Blog – Page 909 – News Stand

19 Jun

Job vs Swapo is not the point . . . inclusive democracy is

info_e12wt4csNational NewsAffirmative Repositioning (AR), City of Windhoek, Electoral Commission of Namibia, Job Amupanda, SWAPO

The new normal could mean a serious reconsideration of proportional representation in Parliament and an end to parties making decisions about who represents people locally. Affirmative Repositioning (AR) has registered with the Electoral Commission of Namibia in time for the upcoming 2020 local authority and regional council elections. AR co-leader Job Amupanda has had long-stated aspirations to be the Mayor of the City of Windhoek. The stage has been set for an exercise in inclusive democracy that is long overdue in Namibia. Namibian politics has shifted significantly from where things were in March 1990. The world has altered remarkably since…

19 Jun

Close the preferential treatment door

info_e12wt4csNational Newsbillionaires, Frans Kapofi, Minister of Home Affairs

Rules and laws must apply to all, especially during a state of emergency for a global pandemic. There must be no preferential treatment for well-connected billionaires of anyone else. Apparently, Russian billionaire Rashid Sardarov's private jet landed at HK International airport with a crew of people from the outside that were not put in quarantine. The Executive Director in the ministry of works evidently commented that they have recorded increased frequencies of private planes coming in when this is not supposed to be happening. The rich and powerful do not have an inherent resistance to COVID-19. Let the pandemic restrictions…

19 Jun

Learner tests positive for COVID-19

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyMariental High School, Ministry of Education Executive Director, Sanet Steenkamp

Andrew Kathindi Namibia has recorded its first school COVID-19 case after a 20-year-old learner from Mariental High School in the Hardap region tested positive for the virus on Thursday. The learner is case number 37 who travelled from Walvis Bay, a current hotbed for the rising COVID-19 cases in the country and attended school on 11th of June. This comes less than a month since over 49,000 learners in grade 11 and 12 across the country returned to school as part of the first phase of the Ministry of Education’s roll out plan to resume face to face teaching. Ministry…

18 Jun

President Geingob’s Philosophy is paying off

info_e12wt4csUncategorised

…the case of Namibia’s COVID-19 response Lameck Odada Like any other country in the world, Namibia is also dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19 and trying to alleviate what has become a pandemic. With confirmation of the first two cases of COVID-19 in the country on March 14, 2020, President Hage Geingob declared a State of Emergency on March 17, 2020 and directed an immediate lockdown that lasted for 38 days. Among many other crucial decisions was the cancellation of the 30th Independence Day public celebration. Infections flattened at 16 cases with no new cases reported for 45 days, until…

18 Jun

Who decides the meaning of free education?

info_e12wt4csNational NewsEducation

Education ministry executive director (ED), Sanet Steenkamp made a remarkable statement (if she was quoted correctly). She said that free education does not necessarily mean that all the needs of learners will be catered for by the government. While we admire the education executive director for managing a very tough job, we must take issue with her here. The ED does not have the remit to tell Namibians what the constitution means. That question is one for the courts. Article 20 (2) of the Constitution says that the State shall provide reasonable facilities to render effective the right to education…

18 Jun

BoN cuts Repo rate to 4%

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedDeputy Governor, e Bank of Namibia (BoN), Ebson Uanguta

Staff Writer The Bank of Namibia (BoN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut the Repo rate from 4.25 percent to 4 percent, a move which translates to a cumulative 2.50 percentage point reduction since the beginning of the year. “This decision was taken following a review of global, regional and domestic economic and financial developments. The MPC is of the view that at this level the rate is appropriate to continue supporting domestic economic activity while at the same time safeguarding the one-to-one link between the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand,” Deputy Governor of the Bank of Namibia,…

18 Jun

Namibia records two new Covid cases

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCovid-19, Minister of Health and Social Services

Staff Writer The Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula on Wednesday evening announced that Namibia had recorded two additional positive cases of Covid-19 ,bringing the total number of cases to 36. According to the minister, Case 35 is a 26-years old Namibian male, resident of Walvis Bay, who went to the Walvis Bay hospital on 15th June 2020 complaining of cough, difficulty in breathing, headache and fever since the 14 June 2020. “He was picked up by the ambulance on the same day and taken to the hospital. He was screened, swabbed and then admitted in isolation ward.…

17 Jun

Nekundi’s taint affects Geingob

info_e12wt4csNational NewsFishcor, Veikko Nekundi

In 2017, Deputy Minister of Works and Transport Veikko Nekundi received N$20,000 from a law firm being investigated for receiving and transferring money connected with the Fishrot scandal. And yet, in 2020 he is sworn in as a Member of Parliament and appointed to a deputy minister’s portfolio. We wonder what vetting procedures are undertaken when people are selected for high office. An appointment to serve the country as a Member of Parliament, minister or deputy minister must only be extended to those who hold the highest level of integrity, honesty and love of nation. But, that is not enough.…

17 Jun

Your small business can adapt to COVID-19 hindrance

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedBank Windhoek, Covid-19

Loide David The International Monetary Fund’s latest Global Financial Stability Report indicates that financial systems have already felt a dramatic impact during the COVID-19 crisis. In the United States, one of the hardest-hit countries with over two million COVID-19 cases, the effect of the pandemic on businesses has caused it to register close to 40 million job losses. Most of these job losses are from small businesses. Small businesses are privately owned establishments, enterprises, sole proprietorships with fewer employees, and less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. In a Namibian context, the commercial bank’s regulator, Bank of Namibia,…

17 Jun

Ngwangwama appointed NWR Managing Director

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedDr Matthias Mpareke Ngwangwama, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR)

Staff Writer Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) Board of Directors has appointed Dr Matthias Mpareke Ngwangwama as the substantive Managing Director effective 1 April 2020 for a period of five years. Ngwangwama has been acting Managing Director of NWR since 23 April 2019 following the exit of Zelna Hengari. Ngwangwama is no stranger to NWR, having been the longest-serving Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the hospitality company, before taking over as the Chief Officer: Strategy and Projects within the organisation two years ago. "As a board we know we have made the right choice. Being a PhD holder in Business Management…