Namibia PDNA 2009 - GFDRR

Table 64: Total damages and losses for the industry and commerce sector
Total damages (N$)
Total losses (N$)
Sector/ Regions Industry Commerce Industry Commerce
Caprivi 20,717,169.0 19,204,668.3 22,150,029.9 26,251,497.6
Kavango 25,506,475.7 38,075,336.6 27,397,477.5 52,502,995.1
Ohangwena 37,756,511.4 56,564,595.8 40,819,340.8 78,223,904.2
Omusati 16,680,871.0 36,658,674.3 24,871,602.2 50,532,237.9
Oshana 34,194,615.0 51,188,544.0 36,916,716.5 70,745,133.0
Oshikoto 8,587,467.6 7,889,532.3 8,860,012.0 10,510,705.5
TOTAL 142,441,109.7 207,577,351.2 161,876,778.8 297,327,073.2
(%) 40.7% 59.3% 35.3% 64.7%
Source: PDNA Team Calculations
Disaster Risk Management Issues
Due to the costs and related damages and losses caused by the
flood, risk management and reduction are important issues to
be addressed by both sectors. However, the risk management
and reduction issues are clearly most important for small
enterprises as they are often unregistered, operating in the
informal sector and constructed without observing building
codes or within urban planning strategies. Consequently, they
are exposed to a higher level of risk, particularly when they are
located or operating in a flood-prone area. Furthermore, as many
of these enterprises are in the informal sector, they do not have
insurance (which in general is still not commonly practiced or
undertaken by any businesses below the large or international
status). This lack of insurance and high risk exposure, increases
the vulnerability of the owners (most often consisting of the
poorest households or managed by women, both in order to
supplement their household income) to not only full-blown
disaster during the emergency, but also afterwards during the
reconstruction and repair phase, if that is even possibility.
For medium-sized enterprises, the same situation described
above is typical, but with the difference that, in terms of
recovery and reconstruction, these enterprises are much more
professional and with a higher portion receiving insurance. They
also have better access to loans. However, for these enterprises,
the agreed terms of repayment with the banks would be very
difficult, if not impossible, to meet. Without new agreements,
some medium businesses may go bankrupt.
Another point to be considered is the high damage costs
incurred by medium trading enterprises. Since many mediumsized
enterprises were not prepared for the flood and were
not able to safely store their stocks, it is recommended that an
improved early warning system is created.
For large enterprises, although facing some of the similar
damages and losses as described previously, reconstruction
should be easier than those undertaken by the two categories
of businesses already detailed. Most of these enterprises were
insured as well as have access to loans from banks. Recovery
could be more difficult as both internal markets and inputs
supplies from other sectors of the economy are expected to
face some issues, which could have a negative impacts on the
large enterprises’ monthly turnovers. Therefore, like medium
enterprises, the loan repayments would be difficult to meet
unless new agreements are found and finalized with banks.
To summarize, based on the above findings and assumptions,
the industry and commerce sectors are highly dependent on
the other sectors, in particular the agricultural sector. However,
the damages and losses the industry and commerce sectors
incurred could have a serious effect on economic growth and
thus the development of the country, especially in terms of
GDP contribution. Medium- and long-term policy taking into
consideration disaster and risk reduction measures should be
developed and addressed by all levels of the government.
Governance Issues
In the case of commercial and industrial sectors, the main
governance issues seem to be the dearth of material and human
resources that prevent the state and parastatal institutions from
properly assuming their responsibilities when disasters strike.
This observation is applicable mainly to decentralized territorial
administrations, like regions and constituencies, and also to
the traditional authorities which are still play an important
role within the rural societies. The lack of effective multi-level
organization within the public and parastatal institutions, in
terms of disaster and risk reduction management involving both
central and regional authorities, is another important issue to be
addressed in the future. These findings and recommendations
should be specifically taken into consideration by the Ministry in
charge of the industry and commerce sectors and the NCCI to
better cope with emergencies in the future. Even though their
roles are relatively clear, their disaster response is often quite
slow, a factor that tends to heighten the already critical levels
of vulnerability of households and many small commercial and
industrial enterprises.
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