Observer – Page 772 – Windhoek Observer

15 Jan

PM roped into Shoprite saga

ObserverObserver MoneyCheckers, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma, Minister of Labour, Nafau, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa, Shoprite, USave

Andrew Kathindi The Prime Minister, Saara Kuugongelwa has been dragged into the on-going Shoprite saga after Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU) leadership has been in consultation with the Prime Minister over the matter, Windhoek Observer can reveal According to sources close to the matter, the NAFAU leadership have been in meetings over the last two days with the Prime Minister along with the Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma, to try and resolve the matter. The development forced the Shoprite representative and NAFAU to meet on Thursday 14 January at the office of the…

14 Jan

Smile! You may be on a viral video

ObserverNational NewsNamibia, video

In the new normal, video clips of anything and everything can go viral. Some of this footage is heartwarming or harmlessly hilarious. At other times, what is captured on camera is disturbing, frightening and whips up anger. But, those of us watching and forwarding such video clips or so-called ‘reports’ must be more responsible. The public must STOP believing everything they read and see automatically. People must check the source, corroborate, verify and question everything they read, hear or see online. If the public does not do this, access to the internet will be lost. Those in power will eventually…

14 Jan

Education versus Development in Namibia

ObserverUncategorisedCovid-19

Fritz H Dausab “Education is both a tool of social justice as well as a fundamental driver of economic development.” - Kevin Rudd Let’s face it Namibians…COVID-19 just condemned our prospects of economic development to the gutters of soon to be Zimbabwean dictatorship chronicles. In national budgets for the past 30 years, Namibia has given billions upon billions of Namibian Dollars to the education sector. Nothing bad about it…if we believe that those billions is an investment into our human capital, I guess. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding! Which means that for the past thirty…

14 Jan

COVID regulations extended . . .as virus variant suspicions surge

ObserverObserver MoneyCovid-19, Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula

Andrew Kathindi The government has extended the date for enactment of measures currently in place to control the spread of COVID-19 to 3 February. Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula admitted that the situation has worsened since his last address to the nation on 23 December 2020. In the Tuesday address, restrictions such as the daily curfew from 9pm to 4am, public gatherings being limited to a maximum of 50 were retained. Public gatherings are now, however, are not allowed to go beyond two hours and shall not continue beyond 8pm. The minister also revealed that there is…

14 Jan

Thousands of learners become pregnant during lockdown

ObserverObserver MoneyCovid-19, Education Minister Anna Nghipondoka, Ministry of Education

Andrew Kathindi The Ministry of Education has revealed that 3,629 school learners became pregnant since March last year when schools were forced to close due to COVID-19 lockdown regulations. Education Minister Anna Nghipondoka argued that this reality was partly the cause for the Ministry’s stance on the re-opening of schools. The figure is over two thousand more school learners than the entire 2019, which recorded 1,542 pregnancies of school going girls. “The number of learners who get pregnant within the time frame of closure and re-opening doubled the normal numbers. I'm just trying to re-emphaize the importance of reopening schools.…

13 Jan

Shoprite vs workers – a mixed bag of concerns

ObserverNational NewsCovid-19, Nafau, Namibia, Shoprite

There are arguments on all sides of the gap in the labour conflict at Shoprite. The solution will not be easy, and each side will end up feeling aggrieved. But, a resolution must be found. There is a need for clarification of ‘temporary’ worker. A part of the list of complaints by Nafau is that ‘temporary’ workers stay on staff for years as if they are permanent. They do the same jobs as ‘permanent’ employees. And yet, they have no benefits and no job security. There is a loophole being exploited. The call for a boycott and demonstrations should yield…

13 Jan

Shangula to address spike in COVID-19 cases

ObserverObserver MoneyCovid-19, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, Health Minister, president Hage Geingob

Staff Writer On Wednesday 13 January Health Minister, Dr Kalumbi Shangula will provide a COVID-19 public briefing on new or extended measures to contain the virus. The briefing comes as the country continues to record rising rates of infection, with 573 new cases recorded on Tuesday, bringing the country cumulative total to 27,255. President Hage Geingob has previously warned that he could reinstitute another State of Emergence if the current measures are not followed and COVID-19 cases continue to rise. According to the Ministry of Health figures, Windhoek (Khomas region) remains the epicentre of the second wave of the pandemic…

13 Jan

Nafau accuses Shoprite of ignoring judgement …as Thursday AR demonstrations loom

ObserverObserver MoneyAffirmative Repositioning (AR), Checkers, Shoprite

Andrew Kathindi Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) Secretary General Jacob Penda has accused the Shoprite group of not complying with terms of a High Court judgement issued last week. In the case of Nafau vs Shoprite, Justice Shafimana Ueitele on 8 January ordered that the retail chain “not to hire so-called seasonal staff or "fixed term" employees for the purpose of performing, in whole or in part, the work of the employees who embarked on a strike as from 23 December 2020 onwards for the duration of the strike.” However, the company has allegedly continued to disobey the…

19 Dec

Couch Cat: You deserve a Merry Christmas

ObserverUncategorisedlast COVID Christmas (hopefully, Merry Christmas

Jackie Wilson Asheeke You should be staying at home or only going places with limited numbers of people because of this last COVID Christmas (hopefully). There is plenty of time to have some seasonal fun and treat yourself. For once, don’t worry about your size, waistline, jiggling thighs, wrinkles or a fat butt. Eat everything that you can afford to lay your hands on and feel wonderful doing it. Spoil yourself with that sweet cake or chocolate fantasy. Have great sex and giggle about it afterwards. This has been a horrible 2020 and you need a reward for making it…

19 Dec

Only a Socialist Namibia can fulfill critical needs of the working class

ObserverUncategorisedMarxist Group of Namibia, Only a Socialist Namibia can fulfill critical needs of the working class

Kae Mathundu Tjiparuro “The critical needs of the working class can only be fulfilled in a socialist Namibia,” wrote members of the Marxist Group of Namibia last Friday in a piece in the Namibian newspapers headlined: “The End of Swapo?” What a befitting parting shot to wind up the year with. But all same this is a wake up call for those genuinely aspiring towards a meaningful radical socio-economic transformation, not be lured into a false sense of hope and expectation that Socialism in Namibia shall be delivered on a sliver plate, and sooner rather than later. On the contrary,…