Uncategorised

Covid testing and tourism

The hard-hit tourism sector has pushed the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to support new wording in the Covid restrictions for entering visitors. The Ministry has agreed to review the regulations regarding when the 72-hour Covid-free test must be done for tourists. It seems the current language regarding entry restrictions for tourists that is applicable until 15 September says arriving tourists must present a test result that is no older than 72 hours from the date the test was taken. The tourism industry in Namibia appears to want the rule’s language adjusted to say that an acceptable test result must…
Read More
Rössing mulling expending lifespan to 2026

Rössing mulling expending lifespan to 2026

CHAMWE KAIRA Rössing Uranium Limited is considering expanding the lifespan of the mine by another 10 years to 2036, Managing Director Johan Coetzee has said in an interview. Rössing Uranium Limited started production in 1976 and this year celebrated 45 years of production. “The mine is currently operating on an approved Life of Mine plan to 2026, however the Rössing Board of Directors granted formal approval to commence with a Feasibility Study (FS) to potentially extend the Life of Mine (LoME) from 2026 by another 10 years, in line with its recently approved Mine Licence extension to 2036,” Coetzee said.…
Read More
NamPower starts 287km transmission line

NamPower starts 287km transmission line

Staff Writer THE country’s power utility, NamPower, has started constructing a 287km long 400 kV Auas-Gerus transmission line. This is part of the N$3,5 billion 833 kilometre expansion programme involving three projects. The line to run from Auas substation near Dordabis to Gerus substation near Otjiwarongo, is part of the company’s investment in expanding its 400kV transmission infrastructure backbone, by more than 800 kilometres. “The construction of the transmission line is a testament of NamPower’s ambition to deliver sustainable security of supply and a least-cost tariff path that will support economic growth and maintain the company’s financial sustainability,” reads a…
Read More

NEEEF no panacea but promises an incremental socio-economic reform

MID-TERM through his second and last term, the clock is no doubt ticking fast for incumbent President, His Excellency Hage Geingob, to establish a governance legacy, foremost for himself, and the country. After 30 years plus of independence, freedom and sovereignty, for any incumbent president the colonial legacy can no longer serve as an excuse for non-performance and non-delivery on the promises of independence. That is why the incumbent president is in the unenviable position that he can no longer hide behind the colonial legacy if unable to deliver. Thirty plus years is enough a time for the necessary foundation…
Read More

Shebeens – The weakest link?

The strength of any chain to protect the nation against the pandemic lies in its weakest link. The restrictive regulations on shebeens and bars vs. the lighter touch for restaurants, casinos, nightclubs and hotels are classist and ineffective in curbing the spread of the pandemic. Shebeens are banned from onsite alcohol sales because their clients supposedly have a higher risk of spreading Covid as they will not follow pandemic social gathering regulations. Restaurants, hotels, casinos, and nightclubs are permitted to consume alcohol on site, supposing they will follow social gathering regulations. We remain unconvinced that this assumption holds. We are…
Read More
FlyWestair flies to Rundu, Katima Mulilo

FlyWestair flies to Rundu, Katima Mulilo

Staff Writer NAMIBIAN airline FlyWestair launched flights to two new destinations, Rundu and Katima Mulilo this week. Departing from Eros Airport in Windhoek, on 24 and 25 August, with inaugural flights for the media, these new scheduled routes connect Namibians and visitors between the capital and the north-eastern regions and beyond. “FlyWestair is a proudly Namibian privately owned airline, the first of its kind in Namibia. We are committed to providing an admirable travel experience with consistent on-time performance. “The opening up of these two new routes show our dedication to Namibia, to the travel and tourism industry, and we…
Read More
GRN expects to raise millions at new quota auction

GRN expects to raise millions at new quota auction

Tujoromajo Kasuto The Ministry of Finance (MoF) expects to make millions in a new round of governmental objective fishing quota auction for 392 metric ton (MT) Monk Freezer Fish. MoF Spokesperson, Tonateni Shidhudhu, says the Monk specie is the last auction for this catching season and a successful auction, similar to last auctions for Hake and Horse Mackerel after the first unsuccessful attempt earlier this year, is expected. The auction, which is meant to raise revenue for Government expenditure with a deadline for 27 August, has set a minimum price of N$10,000 per metric ton. According to the MoF, the…
Read More

Challenge Namra on substance not salaries

The key outtake from the Namibia Public Workers Union’s (Napwu) temporary clash with the Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) is the continuous and unrealistic expectation that skilled, experienced staff needed to do technical work can be recruited on the cheap. Jobs that demand hard-to-find, specific skills, and über integrity, pay a salary commensurate with the market; there are no shortcuts. To make matters worse, the usual jealous drumbeaters in the public and media are complaining about Namra's salaries. As usual, their basis for such negative queries is aligned with their self-interest and paycheques. Namibia may be at the dawn of the…
Read More

Namibians simply tiring of being beggars in their own country!

After a disruption of close to a year, it is pleasing to see the construction of the Tauben Glenn Convenience Centre back in construction. The cost of the delay due the pandemic to the developers-cum-investors must have been enormous and regrettable, as it may have been to the rest of the Namibian economy, including the impact on unemployment with the resultant impact on social decay. Thus the resumption and continuation of the construction cannot but be welcome. So much even to a section of the wretched of the Namibian capitalist system, Kapana sellers, to which the construction has been providing…
Read More
State enterprises grounded by pandemic

State enterprises grounded by pandemic

TUJOROMAJO KASUTO PUBLIC Enterprises Minister, Leon Jooste, says the Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc through the country’s economy and majority of public enterprises are experiencing the aftermath with NWR and the Namibia Airports Company gravely strained. “NWR and the Namibia Airports Company were the most severely affected but the fact is that the pandemic is affecting the entire economy and most of our public enterprises are experiencing the consequences,” Jooste says. The ministry has been urging the public enterprises to implement cost cutting measures and to approach financial institutions before they approach the shareholder for assistance. “We are currently assessing…
Read More