National News – Page 7 – Windhoek Observer

16 Feb

NNF to host ocean symposium in Swakopmund

National News

Renthia Kaimbi The Namibia Nature Foundation will host the Ocean in Focus Symposium in Swakopmund on 18–19 February. The event will take place at the Plaza Hotel and will bring together scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, artisanal fishers and young people to discuss Namibia’s relationship with the ocean. In a press release issued last week, the foundation said the country's marine environment plays a central role in food security, the economy and cultural identity. “Namibia’s coast is more than a long stretch of shoreline,” said Disney Andreas, senior communications officer at NNF. “It underpins food security, economic opportunity, cultural heritage, social…

16 Feb

EY report haunts TransNamib executives

Main, National News

Renthia Kaimbi TransNamib Limited Holdings has suspended two senior executives with immediate effect following a forensic investigation into alleged property mismanagement, disposal irregularities and statutory breaches. Executive for human capital Webster Gonzo and executive for properties Alynsia Platt were placed on precautionary suspension on Friday by the TransNamib board. Minister of Works and Transport Veikko Nekundi confirmed that he approved the decision. The suspensions follow a forensic probe commissioned into the conduct of the executives. The board has resolved that disciplinary proceedings will now follow. Two days before the suspensions, the company acknowledged that an internal investigation was under way.…

13 Feb

Venaani accuses government of ‘killing’ Mwilima

National News

Renthia Kaimbi Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani says the government must take blame for the death of former Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) member of parliament and Caprivi high treason convict Geoffrey Mwilima. Mwilima died in Windhoek on Thursday at the age of 70. He was receiving treatment at Lady Pohamba Private Hospital. He had been battling diabetes while in prison. Mwilima was released on 24 December on remission after serving part of a 15-year sentence that began in December 2015. Remission is the reduction or cancellation of the remainder of a prison sentence after a person has served…

13 Feb

Namibia’s maritime legislation stuck in another century

National News

Renthia Kaimbi Namibia’s maritime laws are outdated and could undermine the country’s offshore oil and gas ambitions, industry bodies and legal experts say. This week, minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi tabled notice in Parliament for Namibia to adopt the amended protocols of the Inter-Governmental Standing Committee on Shipping. The 2006 instrument seeks to transform the regional body into a maritime organisation aligned with African Union frameworks. If ratified, Namibia will gain voting rights in the organisation’s Assembly. Namibian ports and logistics firms will also access associate membership, allowing them to take part in regional freight negotiations and strategy…

13 Feb

Muteka pushes for safer parks in Windhoek West

National News

Allexer Namundjembo Windhoek West Constituency councillor Emma Muteka wants public parks in her constituency to be safe, clean and accessible. She met Windhoek mayor Sakarias Uunona on Wednesday to discuss park safety, student transport, informal trading and proposed changes to municipal by-laws. Muteka said conditions in some parks have declined and called for better maintenance and oversight. Both sides agreed to improve cooperation between the city and the constituency office to address the issue. Student transport was also discussed. Muteka said university students who rely on public buses face daily challenges, especially those attending the University of Namibia (Unam) and…

13 Feb

Karibib Town Council denies claims of marble waste dumping

National News

Justicia Shipena Karibib Town Council has rejected claims that marble dust and related by-products distributed in the town contain asbestos fibres. This follows a report circulating this week alleging that marble mining and processing waste has been illegally dumped across Karibib and that some of the dust contains asbestos fibres that pose long-term health risks to residents. On Thursday, Karibib Town Council Chief Executive Officer Tangeni Enkono said independent laboratory testing was carried out in June 2025 on marble dust and related by-products referred to as marble waste. Enkono said the testing was conducted by National Environmental Health Consultants CC,…

13 Feb

Court slaps N$158k cost order on Mubita

National News

Allexer Namundjembo Deputy minister of defence and veterans affairs and Swapo Central Committee member Charles Mubita has been ordered to pay N$158 289 in legal costs after losing his defamation case against fellow party member Reinhold Shipwiikineni. The High Court dismissed Mubita’s claim on 14 February 2025 and ordered him to pay Shipwiikineni’s legal costs. The costs were taxed on 8 December 2025 during a hearing before Taxation Master Tanita van der Merwe in the High Court’s Main Division. Shipwiikineni’s bill of costs, prepared by Tjombe Incorporated, was taxed on a party-and-party scale and certified at N$158 289. The amount…

13 Feb

EIF wraps up N$164m climate project in Kunene

National News

Staff Writer The Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) has concluded a five-year climate change adaptation project worth about N$164 million in the Kunene region. The project, known as IREMA, was implemented in Sesfontein, Fransfontein and Warmquelle in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform. It was approved by the Green Climate Fund board on 1 March 2018. The initiative had a total financing envelope of US$10 million (approximately N$164 million). It aimed to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and rural communities affected by drought and climate variability. EIF manager for corporate communications, Romeo Muyunda, said the…

13 Feb

YOUNG OBSERVER | What does love mean for a generation still building its future?

National News

For generations before the present one, love unfolded within a rhythm that felt recognisable and reassuring, a quiet sequence through which education opened the door to employment, employment created the ground for stability, and stability offered space for marriage, family, and the slow, deliberate work of building a shared life. Within that movement, love lived not only as emotion but as arrival, a moment when the future appeared secure enough to welcome another person fully into it, allowing partnership to grow inside the shelter of expectation already fulfilled. In the lives of many young people today, that rhythm stretches into…

13 Feb

The cost of love in an expensive time

National News

There is a quiet arithmetic woven through modern romance, seldom visible in poems or photographs yet present in nearly every decision young people make about love. It lives in transport fares counted before agreeing to meet, in restaurant menus studied with more caution than curiosity, and in the careful spacing of gifts across calendars already carrying rent, airtime, and family responsibility. Within this landscape, love travels alongside money with a sensitivity that feels both gentle and strained, moving in constant awareness of the fragile mathematics required for survival. For many young Namibians, affection unfolds within the same breath as budgeting,…