Opinions – Page 8 – Windhoek Observer

21 Aug

A call to parliament: Strengthening Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Framework from political processes to public governance

Opinions

Soini Nampala The Anti-Corruption Commission’s slogan, “Be Part of the Fight,” represents more than a call to report corruption. It is a national invitation for every Namibian to participate in the protection of the country’s resources, institutions and democratic governance. The fight against corruption, however, cannot be fully effective if it begins only after individuals have entered public office and obtained access to public resources. If corruption is capable of influencing the process through which individuals attain political power in the first place, then the fight against corruption must also consider that earlier stage. The Anti-Corruption Act provides an important…

21 Aug

South African communists fulfil vanguard mission but who in Namibia?

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro A spectre unfolded in Namibia’s southern neighbour, South Africa. A spectre not in terms of a calamity, as some may conclude and/or guess and jump to conclusions, nor in terms of a jamboree, as yet others may hasten to think. But a historic and revolutionary one. One which Namibia, particularly the union movement, if in this day and era there’s any union movement in Namibia to speak of. Let alone any revolutionaries in Namibia, likewise, if there are any today in Namibia to speak of. This was the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party of South Africa (SACP),…

20 Aug

Turning Namibia’s economic potential into SME participation

Observer Money, Opinions

CORNY ZAARUKA Across the country, new economic frontiers are emerging. Mining continues to expand, the green hydrogen sector is attracting global attention, infrastructure investment is gathering momentum, and Walvis Bay is steadily strengthening its position as one of Africa's most strategic trade gateways. Opportunities that once seemed aspirational are increasingly becoming commercial realities. Yet for thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the doorway into these opportunities remains frustratingly narrow. The reasons are often misunderstood. For years, conversations around SME growth have centred on access to finance, with the assumption that capital is the primary constraint. While funding remains important,…

20 Aug

Descendants must actively support the case in Windhoek High Court challenging the JD!

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro The Namibian government and its former colonial master, Germany, which continues to pull all the strings, especially when it comes to the issue of restorative justice for the Ovaherero and Nama for the genocide committed by imperial Germany, can try everything and anything in their political and diplomatic book, but there’s no stopping the tide towards true restorative justice. With Amnesty International bidding to join the case in the Windhoek High Court, to throw its weight behind the Ovaherero and Nama descendants in their effort to stop the dreaded Joint Declaration (JD), there’s no mistaking that the matter…

20 Aug

Agriculture & mining can co-exist: Lessons from Russia’s Dalur Mine for Namibia’s Leonardville

Opinions

Dylan Mukoroli In the arid heartlands where water is life and the soil sustains communities, the tension between agriculture and mining often feels irreconcilable. Farmers in places like Namibia’s Omaheke Region, reliant on the precious Stampriet Aquifer, voice fears of groundwater contamination, disruption of their livelihoods, and irreversible damage to the land that feeds their families and livestock. Yet, a compelling case study from Russia’s Kurgan region demonstrates that these two pillars of economic development can not only coexist but thrive together through responsible innovation. Rosatom’s Dalur mine, a pioneer in in-situ leach (ISL) uranium recovery, stands as living proof.…

19 Aug

Twenty-five years on, Air Namibia’s ghost is standing at Namibia Air’s door

Opinions

A retrospective — and a warning that must be heeded now Stanley Nick Katzao On 6 July 2001, this newspaper published an analysis I wrote as a final-year MBA student titled ‘Crisis Heroism & Shifting the Burden, a Focus on Air Namibia’. Air Namibia had just run up what was then a shocking N$350 million in debt following a major management reshuffle, and the government was preparing the first of what would become many multimillion-dollar rescue packages. I argued, using a simple systems-thinking model, that the airline was treating symptoms while leaving the disease untouched, and that unless it changed…

19 Aug

The USA-Iran war is about supply and demand, monopoly and profit, not morals

Opinions

Strip away the moral language and what remains is a fight over who controls oil, finance, and the global trade value chain. Lazarus Kwedhi The television, radio and politicians explain the USA-Iran conflict through the lenses of nuclear weapons, terrorism, democracy, shipping security and self-defence. As such, they are all selling you a product. But if we strip away the publicity, it is about the economy: the study of the lack and abundance of factors of production and the market forces that control the global trade value chain. Both sides are fighting the same fundamental battle: control over the global…

18 Aug

Capital beyond the orebody

Opinions

SARA MEZUI ENGO Once a mine is established and operating, the capital conversation does not end; it becomes more complex. Growth requires energy, water, logistics, accommodation, processing capacity and other infrastructure to support the next phase of development. The default assumption is that all of this must sit on the mining company's balance sheet. It need not. As operations mature, an important question emerges: which assets are truly core to the business, and which are supporting infrastructure that could be financed differently? The mining operation itself will always remain central. Power, water, logistics and certain property developments are a different…

18 Aug

From oil wealth to national wealth: preparing Namibians for the jobs, industries and opportunities ahead

Opinions

Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) As we travelled from Hosea Kutako International Airport towards the center of the city, once again we were confronted with two realities of Namibia. The first is the Namibian bright asphalt of modern buildings, hotels, privileged neighbourhoods, roads and an appearance of stability. The second exists beyond the asphalt of workers travelling kilometres to reach their jobs, young people without opportunities, and graduates who, after years of education, still cannot turn their knowledge into decent employment. This is where the real debate about unemployment must begin not with statistics, but…

17 Aug

The ‘Back Home’ Economy: Where Does Namibia’s Money Really Live?

Opinions

As a Namibian entrepreneur, I have increasingly found myself asking a deceptively simple question: How committed are Namibian workers to the economies of the towns and cities in which they live? It is a question worth asking because beneath Namibia’s statistics on employment, urbanisation, housing and consumer spending lies another economy that receives remarkably little attention — the “back home” economy. I was reminded of this recently during an interesting conversation with a friend. We were discussing Namibia’s urban economy when he pointed out something that, at first, sounded obvious but became more profound the longer I thought about it. Every month,…