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YOUNG OBSERVER | Surviving Janu-worry

YOUNG OBSERVER | Surviving Janu-worry

There is an almost scientific anomaly that occurs every twelve months. While every other month on the Gregorian calendar certainly consists of 30 or 31 days, January somehow manages to stretch into a grueling, 744-hour marathon of fiscal anxiety.For many young people, January has become a reckoning; similar to the cold shower after the neon-lit fever dream of December. If you find yourself checking your bank balance with the same caution one might use to approach a sleeping lion, you are not alone. This is the Young Observer’s guide to surviving the longest month of the year without losing your mind…
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YOUNG OBSERVER | #Unmuted

Dearest gentle readers, would this greeting count as plagiarism on my part?  I have determined to be warmer with you this year. Welcome to the year 2026 from the desk of Young Observer’s editorial team.  The start of this year has been quite eventful for us as a nation and beyond our borders. Gen Z and Alpha are living through their first capture of a sitting Head of State by the United States in a much more theatrical manner. With learners set to resume and begin classes next week, the Minister of Education is cautioning against bribes in exchange for…
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Buying a future? Corruption in school placements betrays our children and our nation

There are moments when a society must pause, look itself in the mirror, and ask difficult questions. The disturbing reports that some parents are offering bribes to teachers to secure placement for their children in preferred schools, and that some educators are accepting these inducements, represent one such moment. This is not a minor administrative lapse or an isolated act of desperation. It is a corrosive practice that strikes at the moral foundation of our education system and, by extension, the future of our country. The Windhoek Observer commends the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture for issuing a public…
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Namibia’s strategic imperative: sovereignty in an age of structural power 

Namibia’s strategic imperative: sovereignty in an age of structural power 

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) Venezuela, the New Diplomacy of Force, and the Quiet Geometry of Global Control To call this America’s first invasion or its first violation of international law is hypocrisy. The real question is more unsettling: why does a single power remain so persistently driven to control the world, even at the expense of the order it claims to uphold? The answer is rarely found in speeches or official declarations. As history repeatedly shows, the true nature of political power lies not in what is promised aloud, but in what is done…
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Why IShowSpeed matters and why the rule of law matters more

The reaction to American YouTuber Darren Watkins Jr, better known as IShowSpeed, failing to land in Namibia has exposed a generational and philosophical divide in how we understand influence, opportunity and governance in the digital age. For many older Namibians, the question has been simple and sincere: What is the big deal about a young man shouting into a camera while playing games or reacting to football clips?  For others, particularly the youth and those working in tourism, branding and the creative economy, the disappointment has been equally real. Both perspectives deserve to be heard. And both can be reconciled.…
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Why the article “When inefficiency becomes a culture: Namibia’s public sector” became the opinion piece of the year

Why the article “When inefficiency becomes a culture: Namibia’s public sector” became the opinion piece of the year

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) By year’s end, SPOTLIGHTING NAMIBIA named “When Inefficiency Becomes a Culture: Namibia’s Public Sector” its Opinion Piece of the Year. The recognition was not an act of praise but of relevance. The criteria were exacting: • Did the article give language to what many citizens felt but struggled to articulate? • Did it move beyond complaint to diagnose a systemic condition? • Did it hold institutions accountable without personal attack? • Did it provoke reflection and reform rather than cynicism or despair? The article met each test because it named…
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When land disputes turn deadly: a test of law, leadership and restraint 

The fatal shooting of traditional headman Sam Nepando and the serious injury of I-Ben Nashandi, who is reportedly recovering in hospital, have sent a deep and unsettling shock through Namibia. It is not only the loss of life and the violence itself that has disturbed the nation, but the nature of the dispute from which this tragedy reportedly arose. Incidents of this kind are almost unheard of in our recent history, particularly within the context of traditional leadership and land administration. For many Namibians, this moment has forced a painful reckoning with questions we have long debated in theory but…
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What do we own? Namibia’s unwritten national balance sheet

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s New Year message strikes a hopeful and unifying chord. Her call for unity, compassion, hard work and integrity is timely and necessary as Namibia steps into 2026 facing familiar socio-economic challenges: unemployment, inequality, fiscal pressure and uneven service delivery. The President is right; when Namibians stand together, no challenge is too great. But unity and determination alone are not enough. To truly translate this vision into inclusive growth and national renewal, we must confront a fundamental and largely unanswered question: what do we own as a nation? In households and businesses, progress begins with knowing what is…
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Community voices must guide Namibia’s future

Community voices must guide Namibia’s future

Ester Shafashike In a democratic society, decisions that affect the lives of citizens cannot be made in isolation. The principle of community consultancy, seeking public views before implementing any policy or project is not only a moral obligation but also a constitutional and developmental imperative for Namibia. The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia (1990) makes it clear that sovereignty rests with the people. Article 1(1) declares Namibia a democratic state founded upon the will of its citizens, whereas Chapter 3 guarantees freedoms of speech, assembly, and association.  These rights are not symbolic, but they are the right tools through…
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Fishrot at five years: When courts delay, power decides and victims pay the price

Fishrot at five years: When courts delay, power decides and victims pay the price

 PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) After reading the allegations involving the so-called fugitive lawyer Marén de Klerk, authorised by the Supreme Court to testify via video link in the Fishcor and Sea Flower Pelagic matter, my blood boiled. That anger was sharpened by the memory of Sacky Shanghala lecturing young Namibians at SWAPO Youth League Youth Day celebrations with astonishing arrogance. The allegations now reveal that the former Minister of Justice allegedly told those involved that they “could all stand to make a lot of money.” If true, this is not a lapse in judgement.…
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