Opinions – Page 8 – Windhoek Observer

29 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | The five-year investor visa: A bold step toward a more competitive Namibia

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s recent announcement of a five-year visa for serious investors marks a decisive and forward-thinking step in Namibia’s quest to become a truly competitive investment destination. Speaking at the launch of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Forum in Windhoek, the President not only underscored her administration’s recognition of the bureaucratic barriers that discourage investment but also signaled a broader philosophical shift, from gatekeeping to gateway. For years, investors have lamented Namibia’s slow, paper-heavy, and often frustrating visa and business registration processes. The President’s call for a simplified, investor-friendly visa regime acknowledges this bottleneck and proposes a solution aligned with…

29 Oct

President Nandi-Ndaitwah at 73: Seven months of measured hope

Featured, Opinions

As President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah marks her 73rd birthday this week, her first since assuming Namibia’s highest office, The Windhoek Observer extends heartfelt wishes for good health, clarity of vision, and continued strength in leadership.Birthdays are often a moment of personal reflection, but for a Head of State they also offer the nation an opportunity to pause and take stock, not just of years lived, but of months served, decisions made, and futures imagined. President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s first seven months in office have unfolded against a backdrop of global uncertainty and domestic transition. Yet, through it all, she has brought to State…

28 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | Less threats, more leadership, minister Nekundi

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

When Works and Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi took to the podium at the 10th National Road Safety Conference in Swakopmund this week, his message was clear: he has no patience for inaction. He warned that any official or agency failing to translate road safety reports into tangible outcomes risked dismissal. His “less talk, more action” rallying cry, paired with a threat to “fire” those who do not deliver, certainly caught attention. Yet, while the minister’s frustration with bureaucratic lethargy is understandable, the tone of his message risks overshadowing the substance of his intent. Leadership, especially in a public service context,…

28 Oct

TIME FOR INDEPENDENT STATE-OWNED HOLDING ENTERPRISE

Featured, Opinions

JOSEF KEFAS SHEEHAMA It is time for Namibia to establish an Independent State Holding Enterprise rather of passing down duties to the Prime Minister, which could threaten the separation of powers due to a lack of check and balances. As a result, it is critical to set up a separate entity to overhaul the current model of operating State-Owned Enterprises, which is deemed inefficient due to bureaucratic interference that weaken both SOE governance and performance. It is commendable that the government aspires to promote governance and compliance among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by enhancing or re-engineering the Public enterprises Governance Act…

28 Oct

From the mine to the macro: Why my seat on this UNIDO jury is a testament to Africa’s sustainable future

Featured, Opinions

Zenzi N Awases For as long as I can remember, I have been a builder. As a geologist, I learned to read the story of the earth, written in rock layers and mineral deposits. But I soon realized that the most valuable resources we have are not just the minerals we extract, but the people, the systems and the ideas we build around them. My journey from the field to the policy table, and now to the international jury for UNIDO’s inaugural ONE World Sustainability Awards, has been guided by one unwavering belief: purpose and profitability are not just compatible;…

27 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | Oil Dreams and Hard realities: Namibia must demand good jobs from foreign investment

Editorial, Energy, Featured, Opinions

Namibia’s growing oil and gas ambitions have once again come under scrutiny, and rightly so. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has sounded a sober warning that, despite the euphoria surrounding recent discoveries, the promise of thousands of jobs may not materialise as projected. In a country where unemployment hovers around 33%, and where the youth, the majority of the population, bear the brunt, it is not just a question of how much oil lies beneath our seabed, but whether that wealth will translate into decent, sustainable livelihoods for Namibians. The mirage of job creation According to government projections,…

24 Oct

YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

Featured, Opinions

Parliament recently revisited the long-delayed Mental Health Bill. The minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Esperance Luvindao, confirmed that the bill is in its final stages of review and will soon be resubmitted to legal drafters. This comes after years of delays in replacing the outdated Mental Health Act of 1973, a law that no longer reflects the realities of modern mental health care in Namibia. News outlets earlier in the week reported that employers would no longer be able to discriminate against mentally ill people; of course, that caused an uproar. While the discussion may seem technical or…

24 Oct

People pulling and shouldering on and only need a little push!

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Do people need to be developed, or can they evolve towards development and eventually self-sustenance? Yours Truly Ideologically cannot but pose this question, musing at the same time about the loose, indifferent and nonchalant, if altogether disconnected, use of the word 'development'. Surrounding the gimmick of developing the people. While and whereas indeed the people can develop themselves through evolving towards a self-defined level of evolution dictated by their own circumstances, conditions and environments. This is to invoke a paradigm shift in the supposed development trajectory. Prompted more by the so-called development to which people have been subjected…

24 Oct

Africa’s governance crisis: The coups contagion as mirror

Opinions

Interrogating military interventions through Ibrahim Traoré’s Pan-Africanist and governance lens PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) Introduction: The return of the barracks With the recent coup d’état in Madagascar on October 14, 2025, when the military seized power after weeks of protests largely driven by Gen Z, and the alleged failed coup plot in Nigeria, where a number of military commanders ranging from major to brigadier general were arrested after failing to topple President Bola Tinubu, Africa has between 2020 and 2025 witnessed a resurgence of military coups from Mali and Guinea to Burkina Faso, Niger…

23 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | The Dark Side of Likes: When Teachers Turn Learners into Social Media Content

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The warning by PDM member of parliament Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo could not have come at a more crucial time. Her call for greater scrutiny of how some teachers are using learners to create social media content must serve as a national wake-up call. Namibia is fast catching up with the global trend where schools, classrooms, and even children’s private moments are turned into digital entertainment, often without consent, without understanding the consequences, and without any protection for the minors involved. What was once a space for learning and mentorship, the classroom, is now becoming a stage for online fame. Teachers who…