Observer – Page 776 – Windhoek Observer

12 Dec

All ideologues must rally against political sojourn of opportunism

ObserverUncategorisedAll ideologues must rally against political sojourn of opportunism, City of Windhoek, Regional and Local Authority elections

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Indeed very strange bedfellows. This is how Yours Truly Ideologically can sum up the recent horse trading among the various political parties and associations, especially in the City of Windhoek, following the results of the Regional and Local Authority elections. As alluded to in a foregoing installment, these results were not conclusive in terms of returning an overall winner who could make decisive radical transformational decisions. Decisions to deliver in the short term the residents of the City from abject poverty and squalor. And ultimately from the capitalist yoke. The ink on the results of the elections had…

12 Dec

The Time Traveler: Self-care

ObserverUncategorisedThe Time Traveler: Self-care

Hugh Ellis I have often had issues with the ‘self-care industry’ and the self-care posts of ‘influencers’ on social media. For a start, some of its favorite things to say seem patently untrue. ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup.’ Except throughout my youth, I witnessed people pouring from very empty cups; it was the most disadvantaged, marginalized, run-down, beat-down-upon people I saw taking care of others. Certainly not the upwardly-mobile types who could ‘afford’ to. ‘You can’t love others unless you love yourself.’ Is this true? Who totally, unreservedly loves themselves in these confusing times? Yet we still manage…

12 Dec

Toxic masculinity

ObserverUncategorisedHarry Styles, Toxic masculinity

Uatjiua Kasete This topic has been weighing heavily on my mind, not sure why. I think it was ignited by Harry Styles debacle. The comments made, made me realize the levels of toxic masculinity around me and how that destructive behavior is such a social norm. I am almost certain that a large majority of men have been raised with the toxic beliefs of what a man should be. Tough, emotionless and ‘manly’ (whatever that means) and if one displays any characteristic outside of that box automatically one is seen as less than or “different”. As if that is such…

12 Dec

Santa buried by COVID and Trump

ObserverUncategorised

Jackie Wilson Asheeke In the American media, the only subjects are Donald Trump and the Covid-19 vaccine. In all the Trump/vaccine verbiage, Santa is lost. As I sit in my mom’s house in Delaware during this strange run-up to Christmas and New Year’s holidays, I have been in 14-day self-isolation. During that time, I was able to rest, read and watch media reports from a variety of sources. I was also able to shout my love down the hall from my bedroom to loved ones who came to my wing of the house to say hello. Usually, by this time…

12 Dec

Toll roads will not work in Namibia

ObserverUncategorisedRoads Fund Administration (RFA), Toll roads will not work in Namibia

The issue of whether to install toll booths on major thruways in Namibia is not new. As soon as South Africa installed theirs some years back, many here wanted to follow lockstep. Studies were done and the idea was not profitable or feasible. Those championing toll roads could not statistically justify the costs involved in constructing, staffing and maintaining toll roads vs the number of cars on Namibia’s roads. Now, when the pressure is on at in any government agency to find money to subsidize shrinking budgets, the toll road story rises again. Constructing and staffing toll roads in Namibia…

12 Dec

MPs call for unity against destructive locusts

ObserverUncategorisedAML, MPs call for unity against destructive locusts, SADC Parliamentary Forum

Moses Magadza Windhoek – Members of Parliament from southern Africa who represent their national parliaments on the SADC Parliamentary Forum are urging SADC Member States to unite against African Migratory Locusts (AML) that have been reported in several countries. Meteorologists have forecasted normal to above normal rainfall in much of the SADC Region during the 2020-2021 crop growing season. The predictions have raised hopes of bumper harvests in a region in which more than 44 million people are food insecure due to droughts and outbreaks of pests and crop diseases. From May 2020, the remarkably destructive AML, which can wipe…

12 Dec

MPs urged to learn from COVID-19 and prioritise healthcare sectors

ObserverUncategorisedHuman Social Development and Special Programmes (HSDSP), MPs urged to learn from COVID-19 and prioritise healthcare sectors, Trudi Hartzenberg

Moses Magadza WINDHOEK – As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the world with no immediate end in sight, SADC Members of Parliament have been urged to learn from the pandemic and work towards retaining their healthcare professionals, which has become a major challenge in some countries. Trudi Hartzenberg, the Executive Director of the Trade Law Centre (tralac), made the call recently when she addressed parliamentarians who represent their countries on the Standing Committee on Human Social Development and Special Programmes (HSDSP) of the SADC Parliamentary Forum. The Committee invited Hartzenberg to throw light on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 as…

12 Dec

New study shows decline in funding for HIV-related human rights work

ObserverUncategorisedAIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Study shows decline in funding for HIV-related human rights work

Moses Magadza WINDHOEK – As the world marked International Human Rights Day on 10 December under the COVID-19 related theme “Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights”, a study by the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) showed a steady decline in funding for social enablers. Social enablers include activities that address barriers such as stigma and discrimination, violence, gender inequality and problematic laws and policies which increase the vulnerability of people to HIV and also impede their access to, and retention in services. At the United Nations General Assembly in 2016, world leaders committed to invest…

12 Dec

High Court nullifies southern local authority election results …ECN ordered to meet parties rerun costs

ObserverUncategorisedHigh Court nullifies southern local authority election results, Judge Shafimana Ueitele, Landless People’s Movement (LPM)

Andrew Kathindi The High Court today, declared that the results for Aroab, Koës, Stampriet local authorities and Mariental Rural constituency are null and void and set aside. The High Court further dismissed the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) urgent application to oppose the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN)’s case to have the results of those local authorities and rural constituency nullified, after finding irregularities in the way in which the elections had been conducted. Judge Shafimana Ueitele however ordered that ECN should carry the cost for political parties to participate in the rerun of the polls. “The Electoral Commission of Namibia…

12 Dec

COVID second wave hits Namibia ….324 new cases recorded Friday

ObserverUncategorisedCenter for Disease Control (CDC), COVID second wave hits Namibia, Dr Eric Dziuban, president Hage Geingob

Andrew Kathindi President Hage Geingob and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have both warned that Namibia is currently facing a second wave of COVID-19. This comes as the country has registered over 300 cases of COVID-19 over the last two days, with, the highest single day number thus far and five deaths over the last two days. “The second wave has arrived, and we are considering what we can do because people are taking the situation very lightly. This disease is killing people. So, let us take it very seriously,” said President Geingob. CDC Country Director Dr Eric Dziuban…