Oxpeckers tracked 14 GH2 projects in Namibia, finding implementation had been slow and the only real growth had been in bureaucracy.

Listen to this article 13 min Listen to this article 13 min The Namibian government's commitment to a green hydrogen-fuelled economy appears to be wavering, judging by the ruling Swapo party's 2024 election manifesto.

With just 400 mostly temporary new jobs to show for millions spent in promoting a fossil-free industrialisation process, the only real growth so far has been in the bureaucracy overseeing this sector of the economy.

While Swapo's election manifesto - released in September in advance of the national elections scheduled for 27 November 2024 - undertakes to "position Namibia as a key player in the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives", green hydrogen organisation GH2 has been relegated to a supporting act to 25-year-old plans to build a second hydropower dam on the Kunene River and bring the off-shore Kudu gas resource into production for fuelling two new gas-fired power plants planned for Walvis Bay and Oranjemund.

Meanwhile, the bureaucracy around GH2 developments in the country has become increasingly complex and confusing. The Namibia Investment Promotions and Development Board -- the former Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade's Investment Centre until it was relocated to the Office of the President in January 2021 -- is to...