Blog – Windhoek Observer

16 Mar

CoW to demolish Havana house built without building plans

Main, National News

Allexer Namundjembo The City of Windhoek has ordered the demolition of a house built in Havana location in Windhoek after it found that construction took place without municipal approval. City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya stated that the construction of the structure did not adhere to municipal building regulations, which mandate the submission and approval of building plans. “City officials discovered that a brick structure was being erected on the erf and instructed the individual to stop construction because the area is still under incremental development and no approval had been granted,” Amutenya said in response to questions by the Windhoek Observer…

16 Mar

Venaani calls for irrigation and agro-processing investment

National News

Justicia Shipena Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader and member of parliament McHenry Venaani says Namibia must invest in irrigation infrastructure, agro-processing industries and modern agricultural value chains if it wants to promote rural development and economic diversification. He made the remarks in the National Assembly while contributing to the budget debate last week. “If we are serious about rural development and economic diversification, we must invest aggressively in irrigation infrastructure, agro-processing industries and modern agricultural value chains,” Venaani said. Venaani said Namibia must move beyond gradual policy changes. “Our economy remains too small, unemployment remains too high, and inequality continues…

16 Mar

Ondangwa serviced land opens opportunities for businesses — VP

National News

Justicia Shipena Vice president Lucia Witbooi says the availability of serviced industrial land in Ondangwa creates opportunities for businesses to expand production and investment. She called on businesses and development partners to support the 2026 Ondangwa Trade and Industrial Exhibition, adding that trade exhibitions help stimulate local economies. “Trade and industrial exhibitions are drivers of economic growth and help to accelerate the development of local economies,” she said during a fundraising gala dinner held in Ondangwa over the weekend ahead of the 2026 Ondangwa Trade and Industrial Exhibition. The exhibition will take place from 24 April to 2 May 2026.…

16 Mar

Women MPs urged to strengthen oversight and gender equality

Uncategorised

Justicia Shipena Speaker of the National Assembly Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has urged women parliamentarians to strengthen oversight and work together to advance gender equality in Namibia. Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the Parliamentary Women Caucus in Swakopmund on Saturday, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said the gathering allows women leaders to focus on issues affecting women and girls and ensure their voices are heard in decision-making. She said the caucus brings together women across political parties to address common concerns and promote equal participation in governance. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said parliament must ensure that laws and policies adopted by the government lead to real…

16 Mar

TURNING POINT | The Case for Ownership: From Observers to Participants

Featured, Opinions

The recent decision by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to off-load its 10% shareholding in Rössing Uranium Mine presented Namibia with a rare and consequential opportunity. Such moments, when ownership of strategic national assets becomes available, are not merely commercial transactions. They are moments that test a nation’s economic ambition, its confidence in local enterprise, and its commitment to building indigenous participation in key sectors of the economy. Yet, as far as can be determined, few Namibian companies and not even the Namibian government stepped forward to bid for this stake when the opportunity arose through public bidding. When our company decided…

16 Mar

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila: Oversight without results is just observation

Editorial, Featured

When the speaker of the National Assembly, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, addressed the parliamentary women’s caucus in Swakopmund this weekend, she articulated a concern that resonates far beyond the walls of Parliament. Her call for stronger oversight mechanisms, ones that produce measurable results rather than simply reports, captures the growing sentiment among many Namibians who follow the work of the legislature with interest, hope, and, at times, frustration. At its core, Parliament performs two critical functions in a democratic society: it creates laws and it holds the executive accountable for implementing them. These responsibilities are not abstract constitutional ideals; they are the…

16 Mar

Namibia and Russia discuss expanding trade and investment

National News

Justicia Shipena The minister of international relations and trade, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, says Namibia wants to attract investment from Russia to support industrial development, technology transfer and job creation. She said this during the Namibia–Russia Business Forum in Windhoek on Friday. The forum provides a platform for engagement between governments, businesses, financial institutions and research organisations from both countries. “These engagements are designed to promote technology transfer, strengthen value chain development and facilitate strategic investment matchmaking between companies and institutions from both countries,” she said. The forum was held alongside the 11th session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic…

16 Mar

Namibia intervenes in ICJ Gaza genocide case

National News

Allexer Namundjembo Namibia has formally intervened in the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The court confirmed that Namibia submitted a declaration of intervention last week under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute. The article allows states that are party to a treaty being interpreted in a case to take part in the proceedings. The case concerns the interpretation of the Genocide Convention. The United States, Hungary and Fiji also filed declarations of intervention on the same day. The ICJ said states that are party to a convention…

16 Mar

Presidential consultations with Okandjoze Chiefs Assembly was expectedly a façade

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Lately various instances have been running in and out of State House for what the Presidency has been billing as the conventional, but in the parlance of the first lap of the 8th administration, perhaps it is the business unusual of Her Excellency’s democratic credentials of openness, punctuated, among others, by consultations with certain entities. So far for most of them, if not all of them, in their various and respective hues and sizes, as well as differing outlooks, political parties and/or formations; traditional authorities and/or leaders of traditional communities; chiefs; paramount chiefs; kings – call them what…

16 Mar

Stopping the ‘Disneyfication’ of Namibia

Opinions

Prof Uchendu Eugene Chigbu One humid morning, on a flight from Kampala to Windhoek via Johannesburg, I had a conversation with someone that later made me think twice about tourism in Namibia. A lady had just boarded the plane and moved to sit next to me. She buckled her seat belt and took out a tablet, keen to put her time to use. “I’m Elke. Are you also stopping in South Africa?” she asked, looking sternly at me. “I’m flying to Namibia,” I replied. Surprised by my response, she kicked off a long story of her escapades travelling through Namibia…