National News

Niël Terblanché Four men have been convicted for the 2016 robbery and murder of Hans Jörg Möller, or Captain Hans, as he was fondly referred to, bringing closure to a case that has gripped the Namibian community for eight years. High Court Judge Dinnah Usiku delivered the verdict on Monday, finding Panduleni Gotlieb, David Tashiya, David Shekundja, and Elly Hinaivali guilty on multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder, housebreaking with intent to rob, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and possession of a firearm and ammunition without a license. Captain Möller, a well-known businessman in Walvis Bay, was fatally shot in his…

Martin Endjala The Walvis Bay community requested that three local authority councillors stay out of discussions and meetings regarding Redforce Debt Management (Redforce). On Tuesday, the residents during a mass protest action presented a petition in which they aired their grievances against the management of the municipality and Redforce. They said they do not trust Richard Hoaeb, the management committee chairperson, and two committee members, Olivia Andrews and Buddy Bramwell. “We demand that they recuse themselves from discussions and meetings relating to Redorce until this matter is concluded in a satisfactory manner. We have no confidence in the three councillors,”…

Niël Terblanché The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, has criticised the demands of former fishermen as unrealistic, citing their refusal to accept jobs other than sea-going positions while demanding higher wages and benefits. Klazen made these remarks in response to questions from the Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Mike Venaani during a parliamentary session focused on the challenges, sustainability efforts, and future plans for Namibia's fishing industry. Klazen stressed that the ministry launched a socio-economic relief programme in 2020 to support former fishermen who lost their jobs due to retrenchments, strikes, or misconduct. The minister, however, expressed concern…

Niël Terblanché The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has stressed the importance of timely voter registration for the upcoming Presidential and National Assembly Elections scheduled for the end of November. Peter Shaama, the Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer at the ECN, last week, announced that there will be no extension window beyond 1 August for voters to register while also urging all eligible Namibians to take immediate action. He indicated that since the commencement of the General Registration of Voters (GRV) on 3 June, a total of 676 390 Namibians have registered as voters. This includes registrations both within the…

Martin Endjala The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, is set to auction about 147 cattle on 17 July. This is according to a public notice by the ministry last week. The notice stated that this is a combined slaughter cattle and production event, along with a small livestock auction, specifically for the Omatjenne and Okomumbonde research settlements located in the Otjozondjupa region. The animals that will be sold include Slaughter Sanga Cross Oxen, 25 commercial Sanga cows, and heifers. There are 30 Slaughter Sanga Oxen and 3 Commercial Bonsmara Cows. 13 Slaughter Simmentaler Oxen, 4 Commercial Simbra Cows,…

Niël Terblanché Namibia's national railway operator, TransNamib, has accessed N$2.6 billion in funding from the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). This financial boost will be used to address the company's long-standing locomotive shortage and enhance its operational capacity. Chief Executive Officer, Desmond Van Jaarsveld, announced that the loan will be dedicated to increasing locomotive capacity, remanufacturing and acquiring new rolling stock, modernising the TransNamib workshop, and upgrading signaling equipment. “For years, we have been transparent about the challenges posed by our outdated equipment. This loan will not only enable us to increase…

Niël Terblanché The project to upgrade the road between Henties Bay and Uis to bitumen standard has been delayed due to a lack of funds. The Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, recently visited the site and noted that initial plans to have two contractors working simultaneously on the road from Henties Bay to Kamanjab were thwarted by funding constraints. Mutorwa reiterated the project's importance in diverting heavy truck traffic from the congested B2 Road to Walvis Bay harbour while at the same time enhancing Namibia's western transport corridor. He said the 96-kilometre road is part of a larger…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The Namibian education system is disadvantageous to disabled children, vulnerable pupils, and girls. This is according to a report that was presented by Germain Tshinu during the Pan-African Parliament’s third ordinary session, which was held last week in Midrand, South Africa. He said that when a delegate from the Pan-African Parliament visited Namibia from 25 October to 10 November 2021, it was also discovered that, apart from the inadequate number of schools in rural areas, the existing schools are largely under-resourced with teachers. “It was gathered from interactive meetings that classrooms are generally overcrowded, with a ratio of…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The European Union's (EU) Ambassador to Namibia, Ana Beatriz Martins, has announced that the economic bloc is working around the clock to ensure that Namibia is removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list. She announced this on Monday. According to her, Namibia has made progress ever since it was greylisted in February to ensure its removal from the list of non-compliant countries. “They called on us two months ago, and we are very happy that within months we have been able to bring Namibia into the EU-funded project called SK for African countries, where we…