Opinions

 PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) The 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit, the first ever held on African soil, was widely celebrated as a milestone for African agency. For two days, Johannesburg stood at the center of global governance under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.”  It was a moment when Africa did not simply participate in the global conversation but also directed it. The continent placed issues such as climate justice, multilateral reform, debt restructuring, and sustainable development at the forefront of the global agenda. But as history often reminds us, progress reveals both power and fragility.…

Frieda Stefanus In today’s world, access to accurate and timely health information can mean the difference between thriving and surviving. Nowhere is this more urgent than in the realm of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), particularly for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Without comprehensive education and youth-friendly services, young people face heightened vulnerability to unintended pregnancies, HIV infection, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and gender-based violence (GBV). Knowledge is power and protection SRH education equips AGYW with the tools to recognise and reduce health risks. When young people understand how HIV is transmitted, how to access prevention tools like Pre-Exposure…

My recent conversation with a close Afrikaner friend left me sitting with a question that is as uncomfortable as it is necessary. While discussing business and finance, he looked at me, without malice, yet with the kind of bluntness that forces self-reflection, and asked, “Why is it that you black people are not able to start, maintain, and manage a successful black-owned bank? How long are you going to blame us Boers for lack of financing?” The question struck me not because it was racist, but because it touched the uneasy space between the ambitions of black Namibians and the…

George Hidipo Hamba Kambala It has been eleven years since we gathered in Klein Windhoek to make a stand. We were young, restless and determined to be heard. We had no money, no power and no certainty about what the next hour would bring. All we had was conviction. We believed that the land question, and the exclusion of young people from decision-making, could no longer be ignored. That morning was not just a protest. It was a promise. It was the first loud beat in a drum that has never stopped. It was the beginning of what the country…

Eline van der Linden The world talks about the need for a Just Energy Transition (JET). What could or should JET look like in Namibia?   I work in the Green Hydrogen (GH2) and Green Industrialisation space.  Oftentimes, I am asked by journalists and representatives from civil society organisations how it can be “just and fair” to export a source of energy when 50% of Namibians have no connection to the electricity grid.  It is a fair question that has a reasonably simple answer. Not all energy sources are suited for the power grid, and access to electricity is more closely…