National News

Martin Endjala The Luderitz Town Council plans to construct an additional water reservoir to address the water demands of the town's inhabitants. The town’s mayor, Phillipus Balhao, said this on Monday during a telephone interview with the Windhoek Observer. Balhao said that the current water reservoir lacks the capacity to deal with the demand load, hence the need to construct an additional reservoir. This comes after the council received N$91 million from the central government via the national planning committee to upgrade and develop the town's infrastructure. “Basically, with that fund, our ambition is to prepare as much of the…

Niël Terblanché The United Nations has issued a strong appeal to the international community to assist Namibia, as nearly half of the country's population faces the devastating effects of the ongoing drought. The UN's call was reinforced during a recent visit to Namibia by Reena Ghelani, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Climate Crisis Coordinator, who witnessed firsthand the harsh realities faced by communities in drought-stricken regions. According to a statement published by the UN, Ghelani described the situation as "deeply alarming" during her tour of Namibia. She observed that the drought has decimated crops and threatens livestock due to the…

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…