National News – Page 435 – Windhoek Observer

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;…

04 Sep

Complaints fly between Hengari and the media

ObserverNational Newspresident Hage Geingob, Press Secretary Alfredo Hengari

This week, a consortium of Namibian journalists wrote an extensive letter of complaint addressed to President Hage Geingob. They are asking for sanctions against Press Secretary Alfredo Hengari. It seems that a breaking point has been reached by those who sent the letter. They feel that they can no longer tolerate Hengari’s perceived snubs, prevarications, oversights, and high-handedness. We look at this issue from another angle. We see the legitimate irritation of our media colleagues with the Press Secretary as a part of the usual tug-of-war between the media and the president’s media coordinator. We support the journalists’ right to…

03 Sep

Oarsmen fight while the ship sinks

ObserverNational NewsMinister of Defence Peter Hafeni Vilho, Namibia

In case anyone is mistaken, Namibia is in serious trouble right now. The ship’s engines are dead and we are taking on water fast. All the oarsmen in the boat must bail water and row to get us to the closest patch of dry land. Instead, the bickering has begun. Each side will be righteous in their points of view and all of us (including them) will drown. Minister of Defence Peter Hafeni Vilho has again placed himself in the spotlight. Defence Ministers with the mandate to represent the elected government in administering and guiding the military should be less…

02 Sep

Unacceptable: animal cages for Namibians

ObserverNational NewsNamibians, Walvis Bay

Reports that Walvis Bay officials intend to use state funds to build cheap houses with no toilets, are concerning. Further statements fail to identify the materials that will be used to make these structures. This situation is alarming. Such a building project must be reconsidered. Our people are not animals in a zoo and government funded houses must not resemble cages. The goal should not be to build something fast, but to efficiently build homes for families. It is de-humanizing for government to build a place for human beings to live which, by design, has no toilet. Claims that the…