Observer – Page 459 – Windhoek Observer

23 Jun

Occupancy rate slowed to one percentage point

ObserverNational NewsOccupancy rate slowed to one percentage point

Martin Endjala The Occupancy Rate which is referred to as the percentage of occupied rooms in a house at any given time has slowed by a meagre one percentage point in May 2023, from 51.8 percent in April to 50.8 percent in May 2023. However, on an annual basis, occupancy rates have improved by 11.4 percentage points from 39.4 percent in May 2022, still indicative of a recovery in the sector. This is according to the May 2023 Simonis Storm Economist Theo Klein. He said that Namibians have been facing a notable surge in travel expenses, with prices nearly doubling…

23 Jun

SADC police chiefs gather to address transnational crime

ObserverNational NewsSADC police chiefs gather to address transnational crime

Niël Terblanché Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are experiencing an increase in transnational crimes of a deadly serious nature that will negatively impact the sub-region. The SADC Chiefs of Police Sub-Committee (SARPCCO) of the Inter-State Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC) gathered in Swakopmund to discuss the regional crime threat assessment. The assessment for the SADC showed that trafficking of illicit small arms and light weapons as well as explosives, cash in transit heists, trafficking in illicit drugs, infrastructure and environmental crimes, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants and illegal mining, among others are negatively impacting…

23 Jun

Approach your bank before defaulting on your payments

ObserverOpinionsApproach your bank before defaulting on your payments

Josef Kefas Sheehama This article will give you information and advice if you are behind with your monthly installments. From personal experience of 22 years as a Senior Credit, Credit Manager, and Bank Branch Manager, I have discovered that banks are always willing to take what they can get, giving you one last chance to get back on your feet. It is never too early or too late to contact your personal banker. You may be worried about talking to the bank. Hence, your first move should be to speak to your bank if you’re going through financial difficulties. It…

23 Jun

Quo vadis regions in Namibia?

ObserverOpinionsQuo vadis regions in Namibia?

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro Gobabis, known as the capital of the Cattle Country, as the region is popularly known whether the cap fits it or not, has lately been an atypical hustle and bustle. Inhabitants of the region, including the youth, converged on the town in what could turn out a pioneering initiative in creating for the youth in the region jobs. From which other regions could well take a leaf or two. Currently the region is said to be third on the entire country’s unemployment log. The scorch of unemployment in the country among the youth is well known with…

23 Jun

615 suicides recorded between January and April…Men topping the suicide rate

ObserverMain615 suicides recorded between January and April…Men topping the suicide rate

Hertta-Maria Amutenja At least 615 suicides were recorded by the Namibian police between January 20-22 and April 2023. Of these staggering statistics, 485 are adult men while 107 are adult women. The figures also indicate that 18 male juveniles and 5 female juveniles died by suicide during the same period. The Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo revealed in an exclusive interview with the Windhoek Observer that the Omusati Region has the highest recorded suicide rate with 121 cases while the //Karas region reported the lowest with eight suicides. The Ohangwena Region reported 94 cases, Khomas…

22 Jun

Uproar as 11-year-old boy commits suicide amid bullying rumors

ObserverNational News

Stefanus Nashama The family of the late Christopher Boois, an 11-year-old learner at Kronlein Primary School has been left in shock after he committed suicide on 15 June 2023 by hanging himself at home after he was reportedly bullied at school. According to the family Spokesperson, Wilhelmina Goeieman, the boy, who was in Grade 5, took his own life after bullies tore up his report card and his shirt which he went to fetch. Boois was allegedly attacked by a group of boys who wore masks. He told a family member that some of the boys were older than him…

22 Jun

Oshikoto Region rocked by GBV and teenage pregnancy

ObserverNational NewsOshikoto Region rocked by GBV and teenage pregnancy

Martin Endjala The Oshikoto Region has of late recorded a ten percent increase in the number of gender-based violence (GBV) cases while teenage pregnancies and school dropouts also pose a challenge. Penda Ya Ndakolo, the Oshikoto Regional Governor during his State of the Region Address, revealed that GBV is a prevalent problem in Namibia that impacts all aspects of life. Ya Ndakolo said that in most cases these incidences happen because children are left alone at home without parental care. So far there have been 81 rape cases, 46 domestic violence cases, and 246 stock theft cases reported in the…

22 Jun

Hygiene is the only way to curb the scourge of scabies

ObserverNational NewsHygiene is the only way to curb the scourge of scabies

Martin Endjala The Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ben Nangombe has reiterated that the best measure to curb the outbreak of scabies is by practising good hygiene at all times while ensuring that clothes and blankets are washed and hung to dry outside to be exposed to the sun. Nangombe was responding to a question posed to him in the wake of the recent State of the Regional Address of the Ohangwena region, in which Governor Walde Ndevashiya revealed that the region is still battling scabies. Ndevashiya said this is attributed to the rising number…

22 Jun

N$40m spent on infrastructure development in Oshikoto

ObserverNational NewsN$40m spent on infrastructure development in Oshikoto

Martin Endjala The Oshikoto Regional Council used N$40 million from its budgeted N$46 million for the development of infrastructure in the region during the past year while the execution rate for infrastructure development stood at 88 percent. Penda Ya Ndakolo the Oshikoto Regional Governor during his State of the Region Address, said that the region focused on the provision of clean drinking water, electrification of rural areas, settlements and growth centres, surveying of settlements, implementation of the sanitation program, and the construction of roads and offices. During the year under review, the Oshikoto Regional Council budgeted for 17 areas to…

22 Jun

Women are key in combating desertification

ObserverNational News

Niël Terblanché The Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Heather Sibungo says women are major global actors in reducing and reversing land degradation. She also noted that despite women making up half of the global population, they have unequal and limited access to and control over land in most countries while being regarded as the vital element in the combat against desertification. Sibungo was speaking at the commemoration of Desertification and Drought Day. “We cannot achieve land degradation neutrality without gender equality, and we cannot exclude half of the world’s population from land management decisions because of their gender,”…