National News – Page 377 – Windhoek Observer

01 Aug

Unions, Govt to butt heads over strike rules….Geingob cancels overseas trips amid strike

ObserverNational Newse NANTU, Geingob cancels overseas trips amid strike, Govt to butt heads over strike rules....Geingob cancels overseas trips amid strike, Loide Shaanika., Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu), Unions

Obrein Simasiku Unions representing civil servants in the looming national strike will tomorrow butt heads with the government, as they sit to set rules to guide the picketing process, after the workers overwhelmingly voted in favour of an industrial action. About 96 percent voted in favour of the strike during the two-day voting period that ended on Friday. Meanwhile at an eleventh hour President Hage Geingob has decided to cancel his overseas State visits to Jamaica and Cuba, saying he will need to attend to the slated strike because its a pressing domestic matter. “We have a meeting with the…

01 Aug

Schlettwein rebukes Aminuis uranium mining

ObserverNational Newsand Land Reform, Carl Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Schlettwein rebukes Aminuis uranium mining, Water

Tujoromajo Kasuto Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, has slammed the prospecting for uranium in Aminuis in the Omaheke Region, where people rely heavily on underground water for survival, claiming that mining in an aquifer is potentially harmful and that it would be irresponsible to allow such potential pollution and destruction of such a valuable water resource in an otherwise dry country. Carl Schlettwein made the statement in response to the drilling of boreholes in the area by Headspring Investments’ Project Wings, a subsidiary of Uranium One, which is part of Rosatom, a Russian state-owned uranium exploration, mining, and…

01 Aug

NWR exonerated in Hengari lawsuit

ObserverNational NewsMinister of Environment and Tourism, NWR and Sun Karros Lifestyle Safaris (Pty) Ltd., NWR exonerated in Hengari lawsuit, Pohamba Shifeta, Zelna Hengari

Staff Writer The absolution in the N$7.5 million defamation claim, filed by Zelna Hengari against her former employer, the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) and the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta was rejected in the High Court of Namibia. Hengari filed a civil suit against her former employer, Shifeta, and former public enterprises minister Leon Jooste, claiming N$7.5 million for reputational damage related to a press statement issued by the board on 5 April 2018 and published in local newspapers. The press statement issued on the local newspaper relates to a 30-year joint partnership agreement between NWR and Sun…

01 Aug

Facial recognition for GIFP members

ObserverNational NewsBiometric System, Evans Maswahu, GIPF chairperson Benefits and Administration Committee, Government Pension Insitutions Fund (GIPF)

Obrein Simasiku The Government Pension Insitutions Fund (GIPF) has intensified security features, sealing loopholes of dubious payments to non-existent individuals by cheating the system, as it introduced a Biometric System which can capture both facial and fingerprints. Previously the fund heavily relied on fingerprint identification, while the new system has an added security feature of facial scanning which has a liveness detection. This is especially critical to members with disabilities in respect of their hands, or damage to fingers which may be difficult to scan, says Evans Maswahu, GIPF chairperson Benefits and Administration Committee. The new system has verification capabilities…

Mushelenga’s dedication<br>worth emulating- Geingob

01 Aug

Mushelenga’s dedication
worth emulating- Geingob

ObserverNational NewsMushelenga’s dedication worth emulating- Geingob, Nkrumah Mushelenga, president Hage Geingob, refugee commissioners

Martin Endjala President Hage Geingob has reiterated that the legacy of the former refugee commissioner and Swapo veteran fighter Nkrumah Mushelenga is worth emulating in building the country and making it a better place for all. Geingob said this in his condolences message on Sunday. “I have learned with sadness of the passing on of a freedom fighter and senior civil servant, comradeNkrumah Mushelenga. On behalf of the government and the Namibian people, I extend our sincereheartfelt condolences to the children and the entire bereaved Mushelenga family,’’ Geingob expressed. Mushelenga died on the 27th July 2022. Mushelenga leaves an illustrious…

30 Jul

Family of man killed by jumbo receive N$100 000

ObserverNational News57-year-old man, Family of man killed by jumbo receive N$100 000, N$10 000, N$100 000 for loss of life, National Policy on Human and Wildlife Conflict (HWC), Victor Mubiano

Obrein Simasiku The family of the 57-year-old man who was trampled to death by an elephant at Impalila island in the Zambezi region, will receive compensation of N$100 000 from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism through its National Policy on Human and Wildlife Conflict (HWC) management. The deceased identified as Victor Mubiano was attacked and killed by the elephant on Sunday evening, while a second victim Nkonga Simataa (24) who survived with severe injuries was also trampled in a separate incident the same day.HWC policy management makes provision of a N$100 000 for loss of life, N$10 000 for…

30 Jul

Extended Levies reduction bites parastatal ….August fuel maintained

ObserverNational Newse Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, Extended Levies reduction bites parastatal ….August fuel maintained, RFA

Obrein Simasiku Parastatals benefitting from fuel levies must brace for the worst, as the Ministry of Mines and Energy has resolved to extend the levy reduction amnesty until further notice, thus lengthening the financial difficulties of companies such as the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, Natis and Namcor whose levies were cut by 25% and 50%. The companies are crying as they feel the financial crunch, which has already led to some streamlining their operations and reduce the provision of much needed services to the public. MVA Fund said they were losing about N$11 million in a month, and by December…

30 Jul

Traditional circumciser becomes community mobilizer

ObserverNational NewsNamibia’s Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC), Norich Uararakana Kaurika, Otjozondjupa Region, Traditional circumciser becomes community mobilizer

Staff Writer Norich Uararakana Kaurika, 44, is a respected traditional circumciser from Okakarara, a small town in the Otjozondjupa Region. Norich takes pride in performing circumcisions because in his tribe (Ovaherero), tradition dictates that every young man should be circumcised not only as a rite of passage but also to prevent infections and improve hygiene. He explains the traditional role the fraternity of boys circumcised in the same year is playing for all of them. ‘’In difficult times, the men in the group will become each other’s pillars of hope. They keep each other accountable for staying on the straight…

30 Jul

Grandmother’s intuitions come true

ObserverNational NewsBachelors Degree in computer science from the Namibia University of Science and Technology, Grandmother’s intuitions come true, Immagine Shikomba, Keemunda Foundation., Patrick Issaks

Martin Endjala Keemunda, which means helping and caring for others, is the name given by the grandmother.Little did she know that she will become just that.Immagine Shikomba, who holds a Bachelors Degree in computer science from the Namibia University of Science and Technology formed a civil society organization eight years ago called Keemunda Foundation.The name Keemunda comes from Psalms 121, “my help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth”.Shikomba in her reminiscences of her late grandmother, told Windhoek Observer in an interviewthat she never knew what Keemunda meant. When she one day asked her grandmother, she was…

29 Jul

PDMYL hits back at SPYL

ObserverNational NewsAnselm Marungu, Popular Democratic Movement Youth League (PDMYL), Yvette Araes

Staff Writer The Popular Democratic Movement Youth League (PDMYL) has fired back at the statements made by Swapo Party Youth League secretary for Kavango East region, Anselm Marungu in interview with a local newspaper, The Namibian. PDMYL acting secretary general Yvette Araes said the statement made by Marungu ignore the critical role that opposition political parties play in a functioning democracy. “Healthy, resilient democracies are based on inclusiveness, in which all political parties big or small, representatives of institutions are in key positions to safeguard our democracy. When groups perpetuate the exclusion of individuals from the democratic process or the…