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Justicia Shipena The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) recovered less than 1% of student loans during the financial year that ended in March 2024. According to the latest audit report by Auditor General Junias Kandjeke, NSFAF recovered only N$18.27 million during the year under review.  “The auditors noted that total recoveries were only N$18,271,916, which is less than 1% of total student debtors owing the Fund,” Kandjeke said. He found that the NSFAF has been ineffective in collecting student debt, noting that most debtors are years in arrears and there was no evidence that they had been contacted to…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ministry of Health and Social Services spent over N$54.8 million through irregular emergency and direct procurement, despite laws limiting these methods to exceptional situations.  This is according to the latest audit report by Auditor General (AG) Junias Kandjeke. The report shows the ministry used emergency procurement to buy goods and services worth N$19.2 million, even though these items were already listed in its procurement plan.  Under the Public Procurement Act of 2015, this method is allowed only during disasters or wars or when lives or the environment are in danger.  The AG’s office found that the ministry…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The ministry of agriculture, water and land reform says it has been unable to secure a meeting with the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) board for months.  The ministry said this is despite repeated efforts involving the ministry of finance and the office of the attorney general. This came just days before Meatco board chairperson Sakaria Nghikembua resigned.  He stepped down on Friday, citing alleged unlawful government directives. His resignation was confirmed by agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani in the National Assembly on Wednesday. “Up until yesterday, we were looking to confirm the time with the Board of Directors…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The City of Windhoek has confirmed that four forensic and audit investigations into alleged irregularities have been completed.  However, the reports remain under internal legal and administrative review and are not yet available to the public. This confirmation follows questions sent by the Windhoek Observer last month and a letter dated 19 May from social justice activist Shaun Evert Gariseb.  The letter, addressed to the minister of urban and rural development, James Sankwasa, asked for intervention in long-standing service delivery and governance issues affecting residents. “The investigation has been concluded, and the resulting reports were submitted to the…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja A restricted tender issued by the Tsumeb Municipality for the construction of 31 Build Together housing units in Nomtsoub Extension 8 is under scrutiny.  The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement has accused the local authority of violating the Public Procurement Act. The N$3.1 million tender was issued on 23 May 2025. AR’s Oshikoto regional activist, Johannes John, claims the tender process was hidden from the public and that a specific company was allegedly preselected to win the contract. “We are taking issue with the manner in which they selected the companies. The Procurement Act says they may only select…

Justicia Shipena  For Namibia to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s grey list, it needs to address five remaining action items by May 2026.  This means the country has 11 months to address these action items and avoid remaining on the greylist. On Friday, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) announced that the country has made progress remediating eight out of the 13 strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF.  FIC director Bryan Eiseb said that the five remaining items include having fair and strong penalties for breaking AML/CFT rules, and better teamwork between the FIC and law enforcement to use…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Fabupharm Namibia (Pty) Ltd has been operating without a valid manufacturing licence for one year and five months.  From January 2024 up to June 2025, Fabupharm has been in violation of national pharmaceutical regulations. The Namibia Medicines Regulatory Council (NMRC) has now ordered the company to halt all pharmaceutical production. The NMRC said the company violated Regulation 35 of the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, 2003 (Act No. 13 of 2003) by continuing to manufacture medicines without renewing its licence. Registrar of Medicines Fransina Nambahu issued a directive instructing Fabupharm to stop the production of pharmaceuticals and…

Justicia Shipena International relations analyst Marius Kudumo has warned that Namibia should not take comfort in its current exemption from the latest U.S. presidential travel ban.  Kudumo said the country should not celebrate its exclusion, as the global landscape remains unpredictable. According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia is not included in the list of 12 countries affected by the new U.S. travel ban.  “You can't celebrate that you are not on that list because you are not sure whether you will be on that list one day or not,” he said. Kudumo…

Allexer Namundjebo Works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi’s directive to shift vehicle-related fines from drivers to vehicle owners is facing scrutiny from the public and transport business owners. On Tuesday, Nekundi informed the National Assembly about his directive that traffic officers must stop issuing fines to drivers for mechanical faults on vehicles that are not owned by them.  He stated that the registered owners should now receive those fines instead.  He said the directive covers citations related to maintenance issues, overloading, and other vehicle faults. “Enforcement officers must ensure that their practices align with a framework that clearly distinguishes the…

Allexer Namundjebo  After years of inactivity following a 2018 court order that ended the lease agreement with Ramatex Textiles, the City of Windhoek is now taking steps to revive the dormant Ramatex site. The 43-hectare property has remained unused since the textile factory abruptly shut down in 2008. On Monday, the City of Windhoek announced that it is working to turn the idle Ramatex site into a new economic hub.  This was revealed when Windhoek mayor Ndeshihafela Larandja met with internal stakeholders to assess the current state of the property.  According to the City, the meeting formed part of plans…