Observer

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Amnesty Month aimed at promoting continental safety and peace

Amnesty Month aimed at promoting continental safety and peace

Niël Terblanché Namibians will once again have the opportunity to surrender their illicit firearms without facing disclosure, humiliation, arrest, or prosecution. The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security, Dr Albert Kawana, officially launched Amnesty Month in Windhoek yesterday and said the period marks the continuation of a crucial initiative that aims to address the proliferation of illicit firearms and promote peace, stability, and harmony in Africa. An African Union (AU) initiative, Amnesty Month was initially declared in July 2017 to collect illegally owned firearms, ammunition, and related materials, with the goal of “Silencing the Guns in Africa” by…
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Tourism Ministry condemns violent attacks on tourists

Tourism Ministry condemns violent attacks on tourists

Niël Terblanché The recent spate of violent attacks targeting international tourists in Namibia has been condemned in the strongest terms. The wave of attacks, which included robberies and assaults using different weapons, have been reported in various parts of the country, including Windhoek and Okahandja. Pohamba Shifeta, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said he is gravely concerned about the attacks and called on all Namibians to adopt a zero-tolerance stance against crimes committed against tourists or any other crime where vulnerable members of society and innocent tourists are victims. “We are gravely concerned about the recent wave of…
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President reshuffles Cabinet …as Kashikola gets fired

President reshuffles Cabinet …as Kashikola gets fired

Niël Terblanché In an unexpected move, President Hage Geingob has announced a reshuffle of the Namibian Cabinet with the appointment of three distinguished women to serve as Deputy Ministers. These changes come into effect immediately, reflecting the government’s commitment to improving service delivery and enhancing security measures for the benefit of its citizens and visitors. Natalia Goagoses will take up the role of Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Technology, and Innovation (MHETI). With a background in education, Goagoses is expected to play a pivotal role in advancing the nation’s higher education sector and spearheading efforts towards embracing the Fourth Industrial…
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Pensioners owe CoW over N$200million in unpaid rates and taxes

Pensioners owe CoW over N$200million in unpaid rates and taxes

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Households owned by pensioners in the City of Windhoek (CoW) owe the municipality a total of N$255 million in unpaid rates and taxes. The outstanding amount is part of the total amount of N$1.2 billion owed by residents to the city. This was revealed by Abel Isaaks, who works in the city’s finance department This comes in the wake of a protest by the Katutura Residents’ Committee (KRC) outside the city’s offices, who demanded swift action from both the city management and the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, regarding their grievances over the use of…
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Psychiatric ward with 60 bed capacity accommodates 200 patients

Psychiatric ward with 60 bed capacity accommodates 200 patients

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Oshakati Intermediate Hospital’s psychiatric ward 16, which is designed to accommodate 60 patients with mental health problems, is consistently accommodating up to 200 patients at a time. The Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services Ben Nangombe, confirmed this yesterday. In an interview with the Windhoek Observer, Nangombe highlighted the urgent need to establish mental health wards at various health facilities across the country. He said Namibia currently has only two institutions providing mental health services, which are the Windhoek Central Hospital Mental Health Unit with a capacity of 220 beds and the one in…
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Amoomo frustrated after the police take Amushelelo to the wrong court

Amoomo frustrated after the police take Amushelelo to the wrong court

Stefanus Nashama Michael Amushelelo’s lawyer Kadhila Amoomo, has expressed frustration and disappointment in the Namibian Police Force after they took his client to the wrong court yesterday. Amoomo said the police have frustrated him for not making sure his client attended court on time, which resulted in his client’s case being postponed to 11 October 2023. “The police are just frustrating us, and wasting our time to go to court. This is not right. We will fight for the release of our client no matter how the police try to make it hard for him,” he stated. He noted that…
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NSA and ECN agree to enhance systems and operations

NSA and ECN agree to enhance systems and operations

Stefanus Nashama Namibia Statistics Agency and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), have yesterday entered into a collaboration to promote and develop areas of mutual interest in field-related operations. According to the Memorandum of Understanding, the parties will cooperate in information systems and data analysis management, institutional resources sharing, exchange of knowledge and other electoral and statistical-related matters. The agreements were signed by Statistician General, Alex Shimuafeni and Chief Electoral Officer, Peter Shaama in Windhoek yesterday. Shimuafeni highlighted that the NSA will share knowledge and methods on the recruitment of field staff with ECN. Additionally, he said the NSA will…
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Deaf community feels left out of Green Hydrogen

Deaf community feels left out of Green Hydrogen

Martin Endjala Members of the deaf community have expressed their disappointment with the Green Hydrogen project because they feel excluded from the ongoing engagements and discussions. “Namibia is home to many deaf persons and we are scattered around the vast part of Namibia, however, there is little information coming to the deaf community about the GH2. We are not informed at the moment and do not know much about the projects”. These were the words of Namibia National Association of the Deaf National Director Linekela Paul Nanyeni while responding to questions sent to him by this publication on how well…
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Namfisa to host 46th SADC non-banking authorities meeting

Namfisa to host 46th SADC non-banking authorities meeting

Martin Endjala Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa), will host the 46th meeting of the Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non-Banking Financial Authority (CISNA) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Swakopmund from 1-6 October 2023. Namfisa Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Matomola, who also serves as CISNA Chairperson, reiterated yesterday that the committee is committed to achieving SADC’s objectives by translating the objectives into actionable programmes and projects to ensure that they are attained within a specified timeframe. He said the key focus area of the convening meeting includes harmonisation of the legislative and supervisory framework, capacity building, marketing…
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Listen Up – Up-close with Jossy Joss

Listen Up – Up-close with Jossy Joss

Take us through your journey a musician and what has inspired you to become a singer?I started out in the 90’s as young boy inspired by Tupac Shakur and R Kelly. I started writing raps and blending them with RnB but in 1999, I started an RnB group with DJ Maxi-B called 2/4U which then became Reality. The group disbanded and then I started another group called Preachaz in 2000, which was a gospel Hip hop/RnB group with DJ MO and Immo.The group then got incorporated into Dungeon Family which was Hip Hop/RnB group consisting of different groups and solo…
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