Uncategorised – Page 58

04 Dec

National Oil Storage Facility testing to begin

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedNational Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor)

The Ministry of Mines and energy has announced that it welcomed its first vessel at the N$5.5 billion National Oil and Petroleum Storage Facility at Walvis Bay at the beginning of the month. The arrival of the vessel and its planned offloading of fuel at the facility is part of the final testing of the facility. “The vessel is scheduled to offload 35 000 tonnes of diesel as part of the final testing on completion of the project. Our technical teams will continue to test the facility as part of the final stage of the construction phase of the project,”…

03 Dec

6 Ways to Avoid Overspending this Season

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedElzita Beukes, FNB Communications Manager

Staff Writer As the holiday cheer takes hold, we’re bound to be tempted to spend more than we should, but having fun shouldn’t mean overspending. Budgets may seem restrictive and not part of the festive picture you have for your holiday, but ultimately they’re tools to help you live better. ‘We know that consumers spent more on their credit cards in December than any other month of the year – most of it on luxury goods and entertainment. Whether you’re staying home or going away, if you’re not keeping an eye on your expenses, overboard is where you’re headed’ says…

02 Dec

The Namibian debt capital market: a rough diamond that’s ready to sparkle

info_e12wt4csUncategorised

Ray Auala Jr The benefits of deep capital markets in emerging economies is well known, and a fundamental pillar of this is the bond market. Although researchers may debate the specific impact the debt capital markets have on economic growth in developing nations, they cannot dispute that a positive link does exist. A welcomed reality when one considers the strides the Namibian bond market has made in recent years in achieving the long-term objective of becoming a world-class capital market. Here are a few notable achievements: 1. The local debt market has 29 Corporate and SOE bonds, including one green…

01 Dec

Understanding regional and local elections

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedNamibia, National Assembly, President, Regional and local elections

Willem N Namboga Regional and local elections are important, but many people do not understand how they are constituted. The President and the members of the National Assembly represent all the people of Namibia. But individual communities need other government bodies which are closer to them to focus on the issues and problems of the community. Local government focuses on the needs of the people who live in that local authority. Regional and local councilors are important contacts for lobbying on regional and local issues. Some regions are very well developed, with many schools and clinics and a good supply…

01 Dec

DBN plans N$500m relief facility

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedDBN CEO Martin Inkumbi, Development Bank of Namibia (DBN)

Staff Writer The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) is planning a N$500 million Covid-19 relief facility in the first quarter of 2021. According to DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi, this is in addition to the N$500 million made available by the Ministry of Finance to be offered by commercial banks. “The Bank, is committed to financing Namibian economic activity, and will take all feasible measures to ensure its health,” Inkumbi said. This comes as preliminary figures of the bank for the first two quarters to September of 2020/21 show the expected adverse impact of Covid-19 and risk-aversion on demand for SME…

28 Nov

Book Review: The Icabog – JK Rowling

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedThe Icabog – JK Rowling

Jackie Wilson Asheeke Having more time inside these days, I have been a readin’ fool. One of the books I jumped on was The Icabog, by JK Rowling. This soon to be classic for generations to come was originally published on November 10, 2020. For the billionaire author of the Harry Potter series of books, the writing skills of the great Ms Rowling are never better in this new book. It was released online in parts over the past year, but the complete text just came out. I couldn’t stand the piecemeal thing, so I waited patiently for the real…

28 Nov

Standard Bank appoints new CE

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedMercia Geises, new Chief Executive., Vetumbuavi Mungunda

Staff Writer SBN Holdings Limited, the Namibia Stock Exchange-listed holdings company of local bank, Standard Bank Namibia Limited, has appointed its Head of Personal and Business Banking, Mercia Geises, as its new Chief Executive. Mercia Geises will take over from current Chief Executive Vetumbuavi Mungunda with effect from 1 May 2021. “The Board is excited at the appointment of Mercia to lead us into an exciting new future following a well-planned and well-executed leadership management and succession programme, which, inter alia, is a demonstration of Standard Bank’s relentless commitment to growing our people and creating Namibian leaders. The success of…

28 Nov

The more things change the more they remain the same

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedArticle 15, Education Act, Namibian Constitution

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro The more things change, the more they remain the same. Nothing speaks more to this dictum than our country’s educational system. Specifically the government’s language policy pertaining to home language or mother tongue. In terms of the Namibian Constitution, Article 15, children shall from birth have a right to a name, the right to acquire nationality ….and right to be cared for by their parents. Something is missing here, what about the right of the child to be taught in her/or his home language or mother tongue? Perhaps it is taken care of in the Education Act. Indeed…

28 Nov

The Time Traveler: The job interview ‘date’

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedjob interviews

Hugh Ellis I’m lucky enough to have had to submit to less than 10 job interviews in my entire life. Lucky to have been in the right place at the right time - a graduate coming into a growing economy, among many other things. I say lucky because job interviews are largely nonsense, and I pity the poor people who have had to sit through 50 or more before they find a single job. There has to be a way to select a limited number of employees from a vast pool of candidates, but I’m not sure interviews are the…

28 Nov

When Africa was a German laboratory

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedepidemics of trypanosomiasi, When Africa was a German laboratory

Edna Bonhomme Western scientists transformed Africa into a living laboratory during the sleeping sickness epidemics of the early 20th century. They should not be allowed to do the same now [while seeking the definitive pandemic vaccine.] At the turn of the 20th century, epidemics of trypanosomiasis, or “sleeping sickness” as it is more commonly known, started to appear across Africa. A vector-borne parasitic disease causing apathy, slow movement, speech disorders, physical weakness and death, sleeping sickness raised alarm among European colonisers on the continent who feared that its spread could slow down the African workforce, and subsequently their colonial projects.…