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Ester Mbathera The Social Security Commission (SSC) has been accused of flouting public procurement rules by awarding a tender outside the mandated thresholds for public entities. The commission awarded an asset management tender worth N$500 million to entities that did not undergo the required competitive bidding overseen by the Central Procurement Board (CPBN). The incubation program allocation is equivalent to 33% of the SSC’s assets. Under the Procurement Act guidelines, the SSC falls under category three, requiring the board to oversee bidding processes for contracts exceeding specified thresholds. For consultancy services, the threshold stands at N$10 million, while for non-consultancy…

Stefanus Nashama The Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) member of the National Assembly, Vipuakuje Muharukua has resigned from the party and the Parliament. His resignation was confirmed by the party’s secretary-general, Manuel Mgaringombe on Tuesday, who said that Muharukua resigned due to personal political connections. Ngaringombe said Muharukua submitted his resignation on Monday. “Yes, he has resigned indeed, we have acknowledged his resignation from the party and the National Assembly,” he said. Ngaringombe stated that it's within Muharukua’s democratic rights to resign and place his life where he wants to be. “We are in a democratic society and PDM is a…

Niël Terblanché The 29-year-old Frieda Amadhila was allegedly killed by her 22-year-old boyfriend in the early hours of Monday at a flat in Windhoek. Chief Inspector Elifas Kuwinga, member of the Namibian Police’s Public Relations Division, confirmed that Amadhila was stabbed in the chest and arms with a knife at around 01:07 today. It is alleged that the suspect and the deceased were fighting in their residence in a block of flats on Ballot Street. He said the neighbours called the police and reported the domestic violence incident. Upon arrival, the police found the flat locked and were informed by…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja and Niël Terblanché In light of escalating concerns surrounding gender-based violence (GBV), the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo said the law enforcement agency is looking to implement new strategies to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV). “Identifying and calling survivors to speak out is the main focus. When survivors are speaking out, potential victims could be saved. They will know what signs to look out for. As of May, we are to have our police band across the country and invite people and GBV survivors to come out and talk about their experiences in the…

Niël Terblanché and Ester Mbathera The Namibian Police, with the aid of a local farmer's gyrocopter, successfully apprehended a 26-year-old man accused of the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Lena Williams, aged 29, on Saturday. According to the Namibian Police's report about the incident, the tragedy occurred in the early hours of Saturday in the Saamstaan Location of Usakos. According to the report, the suspect allegedly lay in wait for Williams at her residence after she spent the evening out with friends. Upon her return, she was attacked and fatally stabbed multiple times. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Williams…

Niël Terblanché In a desperate effort to mitigate the harsh impacts of the ongoing drought, representatives from the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), the Namibia National Farmers' Union (NNFU), and the Namibian Emerging Commercial Farmers Union (NECFU) convened with Calle Schlettwein, the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, on Thursday. The unions' visit was aimed at discussing a set of proposed emergency measures to address the drought conditions worsening in certain areas of Namibia, despite recent rains. The key proposals put forth during the meeting encompassed a wide range of initiatives intended to alleviate the drought's socio-economic effects on both…

Martin Endjala Namibia and China reaffirmed their military collaboration on Tuesday to share expertise and strengthen peaceful development. This was done during the change in command of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLAC), which saw the departure of Colonel Gao Peng, the defence attaché of China to Namibia. Colonel Li Shujun will replace Peng. Brigadier General Natanael Ngolo, the chief of the Defence Intelligence Directorate of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), welcomed Shujun to Namibia. Ngolo added that the working relations between the PLAC and the NDF serve as a solid foundation for exploring areas of common interest and…

Niël Terblanché The completion of the mandated SIM card registration exercise, as directed by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), has left thousands of mobile phone users temporarily disconnected from network services. This follows the March 31st deadline, which marked the end of an extensive campaign aimed at enhancing security and customer verification processes within the country's telecommunications sector. Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), Namibia's largest mobile operator, reported a registration compliance rate of 83.3 percent, having successfully registered 1,613,893 SIM cards. However, 323,236 users failed to meet the deadline, rendering their SIM cards suspended, but not deactivated, pending compliance.…