Doreen Sioka – Windhoek Observer

04 Sep

Dienda criticises pension payments done ‘under trees’

ObserverNational NewsDoreen Sioka, Epupa Investment Technology

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) Member of Parliament Elma Dienda has criticised the method of paying pensioners their old age grant as stressful and unacceptable. According to Dienda, the current practice of giving pensioners payments under trees is unacceptable, especially after Epupa Investment Technology has held the contract for more than a decade. Dienda is calling on the ministry to take action to improve service delivery. Dienda made these remarks on Tuesday in parliament while questioning Doreen Sioka, the Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, and Social Welfare. ‘’What is the total value of the current 5-year contract? What…

14 Jul

Gender completes new verification system

ObserverNational NewsDoreen Sioka, Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare

Staff Writer The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare has completed the verification of the beneficiaries of its social welfare programmes. Through this verification process the ministry has removed 18 503 beneficiaries from its register, saving the government five million dollars. This figure included 4156 deceased beneficiaries and 249 expired Disability Grants. “The deletion of the 4156 deceased beneficiaries has already realised a saving of N$ 5 million. The reason for the disparity is that some of the data transferred from SAS to ISAS, could not be positively verified against the NPRS as an authentic record of…

22 Apr

Billions for social protection programs

ObserverUncategorisedBillions for social protection programs, Doreen Sioka

Tujoromajo Kasuto Over 500 000 Namibians benefit from the government’s social grants administered by the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, with a coverage of 98 percent for old-age pension beneficiaries, 74 percent for disability and 71 percent for children’s grant beneficiaries. This include 341 204 vulnerable children, 192 544 pensioners, and 48 472 people with disabilities. During the Ministry’s budget motivation in the National Assembly yesterday, Minister Doreen Sioka shared that a total of five billion dollars is allocated to this programme for the fiscal year 2022/2023. Other items to be covered are the food bank…

15 Sep

Sioka could face 15 months in jail for contempt of court

ObserverObserver MoneyDoreen Sioka, High Court, minister of gender equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare

Eba Kandovazu THE Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Doreen Sioka, could face a maximum 15 years custodial sentence, should the High Court convict her of contempt of court next March. The High Court could also fine her in the event that she is found guilty, or impose a suspended custodial sentence. The punishable offense is a discretion of the court. This is after outgoing Ombudsman, John Walters, filed an application to have the minister convicted for not complying with a 2020 court order compelling her to deliver a plan under oath that would see to the…

30 Oct

The protests are a cry for help, not a threat

ObserverUncategorised#ShutItAllDownNamibia, Doreen Sioka, Minister of Gender Equality and Welfare

Thandi Kawerama October 31st is the deadline #ShutItAllDownNamibia protesters gave Doreen Sioka to resign from her position as Minister of Gender Equality and Welfare. As I type this, protesters of all ages are most likely prepping their cooler boxes for the farewell ‘bring and braai’ scheduled to be held outside the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare on 30 October. The event demonstrates the youth’s commitment to knocking on the doors of the various avenues that were given the mandate to protect those vulnerable, in a society that values male comfort over women, children and non-gender conforming…

20 Oct

SGBV protestors still want Sioka’s resignation … as group questions Geingob’s closed door meeting

ObserverObserver MoneyDoreen Sioka, president Hage Geingob, sexual and gender based violence, SGBV

Helena Johannes The sexual and gender based violence ( SGBV) protest leaders say they still stand by their demand for Gender minister, Doreen Sioka to resign despite their meeting with President Hage Geingob on Friday. “Our demands remain unchanged, we are still calling for a state of emergency and for the resignation of Doreen Sioka. We will from hereon, transparently engage government. Should this fail, we will be back in the streets, using our voices to assert our right to safety,” one of the protest leaders, Bertha Tobias said via her social media platform. She said that although it had…

13 Oct

Youth condemn police brutality …as Ndeitunga is unrepentant

ObserverObserver MoneyDoreen Sioka, Inspector General of the Namibian Police; Sebastian Ndeitunga, Minister of Justice Yvonne Dausab, Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO), Prime Minister

Andrew Kathindi Namibian youth have condemned the actions of police over the weekend after 24 young people were arrested while protesting against gender-based violence (GBV) and rape. This comes after Inspector General of the Namibian Police; Sebastian Ndeitunga on Monday defended the police action, stating that protestors, including four journalists were arrested for “acting outside the scope of a peaceful protest.” “It’s very unfortunate the response that came from the Police, especially the side of the special reserve force. Being on the ground since day one, being in support of the protest, we have not observed any form of violence…

09 Oct

GBV protesters demand Sioka’s resignation

ObserverObserver MoneyDoreen Sioka, Gender Based Violence (GBV), Gender Equality minister, president Hage Geingob

Clifton Movirongo and Helena Johannes Hundreds of protesters marched to Parliament building, demanding the resignation of Gender Equality minister, Doreen Sioka, accusing her of being ‘incompetent’ and ‘inconsistent’ in a petition which they handed to Justice minister, Yvonne Dausab. The protesters are also demanding that President Hage Geingob declares a state of emergency on Gender-Based Violence (GBV). “We are here to fight for the full protection of women in our societies and we want the government to introduce a GBV State of Emergency, we also want the minister of Gender to step down as we have seen that there is…

03 Jul

Nujoma caught in crossfire – KK

ObserverObserver MoneyDoreen Sioka, Kazenambo Kazenambo, Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Nahas Angula, Sam Nujoma, SWAPO

Staff Writer Former Youth minister, Kazenambo Kazenambo says the public anger directed at Landless People's Movement (LPM) leader, Bernadus Swartbooi is misdirected, as he is not causing division but his actions are simply a symptom of the greater disunity in the country. This comes after Swartbooi was heavily criticized by former Prime Minister Nahas Angula, who accused the firebrand leader LPM leader of dividing the nation. This berating follows the LPM MP’s his incendiary comments about Founding President Sam Nujoma. In response to arguments made by Swapo MP, Doreen Sioka, he disparaged the Founding President’s book and called the author…

22 Jun

Women’s freedom chained by apartheid laws

ObserverNational NewsDoreen Sioka, freedom, laws, minister of gender equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, SRHR

There is a petition signed by over 5,000 people calling for the government to legalize women’s rights to choose when they have children. We applaud this effort; it is long overdue. Any human being has a right to decide what happens to their bodies. The discussion around sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) is important. The debate must respond to the silent cry of women forced to give birth against their will. The existing Abortion and Sterilisation Act of 1975 law is 45 years old. This apartheid-era law was written by South African white men, who patronizingly considered women as…