Hertha Ekandjo
The Namibia Green Hydrogen sector has taught me patience.
Over the past few years, I have watched the sector attract excitement, scepticism, criticism and, at times, outright dismissal. I have also watched the expectations grow almost as quickly as the projects themselves were announced.
For many Namibians, the question is simple: Where are the jobs? Where are the factories? Where is the money?
And those are fair questions.
But somewhere along the way, I realised that I was looking at the sector differently.
While many criticise it, I have, to some extent, turned a blind eye, not because I believe the sector is perfect, or because I think criticism is unnecessary, but because I have been fortunate enough to witness what happens behind the announcements.
I have seen projects move from presentations and concepts to actual sites. I have visited greenhouses, spoken to young people being trained, met entrepreneurs looking for opportunities in emerging value chains and watched developers work through the difficult process of turning ambitious plans into something tangible.
And that has taught me one thing: big projects take time.
Perhaps that is the most important lesson the green hydrogen sector has taught me.
We live in a world where we expect immediate results. A project is announced today, and tomorrow we want jobs. An agreement is signed, and immediately we want contracts for local companies. A billion-dollar investment is announced, and we want to see the economic benefits in our pockets.
But development does not always happen that quickly.
Green hydrogen is a relatively new industry, particularly in Namibia. It requires massive amounts of infrastructure, renewable energy, water, technology, financing, skills and regulatory preparation. It requires investors to commit billions, governments to create the right environment and local businesses to position themselves to participate.
That does not mean Namibia should stop asking difficult questions.
If anything, the questions are necessary.
We must ask whether promised investments will materialise. We must ask how many jobs will actually be created. We must ask how much of the value chain will remain in Namibia. We must ask whether local companies, young people and communities will genuinely benefit. We must ask what happens to public resources and whether the country is negotiating agreements that serve the long-term interests of Namibians.
But criticism should not blind us to progress either.
As a journalist covering the sector, I have learned to look beyond the headlines. And as a Green Hydrogen Youth Ambassador, I have learned to have faith in what looks like just the beginning, because every journey starts from somewhere.
I have seen that there is a difference between an industry that is failing and an industry that is still developing.
That distinction matters.
Namibia has placed itself in a global conversation about green hydrogen at a time when countries around the world are still trying to determine how the industry will develop. There will inevitably be setbacks, delays, cancelled plans, revised timelines and projects that do not reach financial close.
That is part of the process.
What matters is whether Namibia learns from those setbacks and continues building the foundations needed for an industry that could eventually extend beyond the production of hydrogen itself.
For me, the most interesting part has never been simply the billions attached to project announcements.
It is what could happen around those billions.
It is the possibility of Namibian manufacturers supplying equipment. It is local transport companies moving materials. It is farmers entering new agricultural value chains. It is young Namibians acquiring technical skills. It is research institutions developing new technologies. It is entrepreneurs finding opportunities in services that did not previously exist.
That is where I believe the real story is.
And perhaps that is why I have turned a blind eye to some of the noise.
Not because I am ignoring the legitimate concerns, but because I do not want criticism to become the only lens through which we see the sector.
I want to see what happens next.
I want to see whether the promises become projects, whether the projects become businesses, whether those businesses create jobs, and whether those jobs translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of ordinary Namibians.
Green hydrogen has taught me that sometimes, you have to be patient enough to watch an idea become an industry.
But patience should never mean complacency.
As journalists, we must continue asking the uncomfortable questions. We must hold developers, government and investors accountable. We must report when promises are not fulfilled just as loudly as we report when milestones are reached.
For me, covering green hydrogen has become less about choosing between being a supporter or a critic.
It is about watching.
Watching. Questioning. Documenting.
And, perhaps most importantly, giving the story enough time to unfold.
Because sometimes the biggest stories are not the ones that happen overnight.
Sometimes, they are the ones that take years to build.
COMMENTS