Opinions – Page 26 – Windhoek Observer

05 May

“Only full reparation can remedy past wounds”

ObserverOpinions“Only full reparation can remedy past wounds”

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) Special Rapporteurs are requesting for answers from both the Namibian and German governments regarding the way in which they have been dealing with the issue of Genocide, Apology and Reparations. While it has written to both governments this February, this has become public only this month. But be that as it may be, the UN is raising pertinent questions as well as making very fundamental observations. Observations which descendants all along have been raising and impressing upon our Namibian government and its German counterpart. With regard to the Namibian government, they are observing…

17 Mar

Workers a benign folk without a good shepherd

ObserverOpinionsWorkers a benign folk without a good shepherd

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro It has been becoming all along obvious and apparent that workers in Namibia are a benign folk but without a good shepherd, if they still have any shepherd at all. Despite their vanguard role during the liberation struggle, a struggle more about civil and political rights, as predominantly manifested in a free and independent Namibia, rather than being about bread and butter issues, where and in which the rights of workers remain neglected and relegated to the backburner of a free and independent Namibia’s political agenda, including the legislative agenda. As the legislative timetable of the Namibian…

04 Mar

Do free Namibia, colonialism have anything in common?

ObserverOpinionscolonialism have anything in common?, Do free Namibia

Yours Truly Ideologically in the last instalment, was still ever seized with the vexed question of education, prompted by the dismal examination results of last year and which since have seen various stakeholders scurrying around, passing the buck from one to the other. Continuing to muse as to what could be the cause of the extremely disappointing results, postulating that the problem is not so much the content of the education system. Because what is has been delivering is exactly what it has been designed to deliver. Thus this system cannot be seen in isolation from the productive system in…

22 Feb

Judicial Diversity- The Gender Gap

ObserverNational News, OpinionsJudicial Diversity- The Gender Gap, Namibian women holding 44.2% of the seats in parliament

Mercedes Ovis Despite Namibian women holding 44.2% of the seats in parliament, we still lack female judicial leaders. An important seat of power is the bench, as it allows arbitration on nearly every political issue. Judicial diversity promotes fairness, gives legitimacy to state institutions, ensures women’s interests are adequately represented and promotes access to justice. To date no woman has occupied the position of Chief Justice, an important leadership position as it heads the judiciary. Astonishingly, the bench in the supreme court has exclusively comprised of male judges since independence, despite this being the highest court where constitutional issues affecting…

18 Feb

Armchair Activist: (Un)sanitary Peasants

ObserverNational News, OpinionsArmchair Activist: (Un)sanitary Peasants, Harald Kabrude

Dear Comrades in bling So, there I was, watching some mindless television and lo and behold, some Councilor from some constituency I am yet to visit came on my screen spewing some nonsensical gibberish about condoms and sanitary pads. When I heard the word ‘condom’ I immediately became erect (excuse the pun). Because in my mind I was thinking, “are they whining about that infamous tender by our fellow blinger, again?” We all know what a bunch of cry babies these lot can be. Anywho, I digress. Now as I was watching, one Harald Kabrude started talking about condoms and…

12 Sep

Don’t play political football with land issues

ObserverNational News, OpinionsAgribusdev, Carl Schlettwein, Don’t play political football with land issues, Green Schemes

The Green Schemes that were touted as Namibia’s blueprint to food self-sufficiency has failed and the government is now looking at a different management model to continue its strategy to make Namibia produce what its people consume. The company created in 2011 to run 11 Green Schemes, the Agricultural Business Development Agency, experienced serious governance, financial and operational deficiencies. In addition, the running of the Green Scheme according to the Minister of Agriculture, who was moved there in the second term of the current President’s term, observed that there were institutional challenges in the administration of the schemes. According to…

12 Aug

Cry of the Namibian Youth

ObserverOpinionsCry of the Namibian Youth, International Youth Day and President Hage Geingob

Today is International Youth Day and President Hage Geingob have wished our young people a Happy International Youth Day and assuring them that the government will continue to live up to its responsibility to accompany and support young people in ‘’their endeavours to become productive citizens’’. The many programmes the government has set in motion to empower the youth, including its spend in the education sector, show that the government is concerned with where the youth find themselves in the Namibian society. What concerns the government and the society at large is the slow off-take of these programmes and their…

16 Jul

BoN targeting the goose intent on laying golden eggs in affordable housing

ObserverOpinionsBoN targeting the goose intent on laying golden eggs in affordable housing, Governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN), Property Group Save Namibia (PGSN)

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Property Group Save Namibia (PGSN) seems to be sending shock waves through the Namibian property market, especially the housing market. To the extent that before they have properly taken off they have been inviting the undue attention of the country’s central bank. Surely the Bank of Namibia (BoN) cannot and should not be the one having a brief with PGSN, not given the PGSN noble goal, which is to help provide affordable houses if not decent shelters. Yes, the PGSN as yet may not provide for houses towards the lowest end of the housing market, meaning to those…

16 Jul

Are these just ‘’small storms’’

ObserverOpinions2020 Regional and Local Authorities, Are these just ‘’small storms’’, Ciske Howard-Smith, Karas Regional Council and Mariental, Landless People’s Movement (LPM)

Should the rumblings that we lately see in the new political formations be regarded as crises in these movements or political parties. The new parties that participated in the 2019 national elections and the 2020 Regional and Local Authorities polls have changed Namibia’s political landscape. The new arrivals reduced the dominance of the ruling party, Swapo in the national, regional and local government structures. They broke the hegemony of the liberation movement in national politics, reduced the ruling party’s presidential candidates 86 percent in the previous elections in 2014 to around 56 percent in 2019, the took two regions from…

09 Jul

Auditor General not taken seriously

ObserverOpinionsAuditor General not taken seriously, Immigration, Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ministry of Home Affairs, Safety and Security as well as State House

Accounting officers at government ministries, including State House are failing to implement recommendations and advice by the Auditor General in his audit reports. This is becoming a cause for concern as the same recommendation and observations are made by the Auditor General over some years. While the Auditor General is doing commendable work in thoroughly auditing the finances of government, it goes to waste if his recommendations are simply ignored. In three financial reports tabled by the Auditor General in the National Assembly recently, the AG repeatedly express concern over recommendation that were made in previous reports not implemented. The…