National News

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Albert Kawana, has introduced the Regularisation of Status of Certain Residents of Namibia, their Descendants, and Foreign Spouses Bill. On Monday, the minister introduced the bill in the National Assembly with the goal of regulating the status of holders of South West Africa Identification Documents (SWA IDs), their descendants, and their foreign spouses who are unable to obtain Namibian citizenship under the current legislative framework. According to the minister, the bill provides for a process for these categories of people to acquire Namibian citizenship. “The Bill provides that SWA…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The leader of the Namibia Transport and Taxi Union (NTTU) Werner Januarie said there is no positive movement in the direction of much-needed reforms in the public passenger road transport and taxi industries. He said this is due to a conflict of interest, as the same law enforcement agents and legislators are majority taxi owners. Januarie said this in a letter addressed to President Nangolo Mbumba on 27 May titled ‘’Calling on your action in solidarity with the taxi industry'' as seen by the Windhoek Observer. He said NTTU has been advocating for reforms in the public passenger…

Martin Endjala The Swapo secretary general, Sophia Shaningwa, said a recent meeting between her and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was not secretive but part of their bilateral relationship. This follows last week's reports that Mnangagwa met in secret with prominent members of the ruling party in Namibia. “Why was our meeting termed secret and whose opinion made it secret? Those insinuations smell like hatred towards Swapo and Zanu-PF. Our bilateral relationship is not a secret and your informers must stop causing confusion,” she argued. She said the bilateral relationship between Swapo and Zanu-PF will continue. Shaningwa stated that the two…

Martin Endjala The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has dispatched teams of investigators across various regions of Namibia to investigate matters of alleged corruption. The issues include a variety of cases of corruption reported countrywide, such as theft, mismanagement, unlawful appointments, and transaction approval, among others. The ACC’s spokesperson, Josefina Nghituwamata confirmed this during a telephone interview with the Windhoek Observer last week. "Yes, I can confirm that the commission has sent out a team to various regions to investigate alleged corruption matters. But I cannot provide the details at this time. The team’s investigations are not focused on one region or…

Stefanus Nashama The City of Windhoek clarified the incident in which two young men interrupted the proceedings of the Ordinary Council Meeting last week. According to Lydia Amutenya, the City of Windhoek’s spokesperson, the two individuals requested to use the reading room at Katutura Community Hall for training purposes. “Their grievance is centred around a reading room located at Katutura Community Hall, which is managed by the city's Economic Development and Community Services Department,” she stated. Amutenya also explained that the individuals expressed dissatisfaction with the services offered by the municipality's employees. She added that they also called for the…