National News – Page 379 – Windhoek Observer

18 Sep

Avoid suspicion, be transparent and face the music

ObserverNational NewsNamibian, Transfrontier Conservation Area

The stories capturing headlines about an ‘oil exploration deal’ involving Recon Africa, a Canadian gas and oil company, are disturbing. The area targeted for drilling is one of the most environmentally sensitive conservation and wildlife areas in the country. More must be revealed about this story; there are many unanswered questions. Decision-makers seem to be caught up yet again in their unattainable obsession for secrecy. When will they learn to face the public with their plans and tackle issues directly? Namibia is reeling from COVID-19 and financial hardship. Fishrot and other corruption scandals have made the public distrust politicians and…

17 Sep

“If I don’t win, it was rigged”

ObserverNational Newsdemocracy, Namibian

The above words are perhaps the greatest modern-day threat to democracy. We all must be vigilant when anyone running for office says an election is rigged unless they win. We don’t have a perfect country, but it is the only one we have. Those claiming to be loyal, proud Namibians are obliged to make sure this country operates according to the constitution. Those proved to have broken the law or calling for the law to be broken, must be held accountable. In the USA, presidential candidate Donald Trump is stoking (and perhaps hoping for) a violent insurrection after national elections…

16 Sep

Public need for justice is being denied

ObserverNational Newsfishrot, justice, Namibia

Justice is not served by constant delays in the fishrot case. These postponements deny the public a front-row seat to see if corruption is stronger than the constitution. The people have demanded to witness the prosecution of the fishrot accused. Let us get on with it. What does it say about the case if these men languish in pandemic-unsafe jails, in limbo? How often will the prosecution, ACC and police put their tails between their legs and beg the magistrate for more time to get their cases together? Namibia has an overall problem with a sluggish arrest, investigation, and trial…

15 Sep

Rip off the plaster

ObserverNational NewsGovernment

Government has talked subtly about reducing the civil service wage bill for years. But, this has long been a sacred cow. The time for whispers about this issue has passed. We have too many people on the government payroll; we cannot afford it. In the new normal as we adjust to the realities of the pandemic, there can be no more sacred cows. For the survival of the majority and the country itself as a sovereign nation, everything must be up for serious review with the goal of cutting costs severely. Rather than incrementally dropping hints about the need to…

12 Sep

Watch your money or lose it

ObserverNational NewsGovernment, money, Namibians

All too often Namibians as individuals, businesses and the government itself have been the victim of con artists and thieves. It is easy to conclude that someone wearing the ‘right’ clothes, with the ‘right’ introduction and with the ‘right’ deferential behaviour can lay a web of dodgy promises. It is a concern that too many people accept promised from business partners without vetting, follow-up, constant monitoring, contracts with penalties, milestone check-ins and random spot checks. The old adage remains the truth: If you don’t watch your money, you will lose it. The latest embarrassing episode of yet another conman cheating…

11 Sep

Land/home ownership dreams are equally valid

ObserverNational NewsLand

Land and home ownership is a dream of people who have it and those who don’t. This is a reality rarely reflected in conversations, articles and social media. The tragic stories about families being evicted paint the legal land/home owner as the perpetual bad guy. In fact, the anger over evictions of poor families is misdirected. The ‘bad guy’ in this reality is successive governments that have failed to provide enough quality, low cost housing. We have masses of people who can never buy a home and will never earn enough to consistently pay rent. They need free or subsidized…

10 Sep

Going broke makes you look closer

ObserverNational NewsNamibia

There is a silver lining to the country’s current economic state of near collapse. The tenderpreneurs, 10-percenters, inside traders, embezzlers, tax evaders, and loophole exploiters have reduced income streams. There is not enough left in state coffers to feed waste and corruption. The public demand to fulfil existing state obligations and handle the pandemic trumps all. Going broke has made the officials that should have been watching the bottom line, wake up and watch the money better. Now that the Treasury’s accounts have cobwebs instead of cash, questions are finally being asked about where it all went. Closer looks are…

09 Sep

Cherry picking morality breeds hypocrites

ObserverNational NewsChristian hypocrisy, hypocrites

The negative moralistic voices on the topic of abortion are ‘Christian hypocrisy’ when it comes to their silence in the fight against rape. There are far more rapes and sexual assaults in Namibia than there are abortions (legal or back-alley). And yet, there is an overflow of letters to the editor, marches and articles claiming that the exercise of reproductive rights is murder. There is the silence of the tomb about the murder of the soul of a rape victim. You cannot cherry-pick moral outrage (however you define it). You cannot pray to condemn abortion and then pretend that rape…

08 Sep

COVID 19: treatments, experiments and maybes

ObserverNational NewsCovid-19

The Ministry of Health must be meticulously transparent about trial drugs. The media also must be responsible as it prints headlines announcing the existence of ‘treatments’ for COVID-19. This is not the time to raise false hopes. This is a time for treatments, experiments and maybes. We all want a cure, vaccine or effective treatments for COVID-19. The pressure for this is huge. The drug company that develops a vaccine or cure first will win the billion-dollar lottery. We must always be aware of the huge profits on the table and the unethical steps that may be taken around the…

05 Sep

Youth leaders are fighting the wrong fight

ObserverNational NewsNamibia National Students Organisation (NANSO), Students Union of Namibia (SUN)

The NSFAF announced some time ago that it plans to spend N$180 million to buy laptops needed by many students to access e-learning platforms. Student unions and youth political bodies claiming to speak for ‘the students’, object to this expenditure. These young leaders are fighting the wrong fight. The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso), the Students Union of Namibia (SUN), the National Africa Students Association, the Landless People's Movement Student Command and the Popular Democratic Movement Youth League have all condemned NSFAF's laptop purchase plan as unreasonable. We fail to see what is so unreasonable? E-learning is going to happen;…