Opinions – Page 9 – Windhoek Observer

09 Oct

The power of a small deduction … understanding the role of payroll deductions in Namibia’s economy

Featured, Opinions

Ingah Ekandjo I recently spoke at the opening of one of our top-performing branches, prepared to talk about growth and community impact. But instead, I choked up. The room faded; my past came alive. I grew up in a modest Namibian family of seven children. Not all of us could get student loans or bursaries, but my mother, a government nurse with little savings, had taken out an education policy (an insurance plan for schooling). Listening to my introduction, memories of my childhood flashed before my eyes. In that moment I fully understood how that simple policy brought me here. …

09 Oct

OBSERVER COASTAL | The Tide Line

Featured, Opinions

Reading the coast, understanding the nation Welcome to the Tide Line — the new weekly editorial voice of Observer Coastal. Here, at the edge of land and sea, stories don’t just happen; they arrive, shift, and recede like waves. From the harbours of Walvis Bay to the salt pans of Swakopmund, the dunes of Dorob to the fishing docks of Henties Bay, the Erongo coast has always been more than geography. It is the country’s pulse in motion, the line where Namibia breathes through the Atlantic. The Tide Line will exist at that intersection, between the economic and the environmental,…

08 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | When lunch becomes a luxury: The crisis of public service productivity

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security minister Lucia Iipumbu recently directed that all ministry offices remain operational during lunchtime. On the surface, this may seem like a minor administrative adjustment. But in reality, it exposes a deep and chronic crisis within our civil service, a culture that has normalised inefficiency, eroded public trust, and forgotten that service delivery is not a favour to the public but a duty. A nation held hostage by lunch breaks For years, ordinary Namibians have stood in endless queues outside government buildings, sometimes under the unforgiving sun, sometimes in the rain, waiting for something as…

07 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | Tot siens, Botswana: The end of an era in the second car dealership in Namibia

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

A quiet revolution is unfolding at the Namibian border posts. A policy shift, announced by the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, has barred the importation of second-hand vehicles older than 12 years from outside the Common Customs Area (CCA). This change, while perhaps anticipated in policy circles, has hit with the sudden force of a desert storm for many young Namibians whose livelihoods depend on the second-hand motor vehicle trade. For years, the phrase “Dankie, Botswana” marked the informal farewell uttered by hopeful entrepreneurs as they crossed into our neighbour, heading to Durban or other major ports, returning weeks later…

06 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | All politics is local: Choose wisely at the ballot box

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Election season is upon us once again. This is what will mark the familiar campaign: across the country, the familiar rhythms of political life are playing out, campaign posters springing up on every lamppost, rallies drawing crowds with promises and pageantry, and political hopefuls crisscrossing constituencies in a last-minute bid to win favour. The Swapo party was first out of the block and has officially launched its campaign, and it will soon be followed by others, all eager to convince voters that they hold the answers to our problems. Yet beyond the slogans, the music, and the promises, some more…

06 Oct

No stopping, reversing Namibian October

Opinions

Revolution movement for reparations! Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro When one hears and talks of and about the October Revolution, what ordinarily immediately comes to mind historically and ideologically is the culmination of popular sentiment directed against the provisional government, which was achieving little for the majority of people to change Russia from its Tsarist past. Indeed events this October in Namibia, pertaining especially to the vexed question of Genocide, Apology and Reparations (GAR), a matter that has been dragging on, and deliberately dragged on by both the Namibian government and its German counterpart, at last looks destined for a beginning of what…

03 Oct

YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

Opinions

Last month, Namibia lost a legendary icon: Ras Sheehama. Beyond doubt, he was one of the very best among us. He didn’t just make music but used it as a vehicle for political awareness and encouragement. He spoke for the marginalised, challenged the status quo and really just made sure you were having a good time while listening to his music. His talent was undeniable, his influence profound, and his loss is truly a national tragedy. When news broke that he had died by suicide, the nation collectively mourned. Social media lit up with shock and grief, but also with…

03 Oct

Tourists first, Namibians second

Opinions

Uzuva Kandjou The brochures paint a picture of paradise. Sun-drenched dunes cascading into an endless horizon. The haunting, skeletal trees of Deadvlei stand sentinel against a sapphire sky. The roar of a lion in the deep silence of Etosha. This is the Namibia sold to the world, a pristine, untouched wilderness, an escape for those with the means to chase its raw beauty. But for many Namibians, this picture is a cruel mirage. It is a paradise they can see, a beauty that exists on their ancestral lands, but one they can never afford to enter. In the heart of…

03 Oct

From New York to Philadelphia, Namibia steps onto the global stage

Opinions

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) Introduction When President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah arrived in New York for the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80), she did more than fulfil a diplomatic duty. She signalled that Namibia, under her leadership, is stepping boldly onto the global stage not as a spectator, but as a shaper of international discourse. From New York’s high corridors of power to Philadelphia’s civic halls, the Namibian president carried a clear message: the nation is open for business, serious about reform, and ready to lead with principle. A woman at the helm, a nation…

03 Oct

Viva Assata Shakur! Viva Cuba!

Opinions

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Angela Davis, Donald DeFreeze, Elaine Brown, Eldridge Cleaver, Fay Bellamy Powell, Fred Hampton, George Jackson, Gloria Richardson, Hakim Jamal, Huey P. NewtonJohn Africa, , Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., Maulana Karenga, Malik Zulu Shabazz. What do all these names have in common? One cannot mention the likes of Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr, and Angela Davis without conjuring up a picture of a struggling people in America going back to the civil rights movement of the people of African descent whose forebears were taken as slaves from Africa. Add to them Assata…