Observer Money

Tourism revival measures announced
26 Aug

Tourism revival measures announced

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, , , , , ,
Staff Writer The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has announced protocols guiding the international tourism revival initiative which comes into effect next month. The initiative is a government plan aimed at providing a lifeline to the country’s tourism sector which is on the verge of collapse due to the closure of the borders as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. This announcement comes after two failed attempts by government to open the borders to international tourist arrivals due to increases in infection rates in different parts of the country. In addition, the working group of the…
Read More
No special treatment for Fishrot seven . . . as Windhoek Central Prison cases break 100
26 Aug

No special treatment for Fishrot seven . . . as Windhoek Central Prison cases break 100

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, , , , ,
Andrew Kathindi Head of the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) Commissioner General, Raphael Hamunyela has ruled out any special treatment for the Fishrot seven amid rising COVID-19 cases at Windhoek Central Prison where they are currently incarcerated. “Our mandate is to ensure the safe, secure and humane custody of inmates. We do not mistreat any person. And we also do not offer special treatment to any intimate. All the people, when they come to the correctional service are treated equally. You are just an inmate; you are not given any other title,” Hamunyela told Windhoek Observer. He added that the high-profile…
Read More
Corona disrupts RDP corruption investigations
25 Aug

Corona disrupts RDP corruption investigations

info_e12wt4csObserver Money,
Andrew Kathindi President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) Mike Kavekotora has said that the party’s internal investigations of party members Brunhilde Cornelius and Nicanor Ndjoze, who are fingered in bribery allegations, have been disrupted by the recently imposed travel restrictions in Windhoek. Last month, Cornelius, who is the RDP Secretary General and City of Windhoek (CoW) councilor, claimed in a report by Al Jazeera that Ndjoze, RDP’s secretary for transport had offered her a bribe so that she would not oppose a 5G partnership between the City of Windhoek and Chinese mobile giant Huawei. “We have asked…
Read More
Police warn over rising COVID cases . . . as Windhoek numbers continue to rise
25 Aug

Police warn over rising COVID cases . . . as Windhoek numbers continue to rise

info_e12wt4csObserver Money
Andrew Kathindi Khomas regional police commander Joseph Shikongo has warned that if residents don’t adhere to curfew rules, the president could issue new rules that would take the city back to stage 2 of the State of Emergency lockdown. The entire country is currently in Stage 3 of the lockdown. However on 12 July, Erongo and Khomas had to adhere to a curfew from 20H00 to 05H00 as decided by President Hage Geingob after cases in the capital city began to rise at an alarming rate. “Right now, there is no guarantee. I had a meeting with the governor of…
Read More
Standard Bank relaunched the Buy-a-Brick Footprint
21 Aug

Standard Bank relaunched the Buy-a-Brick Footprint

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, , , ,
Staff Writer Standard Bank (SBN) has relaunched the Buy-a-Brick Footprint Socks campaign which is intended to raise funds for the construction of houses for Namibia’s shack dwelling community. The campaign was initially launched in March this year to mobilize schools in the nationwide effort to raise funds for the construction of low cost house but had to be suspended due to the Coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic. However, despite the prevalence of Covid-19, Standard Bank deemed it necessary to relaunch the campaign to shine light on the plight of the shack dwellers community by raising funds through the selling of the Footprint…
Read More
Church tax still under consideration
21 Aug

Church tax still under consideration

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, ,
Andrew Kathindi Ministry of Finance says plans to tax churches remains under considering two years on, with Finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi still to pronounce himself on the way forward. This comes after then finance minister Calle Schlettwein had stated in 2018 during his Budget Speech plans to probe Section 16 of the Income Tax Act to include taxing religious organisations such as churches. “The proposal is still on the cards but not yet tabled to parliament as consultation with the new Minister on this particular amendment is yet to be done,” finance ministry spokesperson, Tonateni Shidhudhu told the Windhoek Observer.…
Read More
Asset manager courts GIPF for Ohorongo buy . . . as IDC plans exit
21 Aug

Asset manager courts GIPF for Ohorongo buy . . . as IDC plans exit

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, , , ,
Staff Writer The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has received an unsolicited proposal from one its asset managers seeking financial backing for its plans to acquire Schwenk Namibia (Pty) Ltd, the company which owns and operates the Ohorongo Cement factory. The cement company is now back on the market after the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) this month blocked West China Cement Limited from acquiring the business for N$1.5 billion citing the proposed acquisition could be uncompetitive since West China Cement Limited is a majority shareholder in Cheetah Cement, a move which could enable possible collusion and price fixing to the…
Read More
BoN forecast 7.8% domestic economy contraction
20 Aug

BoN forecast 7.8% domestic economy contraction

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, ,
Staff Writer Bank of Namibia (BoN) has forecasted the domestic economy to contract by 7.8 percent in 2020 before a moderate recovery of 2.1 percent in 2021. “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused domestic economic activity to contract severely during the first six months of 2020. The slump was reflected in sectors such as mining, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, tourism, wholesale and retail trade as well as transport and storage. Activity in the telecommunication and local electricity generation subsectors, however, showed some improvements in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019,” BoN Governor Johannes !Gawaxab announced on…
Read More
Education Ministry consults on next step . . . As ED rules out full e-learning
20 Aug

Education Ministry consults on next step . . . As ED rules out full e-learning

info_e12wt4csObserver Money, ,
Andrew Kathindi After several failed attempts to restart the school year for all levels, the Ministry of Education Arts and Culture has begun consulting schools and unions on the way forward ahead of all grades reopening on 31 August 2020. This comes as the Ministry has posed several questions to schools, unions, parents, community members and stakeholders in a survey as part of an attempt to get a better understanding of where everyone stands regarding the issue of school re-openings. “We looked at what happens after August 31 in terms of school resumption for face-to-face learning. What is it that…
Read More
Government to honor bonuses
19 Aug

Government to honor bonuses

info_e12wt4csObserver Money,
Andrew Kathindi Public service workers will breathe a sigh of relief as government stated that it still plans to honour birthday bonuses for its employees despite revenue pressures intensified by COVID-19. Despite hundreds of private sector workers being retrenched on a monthly basis due to economic pressures, with many companies cancelling the 13th cheque as part of cost containment measures, government maintains it will continue to pay bonuses to its employees. “The pay structure of government employees did not change, all conditions of employment, as per the contract of employment each employee has signed with their respective employer, remain applicable…
Read More
Like Us
Follow Us
Subscribe Us
Follow Us
LinkedIn