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Won’t someone listen to the regulators?

Won’t someone listen to the regulators?

Wendall Uiseb As an economics graduate observing Namibia’s financial policy debates, I have been fascinated by the clash between the Ministry of Finance and the country’s top regulators over the payroll deduction management system (PDMS). Recently, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) have confirmed their opposition to the Ministry’s directive to abolish PDMS. This revelation, contained in position papers filed in the Entrepo Finance v. Minister of Finance High Court case, highlights a troubling contradiction: the Ministry’s policy direction runs directly against the recommendations of its own regulators.  NAMFISA’s position paper on payroll…
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OBSERVER DAILY | Over to you, Selma Ashipala–Musavyi

When British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood warns that the UK may suspend or restrict visas for Namibians, accusing our government of “insufficient cooperation” in accepting the return of failed asylum seekers, she is not speaking in diplomatic platitudes. She means business. And her threat must be answered not with soothing press statements full of generic platitudes, but with bold and strategic leadership from our Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation. Mahmood’s blunt language, that the UK will penalise states that “do not play ball”, cuts straight to a hard reality: bilateral cooperation is not a game of polite back-slapping. This…
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Frantz Fanon’s impact on the life of African liberation and the father who coined the decolonisation word 

Frantz Fanon’s impact on the life of African liberation and the father who coined the decolonisation word 

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) When Frantz Fanon died in 1961 at the age of thirty-six, he left behind no army, no party, no flag, only words. Yet those words ignited the conscience of a continent and became the moral compass of an awakening people.  As Angola celebrates fifty years of independence, we are not merely marking the passage of time. We are standing before a mirror. In that mirror, we see our history, the courage, the pain, and the triumph, but we must also ask, what have we done with the vision that brought…
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TURNING POINT | Black entrepreneurs and the curse of the value chain

TURNING POINT | Black entrepreneurs and the curse of the value chain

Namibia’s loss of nearly 30,000 employers in just five years is not a statistic to glance at and move on from. When placed alongside labour figures showing that only about 550 000 Namibians hold formal jobs and just 115 000 are registered taxpayers, the story becomes more troubling. It reveals an economy that not only struggles to generate employment but also fails to sustain the businesses expected to create those jobs. As a Black Namibian entrepreneur, I read this not as a collapse of imagination or ambition, but as evidence of deep, long-standing structural weaknesses in our economic foundation. The…
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OBSERVER DAILY | Quo Vadis, NIPDB?

The impending departure of Nangula Uaandja from the helm of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) marks yet another twist in the turbulent journey of an institution that has, from its very inception, been mired in confusion, political tug-of-war, and chronic uncertainty. As the nation reflects on what this means for investment promotion and economic governance, one uncomfortable truth demands confrontation: Namibia continues to create institutions without the clarity, stability and legislative backbone required for them to thrive. From the moment NIPDB was launched under the administration of the late President Hage Geingob, optimism was tempered by unease.…
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OBSERVER DAILY | Namibia Air: What’s in a name?

When the Cabinet recently announced the launch of a new national carrier under the name Namibia Air, it marked a bold and welcome move by the administration of President Netumbo Nandi‑Ndaitwah and her team. At a time when national symbols matter more than ever, the decision sends a signal that Namibia intends to reclaim pride of place in the skies. The return of our national airline taps into something deeply Namibian: the idea of connection, of our country being visible in global skies, of our citizens and stories being carried across continents. That ambition deserves applause. It is a sign…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

A recent survey revealed a statistic that should alarm every policymaker, educator and truly, even the business leaders in this country: only 19% of our young people, those aged 18 to 35, aspire to start their own businesses. This figure reportedly represents the lowest rate of entrepreneurial ambition recorded across the African continent. Simultaneously, a massive 44% of our youth state a clear preference for jobs within the civil service. This paradox goes beyond just a statistical anomaly. It is actually a confirmation that we have structured our economy and society in a way that actively encourages our brightest minds…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | Adriano Visagie to co-host 10th Sotigui Awards in Burkina Faso

YOUNG OBSERVER | Adriano Visagie to co-host 10th Sotigui Awards in Burkina Faso

Namibian actor and television personality Adriano Visagie will co-host the 10th edition of the Sotigui Awards, one of Africa’s leading film celebrations, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He will share the stage with Burkina Faso’s television personality Stéphanie Zongo. The Sotigui Awards honour African actors and comedians from across the continent and the diaspora.  The event is organised by the Sotigui Academy and governed by APROCAD, in partnership with FESPACO, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou. This year’s ceremony takes place from 12 to 15 November 2025 under the patronage of Burkina Faso’s minister of communication, culture, arts and…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | Reframing dating in the digital era 

YOUNG OBSERVER | Reframing dating in the digital era 

Dating has always been a mirror reflecting the fundamental character of the era that shapes it. For young people today, our world is defined by unprecedented speed, universal access, and a relentless cascade of digital noise. The quiet, predictable rituals of previous generations such as a focused phone call, a clearly defined courtship, the commitment to face to face resolution have been systematically replaced. Now, we navigate a social landscape dominated by instant messaging, ephemeral voice notes, viral algorithmic feeds, and the constant, energy sapping anxiety encapsulated by the question, “why hasn’t he replied to my message from this morning?”…
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OBSERVER DAILY | The presidency must speak clearly or risk losing the nation’s confidence

In a move that sent shockwaves through parliament and beyond, the newly appointed interim minister of Mines, Hon. Frans Kapofi, announced that the government intends to urgently amend the Petroleum Act of 1991. The proposed changes, we are told, would grant significantly greater powers to the President in matters of petroleum licensing and oversight, an area already fraught with political tension and public scrutiny. On the surface, the intention might be practical: to streamline decision-making, enhance accountability at the top, and ensure strategic control over Namibia’s increasingly vital oil and gas sector. But the reaction in Parliament and among the…
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