National News

Justicia Shipena The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spent N$800 000 more in completing the construction of its Erongo Regional Office in Swakopmund after appointing a new contractor to finish the project. Environment and tourism minister Indileni Daniel said the project was initially valued at N$19.2 million.  She said after the first contractor was terminated in August 2018, when the work was 78% complete, the remaining construction was completed for N$8.3 million. The expansion of the Swakopmund office started in 2015 with the construction of a new office block.  The project faced delays due to poor workmanship by the…

Allexer Namundjembo The government is considering building a shared office complex for Namibia’s former presidents, prime minister Elijah Ngurare said on Thursday.  Ngurare said this is the idea, instead of constructing individual offices for each. Ngurare made the announcement in Parliament while responding to questions from Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani about post-presidency arrangements for former president Nangolo Mbumba. He explained that the Former President’s Pension and Other Benefits Act of 2004 governs the benefits extended to former presidents and does not require the construction of separate offices. He said the idea of a shared office complex would…

Allexer Namundjembo The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has warned that damaging or destroying Namibian currency is a criminal offence that can result in jail time or a heavy fine. The warning follows a viral social media video showing the newly launched N$5 coin destroyed.  In a statement issued on Saturday, BoN said damaging or defacing legal tender is illegal under section 80(3)(a) of the Bank of Namibia Act and is punishable by a fine of up to N$50 000 or imprisonment of up to three years. “The currency must be treated with care. It is not only a medium of…

Allexer Namundjembo The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) has opened a 14-day public comment period on three new spectrum licence applications.  The applications were submitted by the International University of Management (IUM), Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). The announcement was made in a recent government gazette issued on 3 October 2025.  Cran chief executive officer Emilia Nghikembua said the process is part of promoting transparency and public participation in the allocation of spectrum licences. “These notices are published in accordance with regulation 4(7) of the regulations prescribing procedures regarding application for, amendment, renewal, transfer…

Justicia Shipena  The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has recorded losses of N$65 million over the past three years.  It lost N$20.9 million in 2023, N$18.5 million in 2024, and N$25.6 million in 2025. Auditor general Junias Kandjeke revealed the latest loss in his latest audit report on the NaCC for the financial year ending 31 March 2025. Despite the repeated shortfalls, the commission maintains that it remains financially stable.  “The commissioners believe that the commission has adequate financial resources through the grant allocation to continue in operation for the foreseeable future,” the report stated. Despite these losses, Kandjeke said NaCC…

Justicia Shipena Environment and tourism minister Indileni Daniel says the recent fire in Etosha National Park was no accident and was started by someone. “Fire doesn’t just emerge from nowhere. Somebody has started it, and I’m sure if he has got his right mind, he can feel the same and the damage that he has caused, not only to Etosha National Park, but to the whole Namibian nation,” she said on Thursday during a press conference at the ministry's offices.  She stressed that Etosha is Namibia’s flagship park, adding that to have it destroyed like that, and definitely by someone,…