Opinions – Page 2 – Windhoek Observer

15 Apr

Another Odendaal plan in the health sector — State hospitals, a joke revamp

Opinions

Sem Billy David The current government administration came forth with soothing promises and clear objectives to move senior civil servants from private hospitals to state hospitals. This is called Vision April 2026, a government plan issued by Her Excellency Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, directing all senior civil servants and politicians to start using public health facilities from April 2026. She stated: “They have government medical aid, but they don’t make use of state facilities. You will find them at private hospitals.” The plan, she explained, is for senior public servants and politicians to start using their medical aid in state hospitals.…

15 Apr

Innovative leadership: A catalyst for educational transformation in Namibia

Opinions

Prof Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku Despite decades of investment in higher education, thousands of youths leave classrooms armed with certificates but lacking the skills in high demand by a fast-changing labour market. The problem is not unique to Namibia; many sub-Saharan African education systems still rely heavily on traditional teaching and assessment methods. With the 44.4% youth unemployment rate (Labour Force Report, 2025), Namibia can no longer afford an education model that fails to inspire creativity, problem-solving, and eco-innovation. Across the continent, there is growing recognition that the traditional model is simply not fit for purpose. It does little to cultivate…

14 Apr

For what use is the joint declaration reverting to the National Assembly?

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro FOR what use and for what sake can the joint declaration (JD), or its amended version, really revert or be reverted to, referred to and/or returned to the National Assembly and/or the Namibian Parliament? Is the question legitimate from any bona fide descendant of the survivors of the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama, among others? It is not so much a legitimate question as a real concern. Because the paradigm today, especially among the descendants of the survivors of GENOCIDE, is not the JD. Because the JD is a product of a process that the sovereigns in…

13 Apr

Why oil & gas conferences still matter – Even in a turbulent market

Energy, Opinions

Fernando Y. G. Sylvester,CEO, Lamda Energy This year has been a stark reminder that energy markets are unpredictable, volatile, and deeply interconnected with geopolitics, macroeconomics, and human behaviour. As I prepare to moderate two panels at the Namibian International Energy Conference (NIEC2026) here in Windhoek, I keep hearing a familiar question: Why do oil and gas conferences still matter? In an era of digital communication, instant deal-making tools, and Zoom rooms everywhere, are we really still gaining value by gathering in person? The short answer is yes. But the long answer, the one shaped by 17 years working across the…

13 Apr

TURNING POINT | Cape Fria and the crisis of trust: Why government must reset its relationship with Namibian entrepreneurs

Featured, Opinions

The renewed national conversation around the proposed Cape Fria harbour development is both timely and necessary. For decades, Cape Fria has occupied a near-mythical space in Namibia’s development imagination, a strategic deep-water port on our northern coastline that could unlock regional trade, stimulate industrialisation, and rebalance economic activity away from the traditional Walvis Bay–centric axis. From a purely academic standpoint, the logic is compelling. Namibia sits at the crossroads of southern Africa, with direct access to landlocked economies such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A well-executed harbour at Cape Fria would not only complement…

10 Apr

Starlink’s re-application cannot help but be suspect if pushed through!

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Can anyone please kindly bring Yours Truly Ideologically up to speed regarding the fuss and hullaballoo that has been accompanying the unsuccessful application by Starlink for internet services in Namibia? For it is beyond any understanding what the commotion and consternation have been all about, unduly giving rise to false impressions that Starlink’s application may have been treated unreasonably, unduly and/or unfairly. While it simply submitted its application, that was duly considered by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran). But did not meet three of the six requirements. Foremost, the 51% local ownership threshold. As Starlin Namibia's…

10 Apr

Namibia’s Sona: Neither rupture nor stagnation but a managed transition between legacy and the pragmatism of a globalised economy with the politics of “too few to be poor”

Opinions

Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) In the aftermath of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s state of the nation address (Sona), public debate has largely fixated on tone, style, delivery, and symbolism. This is a familiar distraction. The real issue is structural. What kind of state is Namibia becoming, and whether it advances or defers the unfinished project of liberation. At stake is not simply policy direction but the deeper question that has defined post-colonial Africa; can political sovereignty evolve into economic control, or will it remain structurally constrained? Continuity without transformation At a rhetorical level, the Sona…

09 Apr

Navigating the storm: Namibia’s transition from liberation legitimacy

Opinions

Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) Namibia is undergoing a deeper and more consequential transition from liberation legitimacy to a system one may increasingly define as 'managed patronage'. What appears on the surface as public frustration, elite recycling, or uneven justice reflects a structural shift in how power is organised, protected, and reproduced. The national mood is marked by a growing sense of unease. It is at times such as this one that true leadership is tested and goes through a baptism of fire because trust, once anchored in the moral authority of the liberation struggle,…

07 Apr

Rethinking founding president Sam Nujoma’s enduring legacy and the unfinished mandate of liberation

Opinions

Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) At independence, a flag rises, an anthem is sung, and a nation declares itself free. But decades later, the more difficult question emerges quietly: persistently free in what sense and for whom? In Namibia today, that question does not begin with policy. It begins with legacy. A system cannot fully erase a national legacy forged through resistance. But it can reshape it, dilute it, and, more subtly, domesticate it. What was once a force of transformation can be reduced to ceremony, honoured in speech and disconnected in practice. The real…

02 Apr

Stadium construction virus must be vaccinated as early as possible, now!

Opinions

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro “Govt rejects N$54m per stadium proposal,” read a headline in one of the local English dailies on Monday just after the country’s 36th independence anniversary. Yours Truly Ideologically cannot but highly commend the Prime Minister for putting his feet down in this regard by rejecting the proposal. The N$54m is simply four or five times more than the amount which the government has budgeted for a stadium. Currently the government has only allocated for the initial building of only 28 stadia countrywide, two in each of the country’s 14 regions. Heaven knows how many and how long…