Windhoek Observer

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Internet Society Namibia Chapter (ISOC Namibia) has criticized Mobile Telecommunication Limited (MTC) for its continued collection of biometric data, citing it as a blatant violation of fundamental human rights. The society’s president, Anna Amoomo, argues that the collection of such data infringes upon privacy rights and questions the security of storing biometric information. "Attempts to justify the collection of biometrics by MTC remain elusive. We feel that biometric data doesn't have to be part of the package. When one refuses to give their biometric data, they are refused registration That means they are denied their basic human…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ondonga Traditional Authority will be hosting the second annual Omagongo Festival in May. Former prime minister, Nahas Angula who is also a member of the Omagongo Festival 2024 Organising Committee, expressed anticipation for the event, which is poised to commence on 24 May and conclude on 26 May. “The festival serves as a platform to celebrate Aawambo culture and foster unity amongst the Namibian people,” said Angula. The Omagongo Festival is a commemoration of the Marula fruit harvest. Angula emphasised the significance of the festival's rotation among the eight Northern Traditional Authorities He reflected on the previous…

Niël Terblanché Grow Namibia CC trading as About Africa.Co has clarified the circumstances surrounding its recent acquisition of a lucrative tourism concession in Namibia amidst a wave of public scrutiny and media coverage. This is because the company has been awarded a 25-year contract to manage transportation, campsite operations, and guided trails in the iconic Sossusvlei area of the Namib Desert. The company founder, Heiko Dörgeloh, said that their adherence to fairness, transparency, and ethical practices throughout the bidding process is above suspicion. “The process, conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT), involved a thorough and transparent…

Niël Terblanché Employees of Namibia’s premier provider of marine engineering solutions, Namdock downed tools on Monday accusing the top management of the company, partly owned by the Namibian Ports Authority, of changing their working conditions without prior notice. The employees staged a protest in front of the company entrance on Monday morning demanding answers from management. One of the employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said management cancelled their tea break without consulting them nor their labour union, Metal and Allied Namibia Workers Union (MANWU). “The company took away our tea time without even…

Martin Endjala The restriction of payments between countries of Common Monetary Areas (CMA) that was scheduled to be enforced on 14 April has been extended to 30 September. The Bank of Namibia(BoN) spokesperson, Oskar Josefina confirmed this today. She said a detailed statement will be issued later in the week. Standard Bank Namibia has issued a formal communication to its client confirming the extension of the effective date of the PSD-9. “The extension aligns with the regulatory deadline from other CMA countries and affords the industry sufficient time to ensure compliance with PSD-9,” the Standard Bank statement reads. The bank…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), will start receiving shares from the Sungara Energies oil deal when transaction completion has been achieved. Namcor Spokesperson, Utaara Hoveka told this publication yesterday while responding to questions on how far along the deal is and how Namcor is going to benefit that he could not provide a timeline for when Namcor can expect to start receiving its shares from the deal. The Sungara Energies deal came to public attention when Namcor Managing Director Immanuel Mulunga had allegedly paid N$100 million to secure the deal with Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe A total of 9,110 people applied for legal aid during the 2023/24 financial year, of which 5,428 applications were granted while some are still pending. This was done with a budget of N$35 million, which includes expenditure for ongoing cases. The Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab revealed this in the National Assembly this week during the budget debate. She stated that Namibia is one of the few countries in the African continent that provides legal aid to indigent litigants at the expense of the State. Therefore, the government makes budget provisions for that purpose every year, because access…

Martin Endjala Employees of Namdeb who have been sleeping in tents in Oranjemund accused the Mineworkers Union (MUN) of taking bribes from the country’s largest diamond miner, to ignore their problems with proper housing. “We are paid up members to the union. This union ought to fight for us, but for reasons only known to them, they are very reluctant to fight our issue, it seems like they got bribed to look the other way. We have sent letters to the union but received no feedback until now. We are still sleeping outside and this is unacceptable. We worked for…