Namibia – Page 10 – Windhoek Observer

24 Jul

Can Namibians do the job?

ObserverNational NewsMinistry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Namibia

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, unions and the public often decry the local hiring of a foreign national. They believe that person is taking a job away from a Namibian. At the same time, there are employers that are hell-bent on hiring foreigners rather than a Namibian (regardless of qualifications). In the first case, it is untrue that qualified, experienced Namibians are left sitting at home while foreigners get those jobs. Skilled Namibians with experience are being employed. The issue is the army of recent graduates with no experience who are challenged. At the same time, North Koreans…

24 Jul

Namibia investigates 5G rollout

ObserverObserver Money5G, City of Windhoek, Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), Namibia

Staff Writer Namibia has started the process of investigating the possibility of rolling out 5G technology in the country, with cabinet recently directing the environment ministry to conduct a thorough environmental assessment. “Cabinet directed the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to ensure that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is undertaken and that proper assessment is made, prior to the possible introduction of 5G technology in Namibia,” information minister Peya Mushelenga said. A strategic environmental assessment is a systematic decision support process, aiming to ensure that environmental and possibly other sustainability aspects are considered effectively in policy, plan and program…

22 Jul

Bank Windhoek releases Green Bond Impact Report

ObserverUncategorisedBank Windhoek, Namibia, NSX

Staff Writer Bank Windhoek this week published its first Green Impact Report. The Report details projects that received funding from its NSX listed Green Bond proceeds and highlights the core environmental impact indicators on a project level basis. The impact indicators according to the bank are derived from the bank’s Green Bond Framework and the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles. Green Bonds are one of the most prominent capital raising innovations in the area of sustainable finance over the past decade and the majority of applications for green financing was for solar energy projects to generate electricity to…

21 Jul

Haste makes waste

ObserverNational NewsNamibia, The Mass Housing Project (MHP)

… houses hurriedly produced are done poorly Namibia has a shameful housing backlog. Tens of thousands of people want to buy small homes, but cannot - there are none in the market in their price range. The Mass Housing Project (MHP) that crashed five years ago was supposed to address this. However, houses remain incomplete or not built at all. Some are finished but remain unoccupied. And now, complaints are coming from those who bought low-cost houses that foreshadow an unpleasant backstory. Houses completed in haste due to political pressure may have been built poorly. According to complaints, many of…

21 Jul

Civil Rights Icon, advocate for Namibian Independence, dead at age 80

ObserverUncategorisedNamibia, Namibians, SWAPO

… Representative John Lewis passes on Jackie Wilson Asheeke So many Namibians today have never heard of John Lewis. And yet, he and many other members of the US Congressional Black Caucus in the pre-independence days had heard of Namibia. Representative Lewis and many US legislators made speeches regularly denouncing US political and economic support for white supremacy in Africa. Now, John Lewis’ time is passed and he has gone home to a well-earned rest. In the several times I met him during the height of my group’s anti-apartheid work in Washington, DC back in the day, I found him…

21 Jul

Remote jobs can make work visas redundant

ObserverNational NewsMinister of Works and Transport, Namibia

The Minister of Works and Transport has opposed a decision by the board of the Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) about extending contracts of its foreign management staff. There were comments made regarding remote work by the air regulator, which raises eyebrows. The NCAA Chairman of the Board said that one of the South Africans working at the regulator was “advised to work remotely to provide his services. He is currently remunerated accordingly.” This statement tolls the bell of #newnormal. It will soon become ordinary to employ workers who are not in Namibia or are more cheaply employed than locals. The…

17 Jul

Local companies lose N$6.5 billion on NSX

ObserverObserver MoneyCapricorn Group, FirstRand Namibia, Namibia, Namibian Breweries

Staff Writer Capricorn Group, FirstRand Namibia, Namibian Breweries lost a combined N$6.5 billion in value after the counters recorded massive loses on Thursday’s trade on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). The biggest loser was FirstRand Namibia which shed a massive N$2.9 billion in value, closing Thursday trade with a market capitalization of N$5.3 billion, down 35.37 percent. Diversified financial services group, Capricorn Group, the owners of Bank Windhoek shed N$1.8 billion in value, closing Thursday trade with a market capitalization of N$5.3 billion, down 25 percent. Ohlthaver & List Group controlled Namibian Breweries’ market capitalization plummeted 25,35 percent, down N$1.8…

16 Jul

Reflections on Singapore: Lessons for Namibia

ObserverObserver MoneyNamibia, Singapore

Metusalem Nakale (DSocSci) Singapore’s economic transformation is the envy of many countries around the world. From 1967 to 1989, the real gross domestic product of Singapore increased six-fold, growing at 8.8 % a year. But how did Singapore do it? And what lessons can Namibia draw from Singapore’s experiences? Upon independence, in 1965, Singapore adopted a developmental state model of economic development. In this type of economic model, the state plays a significant role in directing economic activities. This model is contrasted with the free-market. The latter regards state intervention as detrimental to economic development. Supporters of the free-market ideology…

10 Jul

Predictions for the Future of Work

ObserverUncategorisedFNB, FNB Head of Digital Transformation, Namibia

Sergio de Sousa As the world of work changes, we look at what you can do to survive and thrive. Sergio de Sousa, FNB Head of Digital Transformation shares his predictions for the future world of work. Freelancers will rise An increasing number of people will work as freelancers, or on a project-by-project basis, rather than on traditional 8-to-5 employment terms. This phenomenon has earned its own buzz phrase: ‘the gig economy’, with ‘gig’ referring to a temporary job while also referencing 'gigabytes' of data required to operate in this way. This also allows businesses to better manage their costs…

03 Jul

Namibia’s long road to national reconciliation – Part 1

ObserverUncategorisedLubango, Namibia, SWAPO

Oiva Angula The two past weeks, Namibia’s National Assembly has been embroiled in a dramatic, sometimes bitter, debate about national reconciliation. This is not the first such debate since independence in 1990. Namibia seems to be burdened with a lingering wound of its past with some sections of society still crying for reconciliation, social integration and national healing. The great hope of a society based on social cohesion as promised at independence appears illusive for some Namibians. As a survivor of Swapo’s Lubango prison camps, Tangeni Mureko, 49, needed no reminder of how painful it was to live; how terrible…