Opinions – Windhoek Observer

23 Jan

Oil rush or national ruin: discipline must guide Namibia’s offshore future

Editorial, Featured, Latest, Opinions

In a recent OpEd published in this newspaper titled “Discovery Is the Easy Part: Why Capital Discipline Determines Frontier Offshore Success”, Fernando Sylvester delivers a sobering reminder to nations and investors alike: the true test of offshore resource development does not lie in discovery, but in the discipline that follows it. His argument is both timely and urgent for our country, as we are now standing at the threshold of potentially transformative offshore hydrocarbon wealth. Sylvester notes that frontier offshore discoveries have an outsized effect on perception. Markets react in hours. Governments issue triumphant statements. Partners congratulate one another. Value…

23 Jan

YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

Featured, Opinions

This week’s edition of The Young Observer sits at an intersection many young Namibians are familiar with: the space between institutions and intent, between what exists on paper and what is felt in everyday life. Across these pages, we reflect on leadership, youth governance, access to opportunity, and the persistent question of relevance. These are not isolated themes. They are connected by a deeper tension shaping the youth sector today and the struggle to ensure that structures designed for young people remain responsive to their realities. The recent developments within the National Youth Council of Namibia have once again brought…

22 Jan

The age of radical clarity

Opinions

Hileni Amadhila We live in a time when attention is thin and scepticism is thick. People do not want more messages; they want meaning they can trust. Radical clarity is the answer. It is not dumbing down. It is choosing words that meet people where they are and move them somewhere better. Clarity begins with intent. If you cannot say why this message matters in one sentence, you are not ready to send it. Cut the jargon, cut the small print, and say what is true and useful. Honesty is faster than trying to spin a story. When something goes…

22 Jan

Traditional leaders are, remain the original and genuine leaders!

Opinions

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro MORE than anything, it looks like traditional leaders in the Namibian political and governance sphere and dispensation, or the Namibian democratic dispensation as you would have it, whatever and however the democratic dispensation may denote and be defined as, are just symbolic and a matter of convenience. In simple terms it means traditional leaders within the said configurations, again however they may be defined and perceived, let alone constructed, due to the lack of the definition of their meaningful essence, are, for better or worse, mere loose-hanging fruits and free riders. That this is the case and…

22 Jan

A new chapter of dispossession? The Khoi-San question in post-colonial Namibia

Opinions

Niklaas Jacobus Dawson Thirty-four years after independence, Namibia continues to speak of liberation, decolonisation, and the unfinished business of land reform. Yet for many indigenous Khoi-San descendants, the earliest inhabitants of the country—the promise of inclusion remains elusive. A community once displaced under German colonialism and South African apartheid now faces a quieter and less acknowledged form of exclusion within the post-colonial republic. While the liberation struggle narrative rightly condemns the injustices of foreign rule, it has unintentionally obscured a parallel Indigenous history. This history did not begin in 1884, nor in 1960, nor even in 1990. It begins centuries…

22 Jan

Liberation struggle veteran Kanana Hishoono’s passing: Remembering his humility, service and the continuing legacy of Africa’s liberation veterans

Opinions

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara) The passing of liberation struggle veteran Kanana Hishoono is a moment of deep reflection and collective remembrance as the nation prepares to bid him farewell at his second memorial service that will be held on Friday the 23rd of January, ahead of his burial on Saturday the 24th at the Eenhana Memorial Shrine. This solemn period is not only about mourning a respected elder of the struggle but also about reflecting on the values that defined his life and the broader meaning of liberation itself. Indeed, Africa’s liberation veterans occupy a…

22 Jan

A new chapter in Namibia–Cuba solidarity: from liberation to life-saving medicines

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

When Namibia and Cuba announced that they are exploring the establishment of a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Namibia, the news was more than a routine bilateral development. It was a powerful reminder that some friendships in international relations are not transactional but historic, principled and enduring. From the battlefields of southern Angola to today’s boardrooms and policy tables, the relationship between Namibia and Cuba has been forged in solidarity, sacrifice and shared purpose. This latest initiative is not merely about producing medicines; it is about continuing a legacy of cooperation that has helped shape Namibia’s very existence. Namibians do not…

22 Jan

A Think Tank or just another structure?

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Reflections on Swapo’s newly appointed Think Tank Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) The recent appointment of the ruling party’s think tank has reignited a familiar and uncomfortable national conversation about governance, accountability, and policy effectiveness. This is not an abstract academic debate. It speaks directly to long-standing concerns about how ideas are translated into action and whether Namibia’s political system is equipped to confront its structural challenges with honesty and intellectual courage. These concerns were already articulated in our earlier analysis, “A Transformative Agenda for Namibia’s Invisible Workforce: From Informal to Formal.” The central proposition…

22 Jan

Council can borrow money: meaning and implications

Opinions

Lazarus Kwedhi During the induction workshop for newly elected Local Authority Councillors, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Hon. Sankwasa James Sankwasa, raised concern about the inability of Local Authority Councils to provide affordable land and housing to residents and the general public. He cited their inability to generate sufficient revenue from their own sources or to find alternative funding sources, other than relying on central government. As such, Hon. Sankwasa informed and reminded councillors of their power and obligation to find other sources of funding for housing purposes, which may include land servicing. The minister’s statement finds its…

22 Jan

Discovery is the easy part: why capital discipline determines frontier offshore success

Opinions

Fernando Y. G. Sylvester Frontier offshore discoveries have an outsized effect on perception. Markets react within hours. Governments issue statements. Partners congratulate one another. Value appears to be created instantly. Yet, in our experience, much of that value quietly erodes in the 24 to 36 months that follow. Not because the geology was wrong. The hydrocarbons remain exactly where they were found. Value is lost because the decisions made after discovery are premature, misaligned, or based on assumptions that cannot survive contact with reality. At Nautilus Mining & Energy, we have observed the same pattern across basins, operators, and decades.…