Featured

There are moments when a country is tested not by the size of the problem before it, but by the quality of its response to that problem. Namibia has reached one of those moments. The confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the country’s internationally recognised FMD-free zone is not simply another veterinary announcement. It is an economic warning, a livelihood warning and, ultimately, a test of leadership. On 23 September, acting minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Charles Mubita released a statement that FMD had been detected at a commercial farm in the Karasburg State Veterinary District in…

There was a time when Namibia mattered enormously to the United Nations. Not because we were a large country. Not because we possessed great military or economic power. Not because we had a population large enough to command attention. We mattered because our very existence as an independent nation had become an international question. For decades, the question of Namibia was debated in the corridors of the United Nations. The country’s liberation struggle became intertwined with the international campaign against colonialism and apartheid. The UN General Assembly recognised SWAPO in 1976 as the “sole and authentic representative” of the Namibian…

Thirty-five years after independence, perhaps Namibia needs to have the conversation we have avoided What is in a name? Shakespeare’s famous question was asked in an entirely different context, but it has extraordinary relevance to Namibia. Because names are rarely just names. They tell us who was here. They tell us who exercised power. They tell us whose language was considered important enough to appear on a map. They tell us whose history was remembered and whose history was pushed into the background. And sometimes, changing a name is an act of remembering. Thirty-five years after independence, perhaps Namibia should…

Patience Makwele  Young Namibians are turning artificial intelligence (AI) skills into income by developing websites, creating digital solutions for businesses and offering AI training and consulting services. For some young entrepreneurs, the technology is also lowering the barrier to entering the tech industry, with AI-powered tools helping them develop solutions without years of traditional coding experience. Gotlieb Mupandela, founder and chief executive officer of Apnium Technology, started his own company at the age of 16 after looking for ways to make money. Mupandela said AI-assisted coding tools have since helped him develop software and work on products aimed at solving…

Patience Makwele Members of the United Nations (UN) Namibia youth advisory group have warnedagainst treating entrepreneurship as a one-size-fits-all solution to youthunemployment, saying young people face different financial, skills and industrybarriers when trying to create their own jobs.The warning came in Windhoek on Wednesday as youth unemployment remainsa major challenge, with a 2026 Namibia Country Impact Assessment estimatingyouth unemployment at about 46%. Micky Kaapama, a member of the UN Namibia youth advisory group, saidentrepreneurship can create opportunities but cannot be presented as an optionthat works equally for everyone. “Creating jobs is not a one-size-fits-all solution,” Kaapama said.She said young people…

Patience Makwele The government wants sport to contribute 3.5% to Namibia’s employment sector under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), up from the 1% contribution recorded during the previous development plan. Education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Minister Sanet Steenkamp said the target forms part of the government's push to professionalise sport and create sustainable careers in the sector. “While we have not yet fully realised that target, our resolve has not wavered, indeed, it has grown,” Steenkamp said. Steenkamp was speaking on Thursday at the Sports Seminar on “Unlocking Namibia’s Sport Economy” and the launch of the Namibia…

Patience Makwele The National Youth Service (NYS) has been urged to track the progress of young people after they leave its programmes, as the government considers expanding the role of national service. Education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture minister Sanet Steenkamp said recruitment and training figures alone should no longer be used to measure the success of the NYS. “The number of young people recruited and trained is important, but it cannot be the only measure of success,” Steenkamp said during the inauguration of the new nine-member NYS Board in Windhoek on Monday. She said the NYS should be…

Namibia’s growing obsession with status, recognition and the art of “othering” There was a time when being called “Mr” or “Mrs” was enough. Then came the proliferation of titles. Doctor. Professor. Engineer. Honourable. Councillor. Ambassador. Chief. Executive Director. Chairperson. And, increasingly, VIP, although even VIP appears to have become insufficient. We now have VVIPs. One wonders: what exactly are we trying to prove? Are we creating a society in which people are forgetting their names and only remembering their titles? The recent debate in Parliament over whether people who receive honorary doctorates should be permitted to use the title “Dr”…

There was a time when cleanliness was not merely something Namibia aspired to. It was part of the country’s identity. Windhoek was widely celebrated as the “cleanest city in Africa”, a reputation built over decades and reinforced by residents, businesses and successive municipal administrations. The title eventually went to Kigali around 2015/16, but the loss was about more than an informal African crown. It represented the erosion of something Namibians had come to regard as part of who we were.  The question today is uncomfortable but necessary:how did we allow ourselves to become a dirtier country, and is this deterioration…