Windhoek Observer

Allexer Namundjembo A Swapo party candidate who recently publicly said she was “not a corrupt person” now finds herself entangled in a corruption scandal.  The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of former Omaruru mayor and current Swapo candidate for the Omaruru Constituency, Hendrina Magano Gebhardt. She was charged for allegedly using her position in 2012 to secure a municipal job for her brother. ACC's interim spokesperson Marina Matundu said Gebhardt violated the Anti-Corruption Act of 2003 by instructing the then chief executive officer of the Omaruru municipality to appoint her brother.  “Our investigation established that Ms Gebhardt…

Allexer Namundjembo Affirmative Repositioning (AR) member of parliament George Kambala has called on the minister of education Sanet Steenkamp to take action against the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS) following recent racial incidents that sparked national outrage. In a notice of question tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Kambala called on the minister to consider deregistering the school.  Section 79(1)(a) of the 2020 Basic Education Act empowers the minister to revoke a private school's registration if it engages in racial, ethnic or religious discrimination. “It is unacceptable that an educational institution operating under Namibian law continues to be associated…

Renthia Kaimbi Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa has defended the nationwide rollout of prepaid water meters. He said the move is necessary as local authorities owe NamWater about N$3.5 billion. Sankwasa told the Windhoek Observer that he fully supports local authorities installing prepaid meters as part of efforts to settle the growing water debt.  His comments follow rising anger in Henties Bay, where the compulsory installation of 3 500 prepaid meters has triggered protests. “Any local authority that goes to put water meters now has my full support. Because we have to pay the N$3.5 billion debt to…

Justicia Shipena The overlap between the Access to Information (ATI) Act and the Public Procurement Act (PPA) could improve transparency and accountability in government spending.  This is according to the latest edition of the procurement tracker report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). As the government prepares to appoint an information commissioner, which will mark the start of fully implementing the ATI law, the report said the framework could reshape how information is managed in the public sector.  This includes procurement systems that have long faced issues of secrecy and non-compliance. Both laws mandate the release of key…