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24 Sep

Unaffordable, decongested tool sheds

ObserverNational News
The government has launched an ill-advised decongestion plan. This plan is supposed to curb COVID-19 infections by moving some people out of the overpopulated tin shack suburbs. Human beings are supposed to be shoved into these quickly built, un-serviced structures that are little more than large tool sheds. Now, we learn that there is no money to continue building them – the ‘emergency’ decongestion plan is without funds. The minister of rural and urban housing has sent a letter to local authorities. He is asking them to find money to take up the decongestion project on top of finding land…
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MultiChoice Namibia partners DPO
24 Sep

MultiChoice Namibia partners DPO

ObserverUncategorised, , , , ,
Staff Writer MultiChoice Namibia has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with DPO Group, to enable payments for DStv and GOtv customers in Namibia via their integrated solutions. DPO has developed an integrated payments technology which supports payments securely and swiftly with all currencies and payment methods including via mobile money. “The integration will improve the accessibility and convenience for MultiChoice’s customers throughout Namibia, allowing them to pay for subscriptions quickly, easily and securely using DPO technology via the MultiChoice website, the MyDStv and MyGOtv self-service apps, as well as through the DStv WhatsApp service.” “Partnering with…
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DBN settles first bond
24 Sep

DBN settles first bond

ObserverUncategorised
Staff Writer The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has announced that it has settled DBN20, the first bond that it issued under its N$2.5 billion Medium-Term Note Programme listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange. The bond according to the DBN matured on 4 September 2020. “Settlement of the bond went smoothly and successfully. At maturity it had 38 bondholders (37 Namibian entities and 1 foreign entity).” The issuance of DBN20 in September 2017 marked the first time that the Bank formally approached Namibian capital markets to raise funding and deepen the capital market. Since issuing DBN20, the Bank has issued…
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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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