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COVID-19 vaccine delivery shifts to March …as N$583m is budgeted
25 Feb

COVID-19 vaccine delivery shifts to March …as N$583m is budgeted

ObserverObserver Money, ,
Andrew Kathindi Government now expects the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being procured under the COVAX Facility, only in March. This is a shift from a January communique with the COVAX Facility, which had informed Minister of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) , Kalumbi Shangula, that the vaccine should be expected in the country by the middle or end of this month. “The COVAX Facility allocated doses of vaccines to Namibia are expected in March 2021,” stated Shangula. The AstraZeneca vaccine, however, has been found to be ineffective against the new variant in South Africa. According to the Health minister, the…
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PwC not off the hook – PAAB . . . as firm drops August 26
24 Feb

PwC not off the hook – PAAB . . . as firm drops August 26

ObserverObserver Money, , ,
Maria Hamutenya The Public Accounts and Auditor’s Board (PAAB) maintains that PwC Namibia is not off the hook over allegations made against it that it deliberately overlooked anomalies found during its audit of August 26. This is despite the international firm resigning recently as the auditor of August 26. “The resignation of an auditor does not impact the investigations into alleged misconduct with regards to August 26. Investigations will be done as long as the alleged misconduct occurred during the time when the registered and licenced auditor was in office,” PAAB Head of Secretariat, Zaa Nashandi, told Windhoek Observer. Whether…
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No request for de Klerk’s extradition . . . as trial looms
24 Feb

No request for de Klerk’s extradition . . . as trial looms

ObserverObserver Money, ,
Andrew Kathindi With less than two months before the Fishrot pre-trial in the High Court, Government is yet to begin the extradition process of lawyer Maren De Klerk, dubbed “paymaster” of millions of state funds from Fishcor. De Klerk, who has been indicted by the Prosecutor-General (PG), Martha Imalwa, has been in South Africa for over a year. Director of the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC), Paulus Noa, said the extradition process is initiated by the Ministry of Justice. But the Justice ministry Head of Legal Services responsible for extraditions, Simataa Lennon Limbo, denied this. “No request for Meren De Klerk lies…
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Time to decolonise, redefine global health
23 Feb

Time to decolonise, redefine global health

ObserverUncategorised
Fifa Rahman, Felicita Hikuam, Nyasha Chingore-Munazvo, and Gisa Dang* The COVID-19 pandemic is a bleak reminder of the enduring inequity in global public health. Despite early warnings, the global response does not take into account the racial inequality underpinning health outcomes (think lack of healthy food options, green spaces, safety, housing density), nor that diagnostic tools such as pulse oximeters are not accurate on non-white skin. Glaringly, Global North responses to COVID-19 have not been the most efficacious nor the most effective. For example, the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden have failed to adequately protect their populations, while…
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Nine shortlisted for Fishcor CEO post
23 Feb

Nine shortlisted for Fishcor CEO post

ObserverObserver Money
Staff Writer National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) has announced it has shortlisted nine candidates for the vacant Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position and plans to appoint a candidate next month. The company has been operating without a substantive CEO since December 2019, following the suspension and subsequent arrest of Mike Nghipunya last February after being implicated in the Fishrot scandal, resulting in his employment termination last November. “The position was advertised in November and closed on the 27 November 2020. The Board is conscious that the CEO search process is not hastened nor slowed, taking into account the December…
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Namibia records 100 Covid-19 deaths in a month
23 Feb

Namibia records 100 Covid-19 deaths in a month

ObserverObserver Money,
Kandjemuni Kamuiiri Namibia’s COVID-19 death toll continues to grow at an exponential rate, with the country recording over 100 deaths in one month. Since the outbreak of the virus up to January 21, Namibia had recorded a total of 300 deaths. The country’s COVID-19 deaths have now surpassed the 400 mark according to the latest figures from the Health ministry, with a total of 406 deaths recorded. Over the last three days, the Health Ministry has announced seven COVID-19 related deaths. Minister of Health and Social Services, Kalumbi Shangula, said the four new deaths were recorded in Windhoek, Onamdjokwe Mariental…
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No new national airline on the horizon
23 Feb

No new national airline on the horizon

ObserverObserver Money, , ,
Andrew Kathindi Public Enterprises Minister, Leon Jooste, has ruled out the establishment of another airline after the liquidation of Air Namibia. The pronouncement by the minister comes after a mass demonstration led by National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), which called for the reversal of Cabinet’s decision on the airline, and for the immediate removal of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) minister ended in failure after government reiterated its stance on the closure of Air Namibia. Jooste told Windhoek Observer, “At the moment, the answer is no. So of course, strategically in our normal planning, that's where the Director of…
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20 Feb

Trade unions relevant as long as workers’ exploitation continues

ObserverUncategorised, , ,
Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Increasingly aspersions have been cast by different sectors of society including social, political and economic analysts and commentators, as well as the media, on the efficacy and efficiency of local trade unions and unionists. Some commentators and analysts even doubting and questioning the relevance of trade unions, unionists anymore. Any ideologues worth the salt cannot but seriously ponder such postulations if not dismiss the all together. Because the essence of trade unions and unionists is the old age struggle of the workers in any society against the exploitative system. In the true principle of dialectical materialism workers, and…
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20 Feb

The Time Traveler: Air Namibia, and building things that last

ObserverUncategorised,
Hugh Ellis Everyone who came back from exile has different memories of the trip home. One that stands out for me is my first sight of the Air Namibia (then still Namib Air) airplane, with its distinctive logo, through the window of Frankfurt Airport. I was only 12 years old then, but it was the first time I remember feeling a sense of national pride. Air Namibia’s forthcoming liquidation hurts. It hurts hard. For 600 employees who will now lose their jobs, this hurt is doubtless far, far worse. I am truly sad that Air Namibia, at least for a…
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Abortion debate huddles in Parliament
20 Feb

Abortion debate huddles in Parliament

ObserverUncategorised,
Kandjemuni Kamuiiri The much anticipated Parliamentary debate on legalizing abortion in Namibia could fail to materialize this year, with the National Assembly confirming that the motion, which lapsed last year, had not been re-tabled and thus not scheduled to be debated by the house. This comes after Deputy Minister of Health, Ester Muinjangue who tabled the legalization of abortion last year, had maintained that the discussion will happen at the beginning of the year when the Parliament reopens for 2021. “As far as I am concerned the matter was still up for discussion, the motion has not lapsed, it is…
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