Blog – Page 907 – News Stand

24 Jun

Win first – then run the tourism victory lap

info_e12wt4csNational NewsCOVID, Namibia

Headlines blaring: ‘Tourists to return’ or ‘Namibia to open borders’ need to be examined carefully. The small print ‘terms and conditions’ for stages 4 and 5 of the re-opening, make those headlines too broad. Let us not raise expectations that cannot be met. It is important to not run a victory lap before the race is run. The hospitality, travel and tourism industry is failing and it is hurting tens of thousands of Namibians. No tourists = no tourism revenue = sector collapse. We know the industry is in pain. We do not envy policymakers who are juggling sharp knives…

24 Jun

Book Review: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedBook Review, Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility

Jackie Wilson Asheeke White Fragility should be mandatory reading for all white people. Yep, I said it. Most white people do not recognize their micro-aggressions against people of colour. They would never call someone an offensive racist name. They are truly appalled at the vicious murder of George Floyd. But, they don't 'get it' that their buy-in to white privilege is part of the reason why that happened. To those who want to understand more - I challenge you to read this book and think about it. [Let me know- jackie@observer.com.na] This book was written by a white woman who…

22 Jun

German Embassy contributes to Covid-19 fight

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCovid-19, German Embassy, Gobabis, Okahandja, Witvlei

Staff Writer As part of its projects to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the German Embassy will support families in need in the areas of Gobabis, Witvlei and Okahandja and a total of approximately N$ 99,600 (EUR 5,000.00) from the Embassy’s micro project fund will be made available as an immediate measure to purchase food packages. The packages include staple foods and will be distributed to the community members by the German Evangelical Lutheran Association of Okahandja-Gobabis (ELCIN - GELC) in cooperation with the Okahandja Community Forum. The Okahandja Community Forum is a civil organization in Okahandja that…

22 Jun

Women’s freedom chained by apartheid laws

info_e12wt4csNational NewsDoreen Sioka, freedom, laws, minister of gender equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, SRHR

There is a petition signed by over 5,000 people calling for the government to legalize women’s rights to choose when they have children. We applaud this effort; it is long overdue. Any human being has a right to decide what happens to their bodies. The discussion around sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) is important. The debate must respond to the silent cry of women forced to give birth against their will. The existing Abortion and Sterilisation Act of 1975 law is 45 years old. This apartheid-era law was written by South African white men, who patronizingly considered women as…

19 Jun

Couch Kitten: I am no man’s winter bed warmer!

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedClementine Tjameya, Couch Kitten

Clementine Tjameya When the days get colder, seasonal relationships get going. There are memes about this everywhere on social media where people are saying that it’s getting so cold that they might ‘shiver’ their way into other people’s relationships. As funny as that sounds, there is some truth to it. This is the time when most senior boys at varsity are on the hunt for their ‘human heaters’ for the next couple of cold months. Beware fellow girls, if he has known you very long and mysteriously claims to have interest in you just now, don’t fall for it. Don’t…

19 Jun

Gents let’s do better

info_e12wt4csUncategorised

Observatory: Thandizo Kawerama As the news of the horrific rape incidents that occurred during this month made its way to newsstands, men online rushed to type out their usual ‘gents let’s do better’ posts to appease the growing rage surrounding these horrific acts of violence and destruction of women. After which it was business as usual for most of them. ‘Gents, let’s do better’ is the go-to phrase for Namibian men on social media to signal to their audience that they support the fight against rape culture that continues to terrorize our society. It’s their way of saying rape culture…

19 Jun

Lowering the bar damages our children

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedCovid-19, Jackie Wilson Asheeke

Jackie Wilson Asheeke I am disgusted at the ridiculous decision to drop the passing average for primary school to 35 percent. It was already obscenely low at 40 percent! I am throwing shade on any ministry of education official that agreed to reduce the passing rate percentage. I am insulted to read officials blaming this outrageous decision on COVID-19. That doesn't work! Step up and take your tomatoes in the face for this bad decision that hurts our children. Whether you realize it or not, our children are smarter than you think! The issue around low scores is less to…

19 Jun

Land of the free and home of the brave?

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedNamibians, The Time Traveler

The Time Traveler: Hugh Ellis I have very mixed feelings about the new US Embassy compound currently being built on a large plot of land in my neighborhood. On the one hand, the United States is a great nation. It's the nation of Barack Obama and Martin Luther King. The nation of the Wright brothers, the humble bicycle mechanics who built the first airplane. The nation of Neil Armstrong and Katherine Johnson, and all the others who got men to the Moon. My education would have been immensely poorer if it were not for the Americans who taught African history…

19 Jun

National Resistance only first phase of National Revolution

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedNamibian independence

Yours Truly Ideologically: Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Did March 21, 1990, the day of Namibian independence, usher in the first phase of the national revolution? Comes the question cautious to presume this may have been the case because of the lack of ideological clarity, if not lack of ideology all together in Namibia on national issues. There were two major epochs of national resistance. First against German colonialism and imperialism and occupation, and subsequently against the Apartheid South African regime’s occupation and de facto annexation of South West Africa as its first province. The National Resistance had in its first and launching…

19 Jun

Bank Windhoek cuts interest rates

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedBank of Namibia (BoN), Bank Windhoek, Monetary Policy Committee

Staff Writer In response to the announcement by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to cut the Repo rate from 4.25 percent to 4 percent as announced on 17 June 2020, Bank Windhoek has announced a reduction of its Prime Lending Rate by 0.25 percent from 8 percent to 7.75 percent. The bank’s Mortgage Lending Rate will decrease from 9 percent to 8.75 percent, effective from Tuesday, 23 June 2020. “While the possibility of more cuts cannot be ruled out at this point, we expect that the benefit from the sharp cuts will gradually alleviate the…