National News

Niël Terblanché In an effort to address overcrowding in prisons and to encourage rehabilitation, President Nangolo Mbumba has issued a pardon and reprieve order leading to the release of more than 2 000 offenders from correctional facilities across Namibia. This order, announced during the commemoration of Namibia’s 34th independence anniversary, will see 313 inmates receiving full pardons and 1 108 temporarily released from prison. The Namibian Correctional Service disclosed that these releases represent a substantial proportion of the 4,330 offenders who were considered for the presidential pardon. The pardon will also see the release of 709 offenders serving sentences under…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The Minister of Industrialization and Trade, Lucia Iipumbu, has this week introduced the Property Practitioners Bill in the National Assembly, which contains the Fidelity Fund Certificate that aims to protect consumers against theft of money entrusted to a property practitioner. In terms of the bill, once a Fidelity Fund Certificate is issued to a property practitioner, should that property practitioner then steal money held in trust, the consumer can claim the money back from the fidelity fund. “This part of the bill also deals with the consequences of a property practitioner not having a Fidelity Fund Certificate. The…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The United People's Movement (UPM) has been struggling to attract the youth to take up positions within the party structures due to a lack of interest in politics. UPM president, Jan van Wyk revealed this during an interview with the Windhoek Observer while outlining the party’s plans for the November elections. He said that even though there has been a slight change in the number of young people joining the party, they are still behind when compared to other political parties. “Until recently, the UPM had a problem getting the youth into its ranks. We see a change…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The construction of the Otjiwarongo referral hospital planned seven years ago with a budget of N$720 million, remains stalled, causing challenges for healthcare access in the region. In an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Thursday, Otjozondjupa Governor James Uerikua said that decentralisation of procurement functions to local governments could expedite the process. “As the regional government, we do not have much control over what happens in procurement, and it is hampering progress because it is at the central government. If this element could be decentralised, it could speed up the process,” said Uerikua. Despite allocating an erf,…

Ester Mbathera In an effort to invalidate a crucial decision the party's central committee made to postpone the extraordinary congress to 19 April 2025, five members of the SWAPO have filed a lawsuit against their own party. The applicants, Joshua Vaino Martins, Petrus Ndeshipanda Shituula, Aina Kalimba Angula, Reinhold Nghihepavali Shipwikineni, and Erich Chrismann Shivute, filed a Notice of Motion with the High Court of Namibia on Thursday. The five have been insisting on the party holding an extraordinary congress in order to elect a party president before the November elections. Swapo currently has no president, just Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as…

Martin Endjala Several communities across the country have proposed the creation of their own constituencies for better service delivery. This trend emerged during ongoing consultation meetings with the Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission in the Khomas region. The residents of the informal settlements in Havana and Goreangab are the latest community to express a desire for representation. They are currently part of the Samora Machel Constituency. Affirmative Repositioning Movement (AR) Khomas region chairperson and youth community leader Sem David of the Samora Machel Community Development Committee (CDC) and community members rejected the border demarcation commission's decision to split the Samora…

Niël Terblanché Emma Theofelus, the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, has issued a final reminder to Namibians to register their SIM cards by 30 June to avoid complete disconnection. This update is part of an ongoing national exercise that commenced in 2021, aligning with international standards and the Communications Act of 2009. While addressing Parliament on Tuesday, Theofelus pointed to the substantial progress made in the SIM registration initiative. "As of 30 April 2024, we have successfully registered 91% of active SIM cards, up from 70.6% in February. This marks a considerable increase, with 2 172 379 SIM cards…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has refuted claims that its voter registration data is hosted abroad by a company in Hong Kong as reported by a local daily newspaper. ECN Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer Peter Shaama said on Wednesday that the commission is dismayed by the misleading and unfounded article. He said the claims have the potential to create misperceptions among the ECN stakeholders and compromise the credibility of the voters' register. “The commission reassures its stakeholders, including members of the public, that the ECN Voter Registration System has never been and will never be hosted…

Stefanus Nashama The Ministry of Health and Social Services says there is no need for operational testing centres for Covid-19 in the country. The ministry spokesperson, Walter Kamaya, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the pandemic is no longer a world health emergency. Kamaya said this in an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Tuesday. “We do not have any cases. We are not even talking about the wearing of a mask now. The 45th Covid-19 update has made it clear that the pandemic has subsided. We do not need operational testing centres,” he stressed. Kamaya pointed out…