Opinions

As Namibia approaches the regional and local authority elections on 26 November, the nation finds itself at a critical democratic crossroads. These elections, often overshadowed by the glamour and political theatre of general elections, carry an undeniable weight. They are, in many ways, the most intimate reflection of the people’s voice. This is where political rhetoric meets the hard reality of service delivery; where promises collide with potholes, housing backlogs, sanitation failures, and bread-and-butter governance. What makes this year’s elections particularly consequential is the timing. We are only nine months into the Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah administration. For a presidency still defining…

South Africa has, for decades, carried burdens on behalf of this continent, some loudly acknowledged, many quietly ignored. From peacekeeping in Lesotho and the DRC, to economic stabilisation efforts across SADC, to being the single most consistent African voice in global forums where our collective interests are too often dismissed, diluted, or deliberately sidelined, South Africa has been the indispensable anchor of our region. And yet, when that anchor is shaken, Africa goes silent. Over the past months, President Cyril Ramaphosa has endured a series of undiplomatic and thinly veiled confrontations from the United States, first the ambush at the…

 Namibia has entered the familiar, feverish stretch of the political calendar known as the “silly season”, when passions run high, rhetoric grows sharp, and politicians of all stripes test the limits of what they can say to energise their supporters. Elections are, by their very nature, noisy affairs. Positions clash, words fly, and agendas jostle for prominence. In that sense, your recent remarks about wishing for an “actual shooting war” to start in Namibia, and your call for foreign intervention from U.S. president Donald Trump, may be chalked up by some as campaign theatrics. But even in the silly season,…