind or solar power, is to play a key role in Germany's transition to renewable energies, a transformation that has become more urgent since the natural gas tap from Russia was turned off. Namibia is to become an important supplier of hydrogen.

A planned reconciliation agreement between Germany and Namibia is also likely to be a topic of Habeck's talks in Windhoek.

The German Empire was the colonial power in what was then German South-West Africa from 1884 to 1915 and brutally put down rebellions.

Habeck will fly on to South Africa on Monday evening. In Johannesburg, he plans to open a German-African business conference on Wednesday.

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