Windhoek Observer

Renthia Kaimbi The municipality of Walvis Bay has opened the upgraded Independence Beach Promenade and launched a new e-governance tool called “Ovakalimo”. Both initiatives come from the European Union co-funded Erongo Sustainable Governance project, implemented with the municipality of Czerwonak in Poland. The promenade reopening shows the physical changes made to the public space. The launch of Ovakalimo marks a shift toward more direct engagement between residents and the municipality. The projects share one goal: building safer and more inclusive communities through participatory governance. The redesigned promenade follows new European Bauhaus principles. The space now serves as a multifunctional public…

Renthia Kaimbi The governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN), Johannes !Gawaxab, is allegedly planning to step down from his role.  The Windhoek Observer understands that !Gawaxab informed vice president Lucia Witbooi and finance minister Ericah Shafudah that he intends to resign next month.  The Windhoek Observer has learnt that !Gawaxab signalled his departure in recent days, but the exact reason for his decision remains unknown. He is set to resign a year before his contract ends.  !Gawaxab was appointed in 2020 by former late president Hage Geingob.  !Gawaxab was then reappointed in December 2021 for a second five-year term. …

Renthia Kaimbi The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) says it is not opposing Entrepo Finance’s court application and only stepped into the case to help the High Court understand the legal framework it oversees.  The regulator made this point in its written submissions in the ongoing dispute between Entrepo and the minister of finance, Ericah Shafudah, over consumer protection rules in the microlending sector.  Entrepo accused Namfisa of siding with the minister after the regulator filed an explanatory affidavit.  Entrepo claimed that Namfisa was acting in support of the minister in its case against the company, but Namfisa dismissed…

Justicia Shipena  Mine workers at Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation will now be able to buy Namitvest shares through salary deductions. This follows the signing of a Payroll Deduction Agreement between the company and Namitvest this week.  The deal allows Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN) members employed at the mine to purchase shares at a 50% discount and repay the cost through interest-free installments over 60 months.  Workers will keep full ownership of the shares they have paid off even if they leave the mine. The agreement aims to enhance worker participation and expand access to investment opportunities in the…

Justicia Shipena  The High Court ruled on Tuesday that Germany will not be joined as a respondent in the case challenging the 2021 joint declaration between Namibia and Germany on the 1904 to 1908 Ovaherero and Nama genocide.  The court also rejected a request to serve Namibian court documents on Germany in Germany, saying it has no jurisdiction to do so. The Landless People's Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi, the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, ten Nama traditional authorities, and the LPM are challenging the case.  They argue that the declaration violates the rights of genocide descendants and ignores a 2006 parliamentary…

Renthia Kaimbi Namibia has launched the seals subsector technical committee to guide the development of an ethical and sustainable seal industry.  The move follows a theft of seal genitals valued at N$1 million at a Henties Bay processing factory that exposed the strong demand for seal products.  Thieves stole 696 pieces of bull seal genitals and 2 225 smaller pieces were taken. The new committee will operate for three years under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform.  Its task is to build a responsible seal subsector that supports economic growth.  The ministry's executive director, Teofilus Nghitila, said…

Justicia Shipena Africa is bearing the greatest burden of conflict-driven hunger, the United Nations (UN) Security Council heard at its high-level debate on food insecurity in New York on Monday.  FAO chief economist Máximo Torero said the continent accounts for nearly half of the world’s undernourished population and is at the centre of a worsening hunger-conflict crisis. Torero said 307 million Africans lack sufficient food out of 673 million hungry people globally.  He said these numbers represent children whose growth is stunted, families forced to leave their homes and countries under strain.  He told the council that hunger has become…