Opinions – Page 21 – Windhoek Observer

12 Aug

The Essence of Activism, Are we supposed to be “poor”? – A response to Jonathan Kariseb

Featured, Opinions

Onesmus Shekuza Iyambo On my way home from the AR headquarters after a long, tiring but productive meeting with our regional leadership as we were discussing about different strategies and tactics we will deploy in preparation for the upcoming regional and local authority elections, I stopped by Otjomuise shopping centre to buy newspapers. As I was perusing The Namibian Newspaper on Friday, 27 July 2025, I came across an article by Jonathan Kariseb, scandalously titled “On Job Amupanda, Elites and the Burden of Responsibility: A Personal Reflection”. In one of his famous essays, ‘The Responsibility of Intellectuals’, Noam Chomsky tells…

12 Aug

The Sound of Silence: Are we serious about local democracy?

Opinions

Gillian Kalf Is the silence across the country two months away from elections a sign of voter disengagement in local politics? The loud silence says a lot about our democracy and enforcing our decentralisation efforts in our governance and body politics of the nation. Last year this time, the nation's political landscape was a hive of activity. From political leaders outlining visions for the future to citizens passionately debating succession, the country was alive with political discourse. What is the silence all about then? Stakeholders – political parties, civil society organisations, the electorate and, most importantly, the politicians. The Electoral…

12 Aug

When life takes a detour: The value of having an income you can rely on

Observer Money, Opinions

Nikanor Ruben Most people don’t wake up thinking about what would happen if they couldn’t work tomorrow. We tend to assume that the ability to earn a living is a constant, as dependable as the sun rising. But the truth is, life has a way of reminding us just how fragile that assumption can be. Whether you're in your 20s just starting your career or well into your 50s with responsibilities stacked high, the ability to earn a monthly income is central to almost everything: paying the bills, covering school fees, sending money home, and keeping food on the table.…

11 Aug

Madam President, How About a Jobs Summit?

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Namibia’s unemployment crisis is not just a statistic. It is the quiet desperation in villages and towns, the hollowed-out dreams of graduates, and the simmering frustration of a generation with no place to go. We have heard the speeches and seen the plans. What we need now is not another promise, but a national reckoning on jobs. When President Nandi-Ndaitwah declared in her inaugural speech that “in Namibia, we are too few to be poor,” it wasn’t just a hopeful slogan. It was a challenge. A reminder that our small population should be an advantage, yet unemployment and underemployment continue to choke opportunity…

11 Aug

Ethical procurement practices and the impact on state-owned enterprises, the procurement profession, and small and medium enterprise development

Featured, Opinions

Zucky Bauleth-Nashima and Lusia Kornelius In Namibia, public procurement is rigorously administered and regulated under the Public Procurement Act and related regulations, ensuring fair participation in economic activities and equitable opportunities, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The private sector, particularly SMEs, is crucial to the production and supply of goods and services, playing a vital role in ensuring availability, operational efficiency, and sustainability. However, there has been a notable demand for goods and services in offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs). This adversity has heightened the need to go beyond local supplies and extend the sourcing of goods and…

11 Aug

DON’T ENTERTAIN INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, THEY CAN COST YOU!

Featured, Opinions

Morna Ikosa Recent reports cited that Namibia has one of the highest suicide rates in Africa. Although financial distress has been confirmed to be one of the leading causes of suicides, it is time we look deeper into the matters of the mind. Dr Caroline Leaf, a metacognitive neuroscientist who has studied the mind for nearly 40 years, states that “75-98% of mental, physical, and behavioural illnesses stem from toxic thinking.” These statistics are alarming and cannot be ignored. Although Men's Mental Health Month has ended, both men and women must recognise and prioritise the importance of maintaining a consistent…

07 Aug

Namibia Football Association – A disgrace in interpreting and applying own statutes, rules and regulations

Opinions, Sports

Jefta Gaoab The Namibian Football Association (NFA) is the governing body for football in Namibia, responsible for organizing and promoting football activities nationwide. As the custodian of the sport, the NFA is mandated to ensure that football is played in accordance with its rules, regulations, and statutes. These must, however, remain subordinate to those of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which holds ultimate authority. In general, the NFA has demonstrated a concerning inability to consistently and effectively interpret and apply its own statutes, rules, and regulations. This ongoing failure undermines both the credibility of the institution and the…

07 Aug

Resettled, but at what cost? The real stories behind Namibia’s failing resettlement farms

Opinions

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) The Etunda Farm Primary School is nearing completion and is about to be handed over to the government. The school is situated on a piece of land donated by the Founding President and Father of the Namibian Nation to cater for children of farm labourers and those marginalised communities in and around the vicinity of Otavi to attend school in line with his long-term call and passion for every Namibian child to attend school. In this regard, this article seeks to look at Namibia’s resettlement programme which, thirty-five years after…

07 Aug

How different is Russian, Chinese capital from Capitalism?

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Stumbling on a quote by the first Zambian vice president at independence in 1964, Yours Truly Ideologically could not but reflect deeply on it, especially its reference to the much-sought-after investment by Southern African countries, let alone Namibia. “If we don’t handle our independence very well, colonisers will come back in the form of investors.” Ex-Zambian Vice President Simon Kapwepwe is quoted as having once said. It looks like independence did not need to have gone wrong, the late Kapwepwe, for the colonisers to come back. If they ever left. But more than anything, independence opened the floodgates…

07 Aug

How genomic research and medicine can advance African public health

Opinions

Prof Lamech M. Mwapagha Africa faces a heavy disease burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Although the continent has generally succeeded over the last 20 years in decreasing the levels of a number of communicable diseases (e.g. cholera and polio), there are some (e.g. malaria and HIV/AIDS) whose prevalence remains quite high. This disease burden has been aggravated with the emergence of drug-resistant strains of various pathogens. Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (e.g. heart attack and stroke), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases are also on the rise in Africa, with the number of deaths from these projected…