Windhoek Observer

Niël Terblanché Namibia has officially launched an online visa application system for travellers seeking visas on arrival, in an effort to improve tourism, to facilitate investment, and streamline immigration processes. The minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security, Albert Kawana, announced the new system in Windhoek on Monday and said the initiative aligns with the country’s broader economic and security objectives. “This initiative represents the latest in our series of progressive measures to boost the country's tourism sector, improve international engagement, and uphold our national security,” he said. He added that the online system allows visitors to apply for…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources has recommended that the government officials learn from Tanzania’s approach to managing human-wildlife conflict.  This recommendation follows a benchmark visit by members of parliament to Tanzania last year to study strategies and policies there. The committee’s report highlights that Tanzania commonly relocates problem animals, such as elephants and crocodiles, to areas far away from human habitats.  Crocodiles are moved to rivers less frequented by people, while elephants are deterred from entering human habitat by the use of chilli bombs. Tanzania has also built crocodile enclosures in areas where humans and animals…

Allexer Namundjebo President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will be sworn in as the country’s first female president on 21 March. This historic event follows the Supreme Court's dismissal of the legal challenge against the 2024 presidential election by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) on Friday. The two parties jointly challenge the presidential election results in December 2024.  They argued that the extension of the voting period beyond the initial election date had rendered the polls unlawful. Chief Justice Peter Shivute delivered the unanimous decision by a bench of justices of the Supreme Court that the…

Julia Heita  As the nation laid to rest its Founding President and Father of the Nation, Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, his widow, Madame Kovambo Nujoma, stood at the heart of the nation’s mourning. In a message read on her behalf by Nashilongo Shivute, Kovambo shared a deeply personal tribute to the man she loved, the leader she stood beside, and the father of their children. “He would come home, greet me first, and hold my hand, his voice full of affection as he asked, ‘Meekulu ouli nawa?’ And I would respond, ‘Iii Presidente, turi naua. Ove ua kotoka naua,” she…

Niël Terblanché Namibia’s fishing industry is again under siege by foreign-flagged fishing vessels from China and Angola that are mercilessly pillaging the country’s northern waters. Several persons, who witnessed the flagrant acts of piracy last week and who wished to remain anonymous, said these fishing trawlers are plundering irreplaceable fish stocks in critical breeding and spawning zones immediately south of the Kunene River mouth. “For at least a month, these criminal vessels have operated openly, dragging the seabed with massive, weighted dragnets that obliterate everything in their path,” one witness who visits the area regularly said. According to the witness,…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja A political analyst has expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in combating corruption. Ndumba Kamwanyah made these remarks following the arrest of six public officials, including three senior police officers, a school administrator, a former school principal, and a government handyman, over the past two months in connection with corruption charges.  Kamwanyah believes these arrests highlight the persistent problem of corruption in the public sector. “While it’s good to see action being taken, the real question is whether these arrests will lead to convictions and real consequences, or if they will just be for…

Niël Terblanché The municipality of Walvis Bay has apologised to its former chief executive officer, Muronga Haingura, bringing an end to a N$1.5 million civil lawsuit he had lodged against the local authority over allegations linking him to financial mismanagement. Haingura, who was accused of involvement in a scandal surrounding the Mass Land Servicing Project, agreed to withdraw his case at the Windhoek High Court last Tuesday, on condition that the municipality formally issue a formal public apology clearing his name. The allegations, which emerged in 2020, suggest that N$24 million from the housing scheme was either missing or misappropriated.…