Observer – Page 486 – Windhoek Observer

16 May

Kavango regions feeling left out on drought relief

ObserverNational NewsKavango regions feeling left out on drought relief

Martin Endjala The Rundu Constituency Councillor in the Kavango East region Paulus Mbangu has cited the drought assessment as biased and discriminatory, saying that the assessments are only conducted in areas that are not in dire need of drought relief. According to Mbangu, a number of rural areas are left out on the drought relief roll-out. “Yes, the assessments carried out by the Office of the Prime Ministet often aid regions which have been affected by the drought, floods and so forth, but who says these are the only regions suffering from this? This region occasionally has its budget drastically…

16 May

More landless people move to home ownership

ObserverNational NewsMore landless people move to home ownership

Niël Terblanché More residents of the stretched-out DRC informal settlement in Swakopmund have taken ownership of their own land by signing contracts with the coastal town’s municipality. The latest batch of 270 land owners of the Wagdaar area of the DRC joined the 708 people who already signed their ownership certificates last month. The certificates will enable the newly minted land-owners to build their own homes through various other initiatives that are working tirelessly to house more Namibians in urban areas. The provision of adequate housing not only allows Namibians to live with their dignity intact but also enables people…

16 May

FLON speaks on sex, alcohol and drugs

ObserverNational Newsalcohol and drugs, FLON speaks on sex

Stefanus Nashama The First Lady of the Republic of Namibia, Monica Geingos has encouraged the youth to refrain from sexual activities and the use of alcohol and drugs. Geingos shared these motivational words over the weekend during an interactive dialogue with the youth from Ohangwena Region held at Helao Nafidi. Geingos said young women who involve themselves in sexual activities might end up falling pregnant for men they do not want to have a baby with. She reiterated that girls are more likely to have lower self-esteem after having sex. She said young people should always think about the consequences…

16 May

Januarie wants taxi fines revised and reduced

ObserverNational NewsJanuarie wants taxi fines revised and reduced

Stefanus Nashama The Namibian Transport and Taxi Union (NTTU) President, Werner Januarie says there is a need for the Government to revise and reduce fines for taxis since the majority of taxi drivers struggle to pay fines and debt due to the low salaries they are paid. Januarie said taxi fines have been an issue for the past 30 years, adding that it is time for the Government to look into the matter to revise, adjust and reduce them to be affordable to taxi drivers. “Drivers are people who get paid a low commission-only salary and they do not have…

16 May

Fesmedia Namibia to host regional conference on media rights

ObserverNational NewsFesmedia Namibia to host regional conference on media rights

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The FES Africa Regional media project of the Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung in Namibia, and its partners are hosting a two-and-a-half-day regional conference on Information and Communication Rights in Africa from 31 May to 02 June 2023 in Windhoek. Digital rights, access to information (ATI), freedom of expression (FOE), press freedom, media sustainability, and human rights issues are at the center of the conference. According to Poiyah Media, the conference will be an opportunity to examine the challenges facing the region, to learn from each other, and to identify opportunities for collaboration and cooperation to strengthen information and communication rights…

16 May

IPC partially victorious in lawsuit

ObserverNational NewsIPC partially victorious in lawsuit

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Independent Patriots for Change(IPC) will now defend the lawsuit in which the party is being sued by Anga Enterprise, owned by Gabriela Nietche-Kandolf after it allegedly failed to pay for promotional branding items and related services. High Court Judge Boas Usiku dismissed Anga Enterprise’s application for a summary judgement, which sought a direct order without the party’s argument. Nietche-Kandolf allegedly branded promotional items of t-shirts, golf shirts, caps, berets, bucket hats and badges and related services worth of N$ 3.2 million. Usiku found that Anga’s application for a summary judgment was flawed, in that it did not…

16 May

Hoachanas community in uproar over delayed Admin post filling

ObserverNational NewsHoachanas community in uproar over delayed Admin post filling

Martin Endjala Controversy over an Administrative Officer position in the Ministry of Education Arts and Culture in the Hardap region at the A.M.E Community Private Primary School in Hoachanas became the order of the day, with alleged irregularities and unauthorized interviews by school staff members. Allegations are that the interviews were conducted without the involvement of the school board members. As a result, the Hardap Regional Education Director Gerhard Ndafenongo said that the post has lapsed and will now be readvertised. According to Ndafenongo, the said post was advertised on the local notice board with a closing date of 29th…

16 May

Waves set to accelerate Namibian Green Hydrogen projects

ObserverNational NewsWaves set to accelerate Namibian Green Hydrogen projects

Niël Terblanché Electricity generated by wave energy will not only add to national generation capacity but also provide a more reliable alternative energy resource from which Namibia can tap to eventually become a net exporter of green energy. To realize the goal, Kaoko Green Energy Solutions from Namibia and AW-Energy from Finland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop near-shore wave energy infrastructure for green hydrogen production in Namibia. The plans are to construct a wave farm off the coast of Swakopmund which will enable significant cost reductions for new Green Hydrogen generation and production developments. The concept…

16 May

Namibia ranked sixth in Africa foroverall investment attractiveness

ObserverMainNamibia ranked sixth in Africa foroverall investment attractiveness

Martin Endjala Namibia has been ranked sixth out of 16 African jurisdictions surveyed on overall investment attractiveness. This is according to the 2022 Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, which showed that Namibia improved on the overall Investment Attractiveness Index (IAI) by seven points from 52 in 2021 to 59 in 2022. On this index, Namibia was ranked 38th out of 62 jurisdictions surveyed, compared to 59 out of 84 jurisdictions in 2021. Reacting to the good news, the President of the Chamber of Mines Zebra Kasete yesterday said that Namibia’s performance in the 2022 Fraser report is fairly good,…

15 May

Electricity tariffs increased by 8.97 percent

ObserverFeatured

Martin Endjala The Electricity Control Board has resolved to increase the National Utility Nampower average bulk electricity tariffs by 8.97 percent from its initial request of 16.87 percent, meaning that the approved tariff has been increased from N$1.82 to N$1.98 per kilowatt-hour for the 2023/24 financial year. The increase was announced today by ECB Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kahimise, who said that increase is in accordance with existing legal provisions. Nampower submitted a tariff application for an effective bulk tariff, inclusive of a generation and transmission increase of 16.87 percent, which would have resulted in an increase from an average…