Blog – Page 853 – News Stand

23 Oct

Mixed economy antithesis of command economy

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedNamibia

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Constitutionally Namibia is a mixed economy. Looks like this has been taken on face value and for granted without pausing to interrogate what this means. Those who are socialist-oriented may take this to mean a mixture of socialism and capitalism. But is this feasible if this is what is meant by mixed economy? For the capitalist oriented mixed economy cannot mean anything at best other than a social welfare system one akin to that in social welfare states in many European states like Sweden and Norway. Could this be what the founders of the Namibian constitution envisaged? “The…

23 Oct

US debates are a complete waste of time

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedUS debates

Jackie Wilson Asheeke If I had my way, I’d ban debates between US presidential candidates. In my years on this planet, I’ve never watched a single one and I never will. They are canned theatre, not a realistic, unrehearsed presentation of what the person running for office actually believes. The presidential debates between honest Joe Biden and the strutting Il Duce Trump prove nothing, sway no one, reveal nothing, and are a complete waste of time. The candidates rehearse their answers to all issues. They have mock sessions where actors ‘play’ the other side. They memorize the ‘right’ answers. They…

23 Oct

Couch Cat – ancient music is spirit medicine

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedCouch Cat

Jackie Wilson Asheeke I have been cleaning out cupboards and store rooms with a vengeance lately. I had completely forgotten about an old suitcase full of the ancient music cassettes that used to be critically important to my music listening joy about 25-30 years ago. I also found a huge box full of CDs. And I found a small zip bag with two old MP3 players. It is amazing that these tapes, CDs and old time digital devices used to be the center of my entertainment life in their time. But now, they are spider web magnets as digital music…

23 Oct

Choosing a PG is not a beauty pageant

info_e12wt4csNational NewsJudicial Service Commission (JSC), NGO

We are opposed to a public runway display for serious, professional legal candidates for the post of Prosecutor General (PG) A public interview process for the PG job is counterproductive. It can lower the dignity of the position and does not address the concerns about corruption in political appointments. Let the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) do their expert work according to the criteria. They should make their recommendations to the President in confidence. We do not accept that the appointment of the outgoing PG, Martha Imalwa over 17 years ago was tainted in any way. Allusions to this as if…

23 Oct

GBV protestors to review govt pronouncement …still demand a state of emergency

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCabinet, Gender Based Violence (GBV)

Andrew Kathindi Gender Based Violence (GBV) protestors said that they are still demanding that a state of emergency be declared over GBV in the country, but will study what the “threat to humanity” government pronouncement entails. This comes as the Cabinet on 23 October, approved that government pronounces GBV as a threat to humanity and that Prime Minister, Saara Kuugongelwa should issue a Parliamentary Statement to that effect. This declaration would be instead of the proposed declaration of the State of Emergency. As part of the list of demands in a protest petition to government earlier this month, which included…

23 Oct

Grade 9 national examination cancelled

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyExecutive Director in the ministry of Education Art and Culture Sanet Steenkamp, National Examinations Assessment and Certification Board (NEACB)

Helena Johannes Executive Director in the ministry of Education Art and Culture Sanet Steenkamp has confirmed that the Grade 9 external examination will not be administered in this academic year. “The Ministry recommended the rationalization of the curriculum to 70 percent of the original school syllabus content for Pre-primary and Grade 1-9. Due to this adjustment, the Grade 9 semi-external examination will not be administered in this academic year,” she said. This comes after the new school curriculum for junior and senior secondary schools introduced in 2019 had pupils who passed Grade 8 in 2018 enter Grade 9 in 2019,…

23 Oct

We must live with COVID …but we must not pretend it is gone

info_e12wt4csNational NewsCOVID, WHO

The president’s recently announced steps to further re-open Namibia as a country, society and economy are welcome. The year 2020 has been an unprecedented financial disaster for Namibia as a whole. We all have taken a major hit. Governments had to respond in the way that science and their best guesses dictated; they are doing their best. The danger with reported deaths and recorded new infections decreasing is that people think COVID is ‘over.’ People think that life can go back to the way it was before the outbreak. We must never lie to ourselves. Whatever was happening ‘before’ is…

23 Oct

Hints to get your mortgage approval

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedBank Windhoek, Loide David, Market Research Analyst

Loide David Attempting to purchase a house without a plan in place can be a challenging situation. As a first-time homebuyer, you will need to prepare in advance. The steps below can help you buy a home more conveniently and reach the best outcome possible. Preparation: Before you start with the application process, you need to understand how banks assess the application; the required documents, and, most importantly, the costs involved in the entire process. For instance, besides the property's actual price, there are other costs, such as transfer duties and conveyancing fees, which you will need to keep in…

23 Oct

Asset managers roped into GIPF initiative

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedGovernment Institutions Pension Fund’s (GIPF)

Staff Writer Six Namibian asset managers are currently taking part in the Government Institutions Pension Fund’s (GIPF) incubation assets management programme, which commenced in 2019. The six are Catalyst Investment Managers (Pty) Ltd, Euboea Investment Group (Pty) Ltd , Arysteq Asset Management (Pty) Ltd ,Mumi Investment Managers (Pty) Ltd ,Mopane Asset Manager (Pty) Ltd (previously ZAQ Asset Management) and Artis Investment Management (Pty) Ltd. Under the initiative, each of the six managers were allocated N$700 million, with N$4.2 billion committed for entire programme. The programme according to the fund, aims to address the need for active beneficial participation of Namibian…

23 Oct

Govt lacks will for rent controls – Job

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyAffirmative Repositioning Movement (AR) leader Job Amupanda, Government

Clifton Movirongo Affirmative Repositioning Movement (AR) leader Job Amupanda, who advocates for the establishment of rent control in the country amid concerns about high home rental costs, says government has no plans to implement the proposal, five years after officials agreed to it. Amupanda told the Windhoek Observer that he is still pushing for the implementation of a viable Rent Control Board with the authority to reduce rental rates. The youthful leader complained that no action has yet been taken by government. “Of course, they never wanted to implement rent control regulations in the first place and that is not…