Opinions

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro The Ovaherero and Nama descendants of the survivors of the genocides committed against their forebears by imperial Germany may think that the victory by the Democrats in the just-ended midterm elections is only far, remote, and removed from them but of no consequence to them. Especially in their quest for reparatory justice. One must emphasise reparatory justice here, as opposed to compensation. Because reparatory justice denotes a process, a long one for that matter, and not just a quick-fix solution, which compensation is. Which is what the Joint Declaration (JD) between the Namibian government and its counterpart,…

MEGAN PRITCHARD When Anny and Eduard Mouton opened Ogilvy Namibia in 1996, they started with a team of four in a first-floor office at Maerua Mall in Windhoek. Thirty years later, almost everything about our industry looks different. Media has fragmented; technology has reshaped how brands reach people and agencies have reinvented themselves more than once. Yet one problem has outlasted all of it. We still mistake change for progress. Three decades in, the fundamentals of building a strong brand have moved far less than most of us would like to admit. A brand is not a personal project David…

Dylan Mukoroli You hear the same argument over and over again: you cannot mine uranium where water is precious, especially not near Leonardville. The Stampriet Aquifer is sacred, they say. Touch it, and you risk poisoning everything. Some headlines go as far as suggesting that even a dash of uranium could contaminate an entire region. The mining method they are so determined to discredit is in-situ leach recovery (ISL), a process that does not involve digging massive open pits but instead works with the minerals already contained in the underground rock formations. Let us talk plainly about what in-situ leach…

There is a fundamental contradiction at the heart of Namibia’s economic ambitions. On the one hand, the country speaks enthusiastically about attracting investment, creating employment, industrialising its economy and positioning itself as a destination for international capital. On the other, we appear increasingly unable to translate these ambitions into the legislative certainty, administrative efficiency and institutional coordination required to make investment happen. The revelation that approximately N$15 billion in investment projects are facing administrative and regulatory bottlenecks, while a broader pipeline of 94 projects could generate some 22,000 jobs, should give Parliament and government considerable pause. These are not merely…

WANDILE SIHLOBO October is a special month in global agricultural and food organisations. On the 16th many celebrated World Food Day, which marks the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. It also gives countries a chance to reflect on their food security conditions and outline plans to strengthen resilience and contribute to efforts to reduce poverty in countries that remain highly impoverished. But this year’s World Food Day celebrations were different. Unlike in previous years, when some countries reported declining poverty levels, the outlook for 2027 is worrying, particularly in southern Africa. Many countries in…

I understand that government cannot simply wish away the realities of international markets. Namibia imports virtually all of its petroleum products, and we therefore remain exposed to movements in international oil prices, shipping costs, geopolitical tensions and the exchange rate. But I also understand something else: when the operating environment becomes exceptionally difficult, government has a responsibility to create breathing space for the economy. That is why the decision by South Africa to temporarily reduce its fuel levy deserves serious consideration in Namibia. South Africa is not pretending that it can control the international price of oil. It is recognising that…

Kae Matundu - Tjiparuro The lamentations of Namibia’s President, Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, over the burden placed on a privileged few to provide handouts to the many reflect only a fraction of the country’s deeper socioeconomic problems. Speaking at a fundraising event for the One Economy Foundation, the President appeared concerned that only a few people are expected to extend a helping hand to the many Namibians who continually stretch out their hands for assistance. Her remarks suggest a situation in which the privileged few, presumably considered hardworking and deserving of their incomes, are expected to help sustain the masses…

Lazarus Kwedhi (Public Policy Analyst) What the political ruling elite avoids telling the public is not rocket science. It is a simple but fundamental question: what does it cost to live? They avoid it because to answer it honestly would indict their own rule. The ruling elite does not feel the cost of living because they never buy their own bread. They never use private vehicles to understand the price of petrol and diesel, and never pay taxi fare. Their children do not attend public schools, they do not go to public hospitals and clinics to see the quality of…

Malcolm Kambanzera  Organisations keep trying to regulate problems they refuse to confront There is a particular kind of email that usually arrives after something goes wrong in an organisation: “Management has noted with concern…” What follows is normally a reminder of an existing policy, a new procedure, another approval requirement or, if the incident was serious enough, a committee tasked with reviewing the policy. And the interesting part? Everyone receiving the email usually knows exactly who caused the problem. Yet instead of dealing with that person, we regulate everybody. An employee repeatedly arrives late. Send an attendance circular to the…