National News

Single Quarters vendors still upset about broken fridge

Single Quarters vendors still upset about broken fridge

Staff Writer Windhoek meat vendors at Single Quarters, officially known as Oshetu Community Market are unhappy about the meat refrigerator that has been broken for over five years despite renovations to the open market in 2020. The refrigerator container was placed at the market during 2012 but stopped working due to a mechanical breakdown. Shoopala Asino, a fresh meat vendor at the market told the Windhoek Observer that the refrigerator stopped working shortly after it was placed at the market. “That meat fridge has been standing there broken for years now, yet we still get it on our accounts. It’s…
Read More
Load shedding in SA lowers Namibia’s supply

Load shedding in SA lowers Namibia’s supply

Staff Writer Electricity supply to Namibia is reduced by five percent in every subsequent stage, when load shedding occurs South Africa. Andreas Simon, senior public relations officer at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, stated that Namibia has two power import contracts with Eskom and that South Africa’s power challenges influence the amount of electricity it provides to its foreign clients. “We have a 100MW firm deal signed earlier this year. Under this contract if Eskom load sheds, then they curtail our supply according to the stage of load shedding in South Africa. When its stage 1 or 2 load…
Read More
SA Phala Phala version raises more questions<br>…Maren de Klerk’s extradition being processed

SA Phala Phala version raises more questions
…Maren de Klerk’s extradition being processed

The South African government has responded that a request by the Namibia to be assisted in a criminal investigation relating to the contravention of the local Prevention of Organised Crime Act of 2004 was found not to not comply with the provisions of the International Cooperation in Criminal Matters Act, 1996 of that country. In a statement issued today SA Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development said request could therefore not be processed at that stage. The issue is related to individuals who are alleged to have stolen money from South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo hunting farm Phala Phala…
Read More
Civil servants to vote to strike

Civil servants to vote to strike

Tujoromajo Kasuto Civil servants are set to cast their secret ballot on 28 and 29 July to decide down tools following the breakdown in the negotiation process with the government. The government could not grant the 10 percent pay raise across the board and improvement of various benefits, as demanded by the worker. Various unions have revealed that the public servants want their increment and say they will keep fighting until the government concedes to their demands as It has been more than five years since civil servants’ remuneration was adjusted. According to a statement released by the Namibia National…
Read More
IPC blamed for uncertainty around CEO recruitment<br>..council and management committee butt heads

IPC blamed for uncertainty around CEO recruitment
..council and management committee butt heads

Tujoromajo Kasuto The City of Windhoek municipal council and management committee are at each other’s throat after the council blocked attempts by the management committee (MC) to usurped council authority for the recruitment process of Windhoek’s Chief Executive Officer position, which has been vacant for nearly two years. According to CoW Mayor and Chair of Council Sade Gawanas, the decision to continue with the recruitment process is not the responsibility of the management committee, because the committee is only authorised to make recommendations to Council. ‘’As the matter stands currently, the Management Committee is usurping powers which as a sub-committee,…
Read More
FIMA under new microscope

FIMA under new microscope

Obrein Simasiku The Financial Institutions and Markets Act of 2021 (FIMA) which has been an issue of concern mainly regarding the Preservation of Retirement Benefit has now been referred to a Technical Committee set-up by the Finance Minister, Iipumbu Shiimi. Following a serious public outcry before its implementation is set for the first of October 2022, the minister was postponed it to allow for a wider consultation into the over 400 page regulations. Shiimi has appointed a 19-member Technical Committee to spearhead the consultations, and its only upon completion of this exercise and inclusion of all inputs, that the final…
Read More
City to reconsider material used for bicycle lanes

City to reconsider material used for bicycle lanes

Staff Writer The City of Windhoek is reconsidering the material used to construct bicycle lanes, as they must now repair lanes that were done less than a year ago. According to city spokesperson Harold Akwenye, the city will simply replace the damaged cones while also considering other options. The construction of the bicycle lanes started last year September and was meant to be completed earlier this year. “At this stage we are definitely just going to replace the cones that have been damaged, but the city is deliberating on some other material,” he said. Despite the city announcing in a…
Read More
Women urged to be part of GBV fight

Women urged to be part of GBV fight

Martin Endjala Namibia’s alarming rate of killings, sexual assaults committed with impunity against women and the girl child has resulted in the country being hostile environment for these vulnerable groups. The deputy speaker of the National Assembly Loide Kasingo says women can bring the much needed change given their naturally assumed role of caregivers. The NA deputy speaker said this today during the opening of the Parliamentary Standing Committeeon Gender, Social Development and Family Affairs partnership at the SADC workshop that started in Swakopmund today. She stressed that lawmakers and policy regulators can spend time on coming up with new…
Read More
CoW drowning in debt<br>…depends on 200m bank overdraft

CoW drowning in debt
…depends on 200m bank overdraft

Tujoromajo Kasuto City of Windhoek has incurred cumulative losses of 2, 8 billion dollars over the past nine years, with another loss of N$480m recorded for the 2021 financial year and is considering selling undeveloped (virgin) land back to the Government for an amount still to be determined. This was revealed today by Councilor Jurgen Hecht, who presented an overview and analysis of the financial state of the capital. The councillor questioned what development could have been done with this N$3,2 billion loss, stating that CoW is a Titanic which has hit the bottom of the ocean. ‘’Its present only…
Read More
CoW CEO recruitment in more turmoil

CoW CEO recruitment in more turmoil

Tujoromajo Kasuto The political office bearers of the City of Windhoek are drifting far apart from each other concerning the recruitment process of the Chief Executive Officer. Today saw a media conference by the chairperson of the management committee, Ndeshihafela Larandja of the Independent Patriots for Change holding her own media conference in defiance and ahead of a scheduled media briefing by Mayor, Sade Gawanas, tomorrow. During her briefing Larandja said that more irregularities have been unearthed in the recruitment of the City of Windhoek’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), including the number of candidates who applied not being accounted for…
Read More