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Allexer Namundjembo Former President Hifikepunye Pohamba has reflected on his final visit with the late founding father, Sam Nujoma, saying he was not shocked when news of Nujoma’s passing broke. Speaking to NBC TV news on Tuesday, Pohamba shared that during his visit to Lady Pohamba Private Hospital in Windhoek last month, he found Nujoma in critical condition. "Last month, I travelled to Windhoek, and upon arrival, I learnt that my colleague, friend, and comrade had been admitted to the hospital. I went to visit him and found him seriously ill," Pohamba revealed. He added that although he was able…

Ester Mbathera  The 9th of February signalled the end of an era of African liberation giants. Oliver Tambo, Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Mwalimu Nyerere, Robert Mugabe, Samora Machel, Nelson Mandela, and Sam Nujoma have all passed. Political analyst Henning Melber, in an interview with South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Sunday, described Nujoma as the personification of Namibian independence.  “Sam Nujoma is an iconic, legendary figure when it comes to the liberation of Namibia. He personified like nobody else the struggle for independence. He was the founding president of Swapo. He was president for almost 50 years. He was a lasting…

Ester Mbathera  At 04h40 on Sunday morning, President Nangolo Mbumba announced the passing of Founding President Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, who had been hospitalised for the past three weeks. “Unfortunately, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from illness,” said Mbumba. Nujoma passed away at the age of 95 on 8 February at 23h45 at Lady Pohamba Private Hospital in Windhoek. “Our Founding Father lived a long and consequential life during which he served the people of his beloved country. Our Founding Father heroically marshalled the Namibian people during the darkest hours of our liberation struggle until the…

Ester Mbathera  The Namibia Nurses Union has urged the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) to take the condition of public hospitals seriously. This follows an order for nurses to return to Katutura Intermediate Hospital from Windhoek Central Hospital, where they had been stationed since March last year due to planned renovations of the Katutura surgical ward. Ruben Uunona from the union expressed concerns about the state of the ward.  “We are hoping that the ministry takes this hospital seriously and renovates it, and if they are renovating it, they should build another new hospital that is at our…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ministry of Health and Social Services is engaging the US Embassy regarding a waiver following the US government’s decision to freeze foreign aid, affecting US-funded non-governmental organisations. The ministry’s executive director, Ben Nangombe confirmed that discussions are ongoing with the embassy to determine the status of aid-dependent programmes.  “We are engaging the US Embassy on the waiver,” he said. The freeze was implemented by US President Donald Trump’s executive order on foreign aid, which led to a 90-day suspension of the USG President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded HIV/AIDS treatment across the African continent. PEPFAR…

Ester Mbathera  Namibia’s former First Lady, Monica Geingos has extended her thoughts and prayers to the Nujoma family as they face a difficult time. Founding President Sam Nujoma has been hospitalised at Lady Pohamba Private Hospital since last week.  Speaking at the remembrance service of her late husband, President Hage Geingob, at State House on Tuesday, she expressed her empathy and solidarity.  “My heart and empathy are with the Nujoma family right now as they grapple with a lot of what we had to grapple with and we pray for them and we pray for the founding father,” she said.…

Allexer Namundjembo The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism is struggling to find markets for crocodile by-products due to the absence of a well-established value chain.  This was confirmed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda in an interview with the Windhoek Observer last week. “What do you do with them?” he asked. Several communities, particularly along the Okavango River, have on several occasions requested quotas for crocodile consumption.  Muyunda explained that the ministry is only interested in working with those who intend to farm crocodiles, not those seeking to consume them. Regarding crocodile population management, he said that continuous monitoring…

Allexer Namundjembo Trigon Metals has temporarily paused operations at its Kombat Mine to conduct unplanned maintenance on its dewatering systems. The company announced this on Saturday, citing the need to ensure the long-term stability and efficiency of the mine’s infrastructure. The pause follows the failure of both primary dewatering pumps at the site last month, which suspended underground mining operations.  Trigon Metals anticipates potential flooding in the coming days. Jed Richardson, CEO and executive chairman of Trigon Metals, acknowledged the challenges posed by the situation but emphasised its necessity. "While this temporary pause is not the outcome we envisioned, it…

Allexer Namundjembo The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) said it values the recently released delimitation report, as it will aid in planning for the regional council and local authority elections scheduled for November this year. In an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Wednesday, the ECN’s spokesperson, De Wet Siluka explained that the report, which was presented to President Nangolo Mbumba by the Delimitation and Demarcation Commission, provides essential information on constituency boundaries, allowing the Commission to begin preparations. "The significance of the report is that, as a commission, the information includes the boundaries of constituencies, and we need to…

Stefanus Nashama Economists and political figures have expressed concern about the accuracy of the data presented in the Labour Force Thematic Report. On Wednesday, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) released a report indicating that the overall unemployment rate is 36.9% for individuals aged 15 and older. “The unemployment rate stood at 36.9% with a youth unemployment rate of 44.4%. This indicates an increase in the overall unemployment rate of 3.5% from 33.4% in 2018 to 36.9% in 2023,” says the report. According to the report, this translates to 320 442 unemployed people and 546 805 employed out of a working-age…