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The unthinkable has happened

Jackie Wilson Asheeke “These are the times that try men's souls” is a quote from Thomas Paine who wrote pamphlets against the British during the American Revolutionary War. When I watched people waving flags of racist groups, the confederate flag and wearing Trump promotional garb storming the US Capitol Building, my soul was tried. This was a violent armed insurrection in the United States. Donald Trump wants to remain, president, even though he lost the election. His thugs want to try to make that happen. The unthinkable has happened. A US President has fomented insurrection in an attempt to subvert…
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Shoprite/Checkers workers turn on Nafau

Shoprite/Checkers workers turn on Nafau

Andrew Kathindi Shoprite and Checkers employees currently on strike due to low pay and poor working conditions say they have lost confidence in Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau), the union representing their case against their employer in court. This comes after Nafau Secretary General Jacob Penda announced that a meeting with Shoprite management yesterday (Thursday), which was intended to reach an agreement over the matter, ended in a stalemate and yielded no results. Employees were disgruntled with Penda, accusing the union boss of stalling a demonstration by Affirmative Repositioning (AR), which was intended to shut down several Shoprite…
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ECN ponders next move

ECN ponders next move

Andrew Kathindi The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is pondering its next move after finally receiving the reasons for last year’s December judgement regarding local elections in certain areas. On Thursday this week, the ECN began reviewing the Court’s justification for its decision regarding the elections in the Aroab, Koës, Stampriet local authorities and Mariental Rural constituency. “The reasons were received yesterday (Thursday). We’re still looking at them, and then we still have to meet,” Chairperson of the ECN, Advocate Notemba Tjipueja told the Windhoek Observer. Tjipueja had previously stated that the Commission would need to study Electoral Court Judge…
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COVID-19 vaccines are arriving soon; are we ready?

The rich countries of the world are already receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. Many have inoculated millions of their citizens so far. That won’t happen here; we can’t afford it, and we are not producing the vaccine locally. The ministry of health's announcement indicated that vaccine doses for 20 percent of the population (or about 508,000 people) could start in February. Namibia must handle the entire process with effectiveness, fastidiousness, trained workers, and discipline. We cannot afford to mess this up. We assume that our health officials are conquering the logistics of maintaining the extreme cold required for the doses' storage.…
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Weed Control an Integral Aspect of Crop Production

Weed Control an Integral Aspect of Crop Production

Hanks Saisai Crop production is a form of primary agriculture that provides many Namibian households with staple food (grains, fruits and vegetables). In most rural areas of Northern and NorthEastern Namibia, staple grains such as Maize, Pearl Millet (commonly known as Mahangu) and Sorghum are milled into a powder that is used as a staple porridge in many homes. Gratefully, Namibia continues to receive adequate rainfall in most parts of the country ensuring that soil moisture is readily available to support plant growth. When growing crops, it is of great importance to note that as soil moisture is maintained there…
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Hardap prisoners, officers in jailhouse battle

Hardap prisoners, officers in jailhouse battle

Details have emerged how the Namibian Police Force on Tuesday had to be called in to assist the Namibian Correctional Services (NCS) quell a prison fight that had broken out between inmates and prison officials at the Hardap correctional facility. According to insiders, it took more than six hours for the police and correctional officers to bring back order to the prison facility that houses over 250 inmates. The commotion is alleged to have been caused by demands by the correctional officers to carry out a routine search while prisoners were in the yard, where they converge when released from…
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PM roped into Shoprite saga

PM roped into Shoprite saga

Andrew Kathindi The Prime Minister, Saara Kuugongelwa has been dragged into the on-going Shoprite saga after Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU) leadership has been in consultation with the Prime Minister over the matter, Windhoek Observer can reveal According to sources close to the matter, the NAFAU leadership have been in meetings over the last two days with the Prime Minister along with the Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma, to try and resolve the matter. The development forced the Shoprite representative and NAFAU to meet on Thursday 14 January at the office of the…
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Smile! You may be on a viral video

In the new normal, video clips of anything and everything can go viral. Some of this footage is heartwarming or harmlessly hilarious. At other times, what is captured on camera is disturbing, frightening and whips up anger. But, those of us watching and forwarding such video clips or so-called ‘reports’ must be more responsible. The public must STOP believing everything they read and see automatically. People must check the source, corroborate, verify and question everything they read, hear or see online. If the public does not do this, access to the internet will be lost. Those in power will eventually…
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Education versus Development in Namibia

Fritz H Dausab “Education is both a tool of social justice as well as a fundamental driver of economic development.” - Kevin Rudd Let’s face it Namibians…COVID-19 just condemned our prospects of economic development to the gutters of soon to be Zimbabwean dictatorship chronicles. In national budgets for the past 30 years, Namibia has given billions upon billions of Namibian Dollars to the education sector. Nothing bad about it…if we believe that those billions is an investment into our human capital, I guess. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding! Which means that for the past thirty…
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COVID regulations extended . . .as virus variant suspicions surge

COVID regulations extended . . .as virus variant suspicions surge

Andrew Kathindi The government has extended the date for enactment of measures currently in place to control the spread of COVID-19 to 3 February. Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula admitted that the situation has worsened since his last address to the nation on 23 December 2020. In the Tuesday address, restrictions such as the daily curfew from 9pm to 4am, public gatherings being limited to a maximum of 50 were retained. Public gatherings are now, however, are not allowed to go beyond two hours and shall not continue beyond 8pm. The minister also revealed that there is…
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