Featured – Page 9 – Windhoek Observer

10 Oct

Youth-led climate strikes gain momentum worldwide

Featured, National News

In October 2025, a significant wave of youth-led climate strikes swept across the globe, signalling a resurgence in environmental activism among Generation Z. Organised by movements such as Fridays for Future and Climate Cardinals, a collective demand for urgent action on climate change and environmental justice drove these strikes. From the streets of Sydney to the capitals of Europe, millions of young people took part in coordinated protests. In Madagascar, youth-led demonstrations over power and water shortages resulted in the government’s dissolution after at least 22 deaths were reported. Similar protests broke out in Morocco, Peru, Indonesia, Nepal, and the…

10 Oct

YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

Featured, Opinions

In recent weeks, a significant political development has captured the attention of Namibians: several young members who previously served in the rank and file, some having gone as far as becoming members of Parliament for the former official opposition party, have resigned and joined the ruling party. The question on everyone’s mind and, for those bold enough, on their lips is, why? Inevitably, the exodus invited various reactions ranging from surprise to cynicism and outright disappointment. Of course, for the ruling party, it means that lost ground is being recovered, as a return to its structures signifies a restoration of…

10 Oct

Is Namibia losing the battle against drugs?

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

When a 21-year-old woman is caught smuggling cannabis and illicit tobacco into police holding cells at Oshakati, one has to pause and ask: what is really going on? How did we arrive at a point where criminal activity boldly infiltrates the very sanctum of law enforcement, the police station itself? If the walls of a police station can no longer guarantee security from contraband, then Namibia’s war against drugs may already be slipping through our fingers. This week’s arrest at the Oshakati Police Station is not an isolated incident; it is a symptom of a wider malaise. The young woman,…

09 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | Namibia first: The optics of justice and the burden of history

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The legal battle unfolding in the High Court over the joint Namibia–Germany genocide declaration is far more than a constitutional dispute; it is a moral mirror reflecting how we, as a nation, navigate justice, memory, and sovereignty in the postcolonial age. On one side stands the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), flanked by descendants of the Nama and Ovaherero communities, arguing that the government has betrayed their cause by defending the former coloniser. On the other side stands the government, represented by Namibian lawyers, insisting that it is merely clarifying legal principles, not shielding Germany from accountability. But in politics, as…

09 Oct

The power of a small deduction … understanding the role of payroll deductions in Namibia’s economy

Featured, Opinions

Ingah Ekandjo I recently spoke at the opening of one of our top-performing branches, prepared to talk about growth and community impact. But instead, I choked up. The room faded; my past came alive. I grew up in a modest Namibian family of seven children. Not all of us could get student loans or bursaries, but my mother, a government nurse with little savings, had taken out an education policy (an insurance plan for schooling). Listening to my introduction, memories of my childhood flashed before my eyes. In that moment I fully understood how that simple policy brought me here. …

09 Oct

OBSERVER COASTAL | The Tide Line

Featured, Opinions

Reading the coast, understanding the nation Welcome to the Tide Line — the new weekly editorial voice of Observer Coastal. Here, at the edge of land and sea, stories don’t just happen; they arrive, shift, and recede like waves. From the harbours of Walvis Bay to the salt pans of Swakopmund, the dunes of Dorob to the fishing docks of Henties Bay, the Erongo coast has always been more than geography. It is the country’s pulse in motion, the line where Namibia breathes through the Atlantic. The Tide Line will exist at that intersection, between the economic and the environmental,…

09 Oct

NNN tells farmers to build a smarter, sustainable sector

Featured, National News

Justicia Shipena President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called on the agricultural sector to reimagine agriculture as a smart, sustainable and inclusive engine of development. She said the industry must evolve to meet the country’s long-term food security and economic goals. Nandi-Ndaitwah made the remarks on Wednesday at the 2025 Agricultural Outlook Conference held at the Windhoek Country Club. The conference, themed "Harvesting the Future," was organised by the Namibian Emerging Commercial Farmers Union (NECFU), the Namibian National Farmers Union (NNFU), the Previously Disadvantaged National Farmers Union (PDNFU), and the Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU). The event brought together communal, emerging, and commercial…

09 Oct

MTC stresses need to empower emerging fashion talent

Featured, National News

Justicia Shipena Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC)’s corporate affairs and sponsorship manager, John Ekongo, says there is a need to promote platforms that nurture aspiring talents in the fashion and lifestyle industry. He adds that such initiatives can drive innovation and elevate Namibia’s creative sector. “The advancement of the fashion and lifestyle industry hinges on unified efforts to promote platforms that empower aspiring talents. When we aid platforms that encourage creativity, innovation, and partnership, we are unlocking the full potential of emerging designers, artists, and entrepreneurs,” Ekongo said at a sponsorship handover ceremony on Tuesday. During the ceremony, MTC announced a…

08 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | When lunch becomes a luxury: The crisis of public service productivity

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security minister Lucia Iipumbu recently directed that all ministry offices remain operational during lunchtime. On the surface, this may seem like a minor administrative adjustment. But in reality, it exposes a deep and chronic crisis within our civil service, a culture that has normalised inefficiency, eroded public trust, and forgotten that service delivery is not a favour to the public but a duty. A nation held hostage by lunch breaks For years, ordinary Namibians have stood in endless queues outside government buildings, sometimes under the unforgiving sun, sometimes in the rain, waiting for something as…

07 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | Tot siens, Botswana: The end of an era in the second car dealership in Namibia

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

A quiet revolution is unfolding at the Namibian border posts. A policy shift, announced by the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, has barred the importation of second-hand vehicles older than 12 years from outside the Common Customs Area (CCA). This change, while perhaps anticipated in policy circles, has hit with the sudden force of a desert storm for many young Namibians whose livelihoods depend on the second-hand motor vehicle trade. For years, the phrase “Dankie, Botswana” marked the informal farewell uttered by hopeful entrepreneurs as they crossed into our neighbour, heading to Durban or other major ports, returning weeks later…