Observer

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Women, Youth and SMEs favored in new procurement code

Women, Youth and SMEs favored in new procurement code

Tujoromajo Kasuto The Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprise today launched the Code of Good Practice on Preferences, referred to in Sections 71 and 72 of the Public Procurement Act, with the goal of facilitating easier market access for youth, women, small and medium enterprises , and manufacturers, as well as granting national preference to Namibian suppliers. The Code of Good Practice, according to Minister of Finance and Public Enterprise Ipumbu Shiimi, aims to achieve granting exclusive preferences to local suppliers as defined in the recently amended Public Procurement Act through the reservation of certain procurement of goods, works, and…
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Traffic warrants amnesty period extended

Traffic warrants amnesty period extended

Martin Endjala The judiciary today said it is extending the amnesty that was granted to all members of the public with pending traffic warrants of arrest to pay admission of guilt fines for a further two months. Persons in this category now have until 31 March 2023 to pay their warrants without any repercussions, this is after the amnesty granted as from 1 November 2022 to 31 January 2023 lapsed. During the period of amnesty, an accused with a pending warrant of arrest must appear in Court. Accused persons who intent to pay admission of guilt fine, are allowed to…
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Weak, uncertain global outlook a risk to economy

Weak, uncertain global outlook a risk to economy

Staff Writer The global economy will contend with slower economic growth in 2023 according to the Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) Africa Year-ahead Outlook. A recessionary environment is expected and both the IMF and World Bank have slashed their growth forecasts materially owing to elevated interest rates, deteriorating financial conditions and a slowdown in growth-enhancing investments. Similarly, the Russia-Ukraine war remains the key geopolitical risk, the effects of which are costly to the global economy. “The weak global outlook presents a key risk to external demand for mining commodities and tourist services. We therefore expect GDP growth to moderate from 4.1%…
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Agriculture ministry vows to make water accessible

Staff Writer The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform says it is focused on various interventions such as upgrading existing water infrastructure, construction of new water supply infrastructure, improvement of the management of existing water sources and enhancement of transboundary water cooperation to facilitate easy water access nationwide. Minister Of Agriculture, Water And Land Reform, Carl Schlettwein at an annual staff and stakeholder address on Monday said that no development could occur without water, hence the priority that is accorded to the security of water supply in NDP5 and HPPII. He said that the high priority for the security…
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NAMPOA elects new leadership

NAMPOA elects new leadership

The Namibia Petroleum Operators Association (NAMPOA) has elected a new leadership, of which General Manager for the Norwegian oil company BW Kudu, Klaus Endresen, was re-elected as the chairperson of the association. “With the encouraging exploration results announced in 2022, Namibia has now become an international hot spot for the global oil and gas industry. The interest for exploration opportunities in Namibia is significant. The leadership capacity of NAMPOA has been expanded to enable the handling of the increasing workload for our association,” Endresen said. NAMCOR’s upstream exploration Asset Manager, Martin Negonga, is the newly elected vice chairperson, taking over…
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Katutura Hospital kiddies ward out<br>of beds, babies sleeping on mattresses

Katutura Hospital kiddies ward out
of beds, babies sleeping on mattresses

The Katutura Hospital pediatric Ward 8A and 8B which has the capacity to admit 84 pediatric patients is currently making use of mattresses for mothers and their admitted babies due to the lack of physical space availability. Ministry of Health and Social Services Executive director Ben Nangombe said that 85 percent of the population depends on the public health sector. “The people of Namibia are increasingly adopting health seeking behaviour. Whenever they or their family members are unwell, they visit health facilities for treatment or admission. The majority are treated and admitted at public health facilities. This reflects the confidence…
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CPBN acting chairperson<br>labelled as a defender of corruption

CPBN acting chairperson
labelled as a defender of corruption

Martin Endjala The Central Procurement Board of Namibia acting chairperson Amon Ngavetene has been labelled as a defender of corruption by the Landless People’s Movement party following his said defensive response to the N$650 million medical tender. LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi took a swipe to the CPBN chairperson calling him a defender of corruption, a alleging that he is shadowing those committing corruption and continue to do so as long as he continues to be arrogant and ignoring public concerns. The leader said this during their first press briefing last week, stressing that it is wrong for a public entity…
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Amushelelo granted bail

Amushelelo granted bail

Martin Endjala The Namibia Economic Freedom Fighter member and activist Michael Amushelelo was today released on N$3000 bail in the Walvis Bay magistrate court following his arrest last week Friday during a protest. This was confirmed today by his lawyer Kadhila Amoomo who also informed this publication that the matter was postponed to 13 March 2023 for further investigations. Amoomo added that his clients bail conditions stipulate that he is not to participate in any unlawful protests and he is not to go anywhere near the complex where shoprite is. The NEEF activist was arrested while supporting shoprite workers protesting…
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LPM says youth is closed off from opportunities

LPM says youth is closed off from opportunities

Martin Endjala Opportunities in the country are by-passing the youth of Namibia as tenders being awarded, are often won by those who are already well off or beyond the youth age. This is according to the Landless People’s Movement youth command element leader Duminga Ndala, who said this last week Friday at a press briefing. She dismayed that despite calls by the SADC Youth Protocol to empower the youth, the Namibian government continues to claim that they involve participation of young people in business Ndala questioned this arguing that which young people are they talking about if the SADC Youth…
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Namibian film-makers to<br>attend Joburg film festival

Namibian film-makers to
attend Joburg film festival

Martin Endjala Two Namibian female filmmakers, Ndakalako Shilongo and Tutu Mungoba have been given a chance to explore the film industry in order to acquire skills in the industry, after having been chosen to attend the Joburg Film Festival. This is after MultiChoice Namibia partnered with the Namibia Film Commission to sponsor the two Namibian female filmmakers, who will establish Sisters Working in Film and Television (SWIFT) chapter in Namibia. “MultiChoice Namibia’s contribution to the formation of the Namibian SWIFT chapter ties into our hyperlocal strategy of taking Namibia to the world,” said MultiChoice Namibia’s Managing Director, Roger Gertze. Gerzte…
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