Opinions

Matheus Hangula Credit must be given where it is due. It is very rare to hear the media fraternity in Namibia being praised for the role it plays; instead, people tend to criticise it. The media deserves a round of applause because they have been giving space and making sure that the people are kept updated on time without delay. It was through the media that President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah received the news about the 16-year-old from Omutundungu village who drowned baby twins in a pond, and as a result, he was conferred with a heroism medal class three. This tells…

Sakaria Johannes There was a time in our communities when a boy who complained about hardship, heartbreak or responsibility would be told: “I didimika owulumenhu” (loosely translated as “Try to be strong, you are a man.”) That expression captured an old understanding of masculinity: a man must endure, provide, protect and remain strong, often without asking for support. But Namibia has changed. We now speak loudly and rightly about gender equality, women's empowerment, equal opportunities and the protection of women's rights.  Yet an important question remains: where does the Namibian man fit into this evolving understanding of equality? The recent…

There is a question that the current foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak should force every Namibian entrepreneur to ask: Are we genuinely ready for the next crisis that will hit our economy? Not the crisis we can see coming. Not the crisis for which government issues a warning and gives us time to prepare. I mean the crisis that arrives suddenly, disrupts established assumptions and exposes how vulnerable our businesses really are. We have been here before. COVID-19 should have been our great national lesson in economic resilience. It demonstrated with brutal clarity how quickly businesses can move from profitable to…

Staff Writer  Namibia’s stronger-than-expected 4.8% economic growth in the second quarter is unlikely to be sustained through the rest of 2026, with Simonis Storm forecasting a sharp slowdown in the second half of the year. In its latest macroeconomic assessment, Simonis Storm said the Q2 performance, together with an upward revision to first-quarter growth, had changed the arithmetic for the year but argued that the recovery was being driven largely by base effects, services, farming and domestic demand rather than exports. The research firm maintained its 2026 growth forecast at 2.0%, below the Bank of Namibia’s 2.1% forecast, the World…

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro So many turnarounds have been spoken about since Namibia's independence in 1990 in many spheres of Namibia's socio-economic endeavours. All of them under the ambition, if not pretence, of improving the socio-economic conditions in the country, if, as it may and has been, much so for the well-to-do rather than for the betterment of the downtrodden. In fact, little has been spoken about and continues to be said about a turnaround in the living, let alone survival conditions, of the economically exploited masses in the country, especially the working class. This is not to say there hasn't…

Kapena Tjombonde When I joined the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) in February 2021, I returned to a principle that has shaped my professional life: leadership is ultimately measured by its impact on people. During my tenure, that principle guided difficult decisions about laboratory capacity, institutional resilience and the speed at which patients could access results on which their care depended. I began my career as a professional nurse after four years of studies at UNAM, a trade that taught me skills required in leadership i.e. teamwork (doctor, nurse, patient, family collaboration), listen (hear the whisper of the patient), remaining…

Lazarus Kwedhi The tragedy of Namibia is not a lack of institutions or a lack of human capital, lack of natural resources, or a lack of laws. It is a tragedy of transition, a transition of mentality. I hope the presidential delegation to China some months back did not negotiate with a poverty mentality. That worry comes from a deeper observation: freedom fighters and public servants have always been the last line of defence for public values and the public good.  When that defence line erodes and is replaced by a politician and employee mentality, public institutions become an image…

COLLINS OMALU  Divorce may settle who keeps the house, but it does not automatically remove either spouse from the home loan. For instance, after signing the divorce papers, the relief feels immediate.  The hard part, many people assume, is behind them. Then the SMS from a bank arrives: the bond payment is overdue. One former spouse may have moved out, and the settlement may say the other will “take over” the home loan. But until the bank agrees and the paperwork is properly updated, both names remain jointly and severally liable for the debt. That is where many people are…

With sustained political leadership and practical partnerships, Windhoek can become a global hub for water diplomacy and investment Inge I. Zaamwani and Alex Simalabwi For Namibia, a drop of water is an ocean. That is why countries that live with water scarcity can offer some of the clearest leadership on water security. In an arid country, water determines where communities can thrive, how food is produced, whether industries can grow and how the economy withstands climate shocks.  Namibia has responded by treating water as a national development priority and, increasingly, as an instrument of regional cooperation and global diplomacy. That…

Shafa Kaulinge Reflections from the National Upstream Petroleum Local Content Policy Validation Workshop, 31 August 2026 Namibia stands closer than it ever has to becoming an oil-producing nation. TotalEnergies is working toward a final investment decision on the Venus field in the Orange Basin, expected by late 2026 after already slipping once, with first oil realistically several years beyond that. Nothing is certain until the ink dries and the first barrel is loaded, but the direction of travel is unmistakable. The question this country must answer is not whether the oil is coming. It is whether Namibians will merely watch…