Featured – Page 19 – Windhoek Observer

01 Aug

It’s Time to Ask the Hard Questions About Doing Business in Namibia

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s decision to integrate Trade into the Ministry of International Relations deserves praise. It is a smart move, one that aligns Namibia’s foreign policy with the urgent need to attract investment. It tells the world that Namibia is ready to do business. But the bigger question is, how easy is it to actually do business here? The truth is, Namibia offers plenty of opportunities. We have political stability, rich natural resources, and a location that opens doors to regional markets. On paper, we look attractive. Yet, the reality on the ground often tells a different story. Investors quickly…

31 Jul

Stars replace Tanzanian club with Maniema Union

Featured, Sports

Erasmus Shalihaxwe African Stars Football Club, reigning Namibia Premier League champions, will host a four-team pre-season tournament at Independence Stadium in Windhoek from 24 to 26 August 2025. The tournament will prepare the club for its participation in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League. On Thursday, African Stars announced that Young African Football Club from Tanzania had withdrawn from the tournament and will be replaced by AS Maniema Union from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “African Stars FC would like to inform our fans and stakeholders that Young Africans FC from Tanzania has withdrawn from the upcoming Pre-Season…

31 Jul

Clerks urged to back SADC parliament shift

Africa / World, Featured

Moses Magadza The chairperson of the committee of clerks and secretaries general of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), Xolile George, has highlighted the role of clerks and secretaries of national parliaments in transforming the forum into a fully fledged SADC regional parliament. George, who is the clerk of the Parliament of South Africa, did this on Tuesday when he officially opened a statutory meeting of the Committee under the theme “Ensuring Operational Continuity Post Elections in SADC Member States.” “We gather here as a special crop of clerks and secretaries to our national parliaments with a special call and…

31 Jul

When Justice Feels Like Oppression: The Hidden Dangers of Blind Law Enforcement

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The recent viral video of a deputy sheriff demolishing the home of a black woman has shaken Namibia to its core. Though the action was legally mandated, the optics were devastating: a white man enforcing the destruction of a black woman’s property. In a country still healing from a brutal racial past, such images carry weight far beyond the immediate event. They awaken memories many wish to forget, but as history teaches us, memory does not fade simply because we want it to. Yes, the deputy sheriff acted under a court order, he was doing his job. But there is…

29 Jul

The youth fund: Dead on arrival?

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) recently launched the Youth Fund, a loan scheme meant to empower young Namibians to start businesses and create economic opportunities. Yet, the Fund sits idle, with “little to no uptake” from the very demographic it seeks to uplift. This scenario is both perplexing and revealing, pointing to deeper systemic flaws in how youth-targeted economic interventions are conceptualised and implemented in Namibia. The Youth Fund’s poor performance raises the fundamental question: was it designed with the realities of young Namibians in mind? Debt, particularly in the context of a weak job market and an unforgiving…

29 Jul

SADC parliamentarians push for right to food legislation

Africa / World, Featured

Moses Magadza Parliamentarians from SADC member states have concluded a high-level meeting and training toward transforming food systems and eradicating hunger in Southern Africa with strong commitments to legislative reforms, regional cooperation, and rights-based governance of agrifood systems. Convened from 22 to 24 July 2025, the inaugural meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Alliance on Agrifood Systems, Food Security and Nutrition, coupled with an intensive Subregional Training on Legislating the Right to Adequate Food, brought together lawmakers from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the…

29 Jul

The Financial Sector Must Stop Financing Everyone but Namibians

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

When Bank of Namibia Governor Johannes !Gawaxab recently admitted that local ownership and control in our financial sector has reached only 20% against a 25% target set a decade ago, he was not merely stating a statistic, he was laying bare an uncomfortable truth. Namibia’s financial services sector, the backbone of any modern economy, remains far too dependent on and beholden to foreign capital and interests. For ten years, we have tinkered at the edges of transformation. We have introduced localisation quotas, promoted local talent into top management, and celebrated the listing of banks on our stock exchange. Yet beneath this…

28 Jul

Tjihozu Combined School crowned Go Hard or Go Home champions

Featured, SportsTjihozu Combined School crowned Go Hard or Go Home champions

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Tjihozu Combined School from the Kunene region was crowned champions in the men’s football category of the Go Hard or Go Home Tournament last week. Go Hard or Go Home sports director Rauna Haulu said the 2025 tournament aimed to unite young people through sports and build a sense of community. “The 2025 tournament celebrated youthful energy, athleticism, and unity – bringing together learners from various schools in friendly but fierce competition. As we drive toward the year’s end, the atmosphere in our sports community is filled with excitement and gratitude. Following the overwhelming success of the Go…

28 Jul

Liberation Movements – Past Their Sell-By Dates?

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The former liberation movements of southern Africa – the ANC in South Africa, SWAPO in Namibia, the MPLA in Angola, among others – have gathered in South Africa under the lofty theme:“Defending the Liberation Gains, Advancing Integrated Socio-Economic Development, Strengthening Solidarity for a Better Africa.” On paper, it sounds noble. In reality, it reeks of irony. For decades, these movements carried the dreams of their people, leading struggles that dismantled colonialism and apartheid. They promised freedom, prosperity, and dignity. Today, however, many citizens look at them and ask: What liberation gains are left to defend? Liberation vs. Governance The transition from…

28 Jul

Historic first for Namibian referee at WAFCON final

Featured, Sports

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Namibia Football Association (NFA) president Robert Shimooshili has praised Namibian referee Twanyanyukwa Antsino for making history as the first Namibian to officiate the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final. Antsino officiated the match between Nigeria and Morocco on Saturday night. In a statement issued on Sunday, Shimooshili described the occasion as an achievement for Antsino, the NFA, and the nation. "Antsino's selection to officiate the WAFCON final is a testament to her dedication, skill, and unwavering commitment to excellence," he said. Shimooshili said her role in the final brings pride to both herself and the association and…