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Oil rush or national ruin: discipline must guide Namibia’s offshore future

In a recent OpEd published in this newspaper titled “Discovery Is the Easy Part: Why Capital Discipline Determines Frontier Offshore Success”, Fernando Sylvester delivers a sobering reminder to nations and investors alike: the true test of offshore resource development does not lie in discovery, but in the discipline that follows it. His argument is both timely and urgent for our country, as we are now standing at the threshold of potentially transformative offshore hydrocarbon wealth. Sylvester notes that frontier offshore discoveries have an outsized effect on perception. Markets react in hours. Governments issue triumphant statements. Partners congratulate one another. Value…
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Omuthiya Build It under provisional liquidation over N$95m debt

Omuthiya Build It under provisional liquidation over N$95m debt

Justicia Shipena The High Court has placed Omuthiya Classic Investment CC, trading as Omuthiya Build It, under provisional liquidation after finding that the business cannot pay its debts as they fall due. The ruling, delivered on 16 January, follows an application by The Spar Group Limited, which asked the court to wind up the Omuthiya-based retailer. Spar and Omuthiya Build It began a commercial relationship in 2015.  Under several agreements, Spar supplied building materials and related services to the retailer on credit through warehouse and drop-ship transactions.  Ownership of the goods remained with Spar until full payment. Omuthiya Build It’s…
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Trustco to pay state’s legal fees after failing to end case

Trustco to pay state’s legal fees after failing to end case

Justicia Shipena The High Court has ruled that Trustco Bank Namibia Ltd knew as early as August 2023 that its review application challenging a Bank of Namibia (BoN) directive to remove its board, halt deposits and lending, and pave the way for liquidation had lost its purpose but failed to act. High Court judge Lotta Ambunda on 16 January ordered Trustco and its holding company to pay the state’s legal costs from 1 September 2023. The ruling relates to a review application filed in September 2022 by Trustco Bank Namibia Ltd and Trustco Group Holdings against the BoN, the attorney…
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Man sues to stop reopening of divorce case

Man sues to stop reopening of divorce case

Renthia Kaimbi A Windhoek-based accountant has approached the High Court of Namibia to stop the OvaMbanderu Community Court from hearing a divorce-related claim brought by his ex-wife.  He argues that their marriage was already legally and finally dissolved by the High Court almost three years ago. Zikamisee Justice Mbuende (39) filed an urgent review application in December 2025 against the clerk of the OvaMbanderu Community Court, his ex-wife Komao Lydia Ndjarakana, and the OvaMbanderu Traditional Authority.  He is asking the court to declare the community court’s decision to hear the matter “invalid and of no force or effect.” In his…
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Cran issues new licences for mobile and broadcasting

Cran issues new licences for mobile and broadcasting

Allexer Namundjembo The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) has awarded nine new spectrum and broadcasting licences.  The licences cover mobile, fixed and satellite services. They form part of Cran’s efforts to improve telecommunications and broadcasting coverage across Namibia. QTEL (Pty) Ltd received two licences. One allows the company to provide mobile international mobile telecommunications services in the 3300–3350 MHz frequency band.  The coverage includes Khomas, Erongo (excluding Walvis Bay), Otjozondjupa, Oshana, Kavango East, Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Hardap and parts of the ||Kharas region. The second licence allows QTEL to provide fixed services in the same areas using several additional…
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Stakeholder feedback to guide WBCG’s next five years

Stakeholder feedback to guide WBCG’s next five years

Staff Writer  Feedback from high-level stakeholder engagements at Walvis Bay will help finalise the Walvis Bay Corridor Group's (WBCG) five-year strategic plan for 2026–2031.  The three-day engagement mission, led by its acting chief executive officer Edward Shivute, took place from 19 to 21 January 2026.  The consultations focused on gathering direct input from transport and logistics partners operating along Namibia’s strategic trade corridors. The engagement aimed to identify operational bottlenecks that affect efficiency and to align the group’s future strategy with the needs of industry players and regulators. Shivute said the new strategy will build on Namibia’s transport and logistics…
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Bail granted in separate Ohangwena corruption cases

Bail granted in separate Ohangwena corruption cases

Staff Writer  Two public officials arrested in separate corruption cases in the Ohangwena region have been granted bail after appearing in the Eenhana Magistrate’s Court this week.  The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arrested Chris Nghiilundilua (52) and Hendrina Ponhofi Diadaleni Kambudu (46) earlier this month. They were released on bail on 20 January. ACC interim spokesperson Marina Matundu said Nghiilundilua was granted bail of N$20 000, while Kambudu was granted bail of N$10 000. Nghiilundilua, a former senior administrative officer at the Ohangwena Regional Council's directorate of education, arts, and culture, was arrested in Eenhana on 19 January.  Matundu said he…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

This week’s edition of The Young Observer sits at an intersection many young Namibians are familiar with: the space between institutions and intent, between what exists on paper and what is felt in everyday life. Across these pages, we reflect on leadership, youth governance, access to opportunity, and the persistent question of relevance. These are not isolated themes. They are connected by a deeper tension shaping the youth sector today and the struggle to ensure that structures designed for young people remain responsive to their realities. The recent developments within the National Youth Council of Namibia have once again brought…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | Youth spotlight: Hendrina Kudhingililwa

YOUNG OBSERVER | Youth spotlight: Hendrina Kudhingililwa

Hendrina Kudhingililwa is a youth leader whose work centres on building organised, intentional spaces for young people to participate meaningfully in civic and community life. As president of the Tukwatha Youth Organization, she is focused on strengthening youth leadership through coordination, mentorship, and community-based engagement. Her leadership reflects a growing recognition among young leaders that impact is sustained not by visibility alone, but by structure, accountability, and continuity.  Through her work, Hendrina contributes to shaping a generation of young people who understand leadership as service, responsibility, and long-term commitment. Young Observer caught up with her to learn more about who…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | The National Youth Council and the question of youth politics

YOUNG OBSERVER | The National Youth Council and the question of youth politics

The recent leadership changes within the National Youth Council  have once again drawn public attention to a long-standing tension in Namibia’s youth sector: the uneasy relationship between youth politics and youth development. The resignation of an interim chairperson and the appointment of a successor are not, on their own, extraordinary developments. Leadership transitions occur in all institutions. What warrants reflection, however, is not the change itself but what such moments repeatedly reveal about the structure, culture, and purpose of youth governance in Namibia. For many young people, the National Youth Council is increasingly perceived less as a responsive development institution…
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