Windhoek Observer – Page 360 – Windhoek Observer

20 Oct

NamPost Bank goes digital

Observer MoneyFestis Hangula, Namibia Post Limited (NamPost)

Martin Endjala The Namibia Post Limited (NamPost) last week launched a banking application (app) that will enable customers to make transactions and pay bills at their convenience. Festis Hangula, the chief executive officer of NamPost, explained that the app is designed to meet the needs of savings and transactional account holders. “For savings bank account holders, especially savings and transactional accounts, they need access to their funds to transact, pay bills and send money,” said Hangula. The postal operations have been running financial services under the savings bank for many years. He emphasised the institution's ongoing commitment to serving the…

20 Oct

Brave Warriors assemble for Chan qualifiers

Featured, Sports

The co-coaches of Namibia’s CHAN team, have announced the selection of a 36-player squad to commence preparations for the upcoming CHAN (Championship of African Nations) qualifiers against Lesotho. The squad, comprised of players from various leagues across Namibia, will convene at the NFA Technical Centre on Monday, 21 October 2024. Namibia will travel to Lesotho for the first leg of the CHAN preliminary round on 25-27 October with the return leg scheduled for 1-3 November 2024. The winner of the tie will face Angola in the second round for a place in the CHAN finals, which will be held in…

20 Oct

FC Ongos Ladies and Eeshoke Chula-Chula triumph in Hage Geingob Cup finale

Sports

FC Ongos Ladies and Eeshoke Chula-Chula won the final edition of the Hage Geingob Cup held on Saturday at the Independence Stadium. The FC Ongos Ladies defeated Julinho Sporting Football Club 3-1 on penalties after both teams struggled to convert during the 90 minutes. The Ongos Ladies walked away with N$200,000, and Julinho with N$100,000 in prize money. Eeshoke Chula-Chula defeated African Stars 2-0. The goals came from Marselinu George and Jackson Eliakim. Eeshoke Chula-Chula goalkeeper, John Muronga, was the hero of the day after saving several shots from African Stars players, including a penalty taken by Awillo Stephanus. Chula-Chula…

20 Oct

Talking sport with Dimitri Bittler

Sports

Sports Facilities Should Be a Ticking Box for Local Authorities’ Status In Namibia, the lack of adequate sports facilities across many towns and local authorities has become a growing concern. As our communities strive for better health, youth engagement, and social cohesion, the government needs to make sports infrastructure a key benchmark for local authority recognition. By doing so, we can ensure that every town, council, and municipality prioritizes community well-being through the development and maintenance of sports facilities. At present, the criteria used to recognize and assess local authorities rarely take into account the availability or quality of sports…

17 Oct

Visionary woman converts guesthouse into a school

Main

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Late President Hage Geingo once said, ‘While you wait for the government, why don’t you put one pole here, one pole there, one there, and one pole there, and put blikkies on top?". A 26-year-old Jessica Amoonga from Omindaba village in Onesi constituency took this advice and went a step further. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses and schools to shut down, Amoonga found herself in a situation that would change the course of her life. At the time she was running a guesthouse. When the guesthouse ceased its operation as a result of the pandemic,…

17 Oct

Political interests spark renewed /Khomanin communal land dispute

National News

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Special advisor to the chief of the /Khomanin Traditional Authority, Walter /Hâseb, has accused certain individuals of exploiting the ongoing /Khomanin communal land dispute for political gain. The dispute, which revolves around ancestral land rights, has resurfaced with allegations from the community that a farmer, John Cuff, is infringing upon their rights to access, use, and control the land. “These individuals are being economical with the information they are sharing. They have their own political objectives that they want to achieve through elections. They are using this land issue to rally support, but they are not telling the…

17 Oct

Northern and Southern regions paid the least tax

National News

Martin Endjala The northern, southern, northeastern, and north-central regions contributed the least to Namibia's tax revenue, collectively adding over N$387 million out of the total N$4.2 billion in regional revenue performance. The central region contributed the most, with N$1.5 billion, followed by the western region with N$487.3 million. Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) Commissioner, Sam Shivute attributed the disparity to tax evasion by individuals and businesses. He discussed this issue during NamRA's performance report for the period from April 1 to September 30. “To address these issues, NamRA implemented the Tax Amnesty Program on April 1, 2023, offering relief to taxpayers…

17 Oct

ECN disqualifies three presidential hopefuls

National NewsAlly Angula, Else Ndapandula Chen, Jeremia Kaambo

Niël Terblanché The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced the disqualification of three presidential hopefuls in the upcoming Presidential and National Assembly Elections scheduled for 27 November. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ECN said the disqualified candidates are Ally Angula, Else Ndapandula Chen, and Jeremia Kaambo. The Commission cited non-compliance with the nomination requirements outlined in the Electoral Act (Act 5 of 2014), particularly regarding the collection of registered voters’ signatures. In accordance with section 75(3)(b) of the Electoral Act, the public nomination process, which commenced at 09h00 on the 17th of October, officially closed at 11h00. “After…

17 Oct

NIPDB boss explains controversial rehiring of Balloti

National News

Ester Mbathera During a recent staff meeting at the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), the chairperson and chief director, Nangula Uaandja, informed employees that Dino Balloti would be rejoining the organisation on a fixed-term basis. This is to give him time until he goes to parliament in March 2025. Ballotti is on the Swapo list of National Assembly candidates. “We asked Exco and everybody was unanimous and said, yes, we can have Dino join us for a few reasons. Number one, we still do not have an executive director. We are looking for that executive director with time…

17 Oct

‘Namibia has low levels of corruption’ – Prime Minister

National NewsNational Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan

Martin Endjala Namibia has relatively low levels of corruption, according to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila. She made the remarks on Wednesday during the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan (NACSAP) 2021-2025 Steering Committee meeting in Windhoek. “Since independence, the Namibian government has made significant strides in strengthening measures to combat corruption and promote effective governance. The government has achieved this progress by improving processes, systems, and institutions, she said. The country performed similarly in the 2022 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, ranking 8th out of 54 African nations. In the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Namibia ranked 59th…