Africa Outlook: How has COVID-19 affected Namibia and the civil engineering sector?

Perez Goseb, Associate Director and Head of the Roads & Stormwater Department:

“Namibia has not been spared from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessary measures taken to save lives, has unfortunately led to a contraction in the economic. This has adversely impacted work prospects, not only in the engineering industry, but across the country as a whole.

“The reality is that some organisations have had to downsize, while some others have closed down altogether. A small comfort is that these changes in fortunes have spurred on skilled individuals to outsource their skills, to build on the gig economy.

“However, at the same time, the worldwide drive towards sustainable energy is the reason to be excited to be working in the engineering industry. This can be through direct involvement in the research and development of sustainable technologies or the delivery of auxiliary services such as access roads, water supply, electricity supply, among other aspects, to project sites.”