National News – Page 385 – Windhoek Observer

19 Jun

Close the preferential treatment door

ObserverNational Newsbillionaires, Frans Kapofi, Minister of Home Affairs

Rules and laws must apply to all, especially during a state of emergency for a global pandemic. There must be no preferential treatment for well-connected billionaires of anyone else. Apparently, Russian billionaire Rashid Sardarov's private jet landed at HK International airport with a crew of people from the outside that were not put in quarantine. The Executive Director in the ministry of works evidently commented that they have recorded increased frequencies of private planes coming in when this is not supposed to be happening. The rich and powerful do not have an inherent resistance to COVID-19. Let the pandemic restrictions…

18 Jun

Who decides the meaning of free education?

ObserverNational NewsEducation

Education ministry executive director (ED), Sanet Steenkamp made a remarkable statement (if she was quoted correctly). She said that free education does not necessarily mean that all the needs of learners will be catered for by the government. While we admire the education executive director for managing a very tough job, we must take issue with her here. The ED does not have the remit to tell Namibians what the constitution means. That question is one for the courts. Article 20 (2) of the Constitution says that the State shall provide reasonable facilities to render effective the right to education…

17 Jun

Nekundi’s taint affects Geingob

ObserverNational NewsFishcor, Veikko Nekundi

In 2017, Deputy Minister of Works and Transport Veikko Nekundi received N$20,000 from a law firm being investigated for receiving and transferring money connected with the Fishrot scandal. And yet, in 2020 he is sworn in as a Member of Parliament and appointed to a deputy minister’s portfolio. We wonder what vetting procedures are undertaken when people are selected for high office. An appointment to serve the country as a Member of Parliament, minister or deputy minister must only be extended to those who hold the highest level of integrity, honesty and love of nation. But, that is not enough.…

16 Jun

NSFAF funded foreign study is unaffordable

ObserverNational NewsCuba, NSFAF, students

NSFAF can no longer support Namibians attending foreign universities. The little money that remains in state coffers, cannot be stretched that far. All students that have completed half of their requirements (for example) could be funded to finish. But, all others must return and the program shut down. NSFAF funds are loans. Those receiving them should be allowed to spend them on the education of their choosing. Unpredictable foreign exchange fluctuations; the high cost of sending money; and the lack of funds to assist students in emergency situations, makes the program untenable. There are good reasons to support foreign study…

13 Jun

Are the youth any better?

ObserverNational Newsfishrot, NSFAF

When we see those involved in the Fishrot debacle, we see that male youth empowerment is well underway - in the wrong direction. The rhetorical anthem of anyone seeking political kudos always includes youth SME loans, youth bursaries, more NSFAF loan money, and the usual vague comments in speeches about helping youth advance. Given that the majority of the population in Namibia is below 39, this makes sense. But, have the youth prepared themselves to build a better Namibia? Or is it all about self-enrichment? The younger people in lucrative power positions are overwhelmingly young men. Are the shouts about…

12 Jun

When ‘deep regrets’ are not enough

ObserverNational NewsCorien Steenkamp, Hillside Christian College

The country is abuzz with comments on the Facebook rant of Corien Steenkamp, a second-grade assistant teacher from Hillside Christian College in Walvis Bay. The mere thought that someone with such guttural racist beliefs is anywhere near children, is extremely disturbing. She has made a statement that she deeply regrets her racist rant. Does she regret the fact that she is holds racist beliefs or that she was caught doing so? These are two very different things. We believe everyone is very sorry when they get caught. Very few are actually sorry that did the nasty deed in the first…

11 Jun

Grandstanding Geingob sinks Air Namibia

ObserverNational NewsAir Namibia, president Hage Geingob

President Hage Geingob stood up in the Parliament and dropped an attention-grabbing bomb. He stated that Air Namibia would be liquidated. Statesmanship and studied leadership was not his goal with that precipitous statement. Self-aggrandisement was. Our esteemed president holds an earned PhD and has 60 years of world experience and exposure to the way things work. He makes statements not from ignorance but with calculation. It is the self-serving side of his personality that is a fatal flaw in his otherwise reasonable leadership persona. When asked in that same parliamentary session about Fishrot, Geingob was demure and coquettish. He said…

10 Jun

Take it seriously and let’s finish

ObserverNational NewsErongo, Namibia, State of Emergency, Walvis Bay

The expansion of the Stage One regulations for the current State of Emergency to the Erongo region is a nightmare. But, it has been bought on by the people of that area not taking the government’s declaration on June 1st for Walvis Bay seriously. If you were warned that a huge pride of lions is in the area, why hold an outside braai and then cry foul when they come running towards the smell of your meat? Let the rest of us in Namibia get tough with ourselves, our friends, family members and those in our communities regarding this pandemic.…

09 Jun

A hangman’s noose ≠ ‘do not litter’

ObserverNational NewsHenties Bay

…public brands of Namibia, must reflect who we are now Forget about what was really meant by two men enjoying white privilege during apartheid in Namibia, by their construction of a hangman’s noose in Henties Bay in 1978. The convoluted context offered as the supposed reason which the gallows was erected 42 years ago is irrelevant to the 2020 perception of it. A small gallows on a public beach in Namibia is no longer perceived as an ‘innocent joke’ or a ‘harmless gesture.’ Only those who never face the possibility of extrajudicial torture or murder at the hands of angry…

06 Jun

SONA shout-backs are the new normal

ObserverNational NewsNamibian Parliament, SONA

We watched the State of the Nation speech delivered by President Hage Geingob. We want to focus on the shout-backs during his speech by a few members of the parliament. With the change in the Swapo over-dominance in the previous parliament, there are now more voices of elected parties that have much to say. And, they will most definitely say it. Many of these voices are younger and might be new to public politics. Others have different experiences and agendas and will be ready to ‘take on’ the mighty Swapo Party in a den it previously controlled. Regardless of the…