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Father arrested for raping daughter …as rape cases spike
24 Sep

Father arrested for raping daughter …as rape cases spike

ObserverObserver Money, ,
Helena Johannes A Windhoek man was arrested on Tuesday for repeatedly raping his now 16-year-old daughter since she was 11 years old. Rape cases or the reporting of rape cases are on the rise in Namibia. According to the City Police the female victim, during the five year period, has had two abortions due to the abuse at the hands of her biological father. The arrest comes after the victim’s mother found out the rape and opened a case, resulting in the father’s arrest. In another incident, a 13-year-old was raped by her aunt’s husband in Khomasdal on Tuesday. According…
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Finance ministry extends tax registration deadline
24 Sep

Finance ministry extends tax registration deadline

ObserverObserver Money, , ,
Helena Johannes The Ministry of Finance has extended the submission deadline for annual individual income tax returns from 30 September to 1 March 2021. Ministry spokesperson, Tonateni Shidhudhu said the extension was being done in order to “allow more time to employers who did not submit their employees Tax Returns (ETX template/excel sheer) on the Integrated Tax Administration System portal,” adding that the extension only applies to the filing of returns, not for the payment of tax which is still due by 30 September. This comes after the finance ministry only managed to register 24 percent out of its 90…
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Redforce, Keetmans deal spills into court …as council claims shoddy work
24 Sep

Redforce, Keetmans deal spills into court …as council claims shoddy work

ObserverObserver Money,
Andrew Kathindi Keetmanshoop Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Desmond Basson stands accused of having single handedly awarded a debt collection tender to Redforce Debt Management in 2017. The City Council has claimed this was done without approval. This comes as Basson is currently threatened with a disciplinary hearing by the council on charges of gross negligence and non-compliance with the Local Authority Act in another matter. The revelation comes as Redforce Debt Management has taken the southern town council to court demanding the payments of N$1.6 million, N$1.8 million and 20 percent interest on each payment. According to court documents in…
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23 Sep

Diplomatic missions abroad need a financial rethink

ObserverNational News,
The time has come again for Namibian diplomats serving abroad with expired terms to shift. Before appointing new Ambassadors, we urge the appointing authority to consider whether maintaining each embassy makes financial sense. Given the poor state of the Namibian economy, it is time to look at diplomatic appointments differently. We need a major financial rethink. Namibia must look at which embassies deliver a direct financial return in terms of trade deals. Which embassies process the most tourists? Which embassies serve a sufficient number of Namibian students, workers or business interests? Which embassies generate development assistance for Namibia? All others,…
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23 Sep

Policing during and beyond the state of emergency

ObserverUncategorised, , , ,
Tuhafeni Helao Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent devastating effect around the globe, the President declared the ‘state of emergency’ on 17 March 2020 and introduced 4 phased stages to mitigate the pandemic. On 27 March 2020, a lockdown was ordered for Khomas and Erongo regions. However, the state of emergency regulations were applied across all regions in the country. The declaration was in line with Article 26 (1) of the Namibian Constitution that provides for declaration of a state of emergency ‘in a time of national disaster or during a state of national defence or…
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AMV3 readies for pilot ocean launch
23 Sep

AMV3 readies for pilot ocean launch

ObserverUncategorised, ,
Staff Writer Debmarine Namibia has announced that its AMV3 (Additional Mining Vessel number 3) mining vessel currently under construction in Romania is expected to be ready for its pilot ocean launch in October 2020 at the Damen Mangalia Shipyard. The diamond mining company said despite Covid-19 the AMV3 vessel project execution is moving ahead. “As the company that prides itself on safety, the project management team developed and implemented a COVID-19 response plan and special care has been taken to mitigate safety and health risks of the project employees,” the company said. “The project is progressing well on all performance…
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Bureaucracy derails Rent Control Board
23 Sep

Bureaucracy derails Rent Control Board

ObserverObserver Money
Clifton Movirongo Five years on, government has yet to operationalise the Rent Control Board, as the process is still unresolved. This comes amid revelations that the process of transitioning the rent board from the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) to the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) is still to be concluded. Even though the process of the rent board has taken half a decade, the government claims to be committed to it. “We are in the process with the MIT, they are putting all the logistics together and that is not finalised yet,” said urban and rural…
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Law Society appeals Sisa judgement …as divisions rock LSN
23 Sep

Law Society appeals Sisa judgement …as divisions rock LSN

ObserverObserver Money, , ,
Andrew Kathindi Lawyer Sisa Namandje’s victory at the High Court last month could be short lived after the Law Society of Namibia (LSN) lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court. This comes after Judge Herman Oosthuizen, last month dismissed with costs the LSN’s application to probe the financial records of Namandje over his alleged involvement in the Fishrot saga. Uno Katjipuka, who represented the LSN in the court case confirmed the development to Windhoek Observer. “We filed a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court on 15 September,” she said. The appeal comes amid calls for conflicted LSN councilors to…
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22 Sep

Support needed for women who lay abuse charges

ObserverNational News
The Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Doreen Sioka recently made a speech urging women who lay charges of domestic abuse not to withdraw them. This is an admirable speech, but where are the tangible, effective programs to help these women once they step up and demand justice? Women are predominantly the victims of domestic violence. Most back away from their initial charges of abuse for a variety of reasons. Ignorance leads to charge withdrawals. We must eradicate the ‘belief’ in the community (and the disinterested, misogynistic police officers taking these reports) that women ‘deserve’ or are the cause…
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The Fuel of the Future – Namibia is ready for Green Hydrogen
22 Sep

The Fuel of the Future – Namibia is ready for Green Hydrogen

ObserverUncategorised,
There is increasing evidence of fossil fuels being replaced by renewable energies. The main drivers of this migration are climate mitigation, decarbonization and competitiveness of renewable energy technologies. Renewable electricity can help reduce emissions in road transport, low-temperature industrial processes and in heating buildings. However, fossil fuels have a significant advantage in applications that require high energy density, industrial processes that rely on carbon as a reactant, or where demand is seasonal. To fully decarbonize the world economy, it is likely a clean molecule will be needed, and hydrogen is well placed to play this role. Hydrogen is versatile, reactive,…
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