info_e12wt4cs – Page 652

19 Jun

Pocurement laws delaying delivery of affordable housing

info_e12wt4csNational NewsPocurement laws delaying delivery of affordable housing

Niël Terblanché Dina Namubes, the Mayor of Swakopmund has indicated that the cumbersome nature of Namibia’s Procurement Act has delayed the delivery of affordable housing to residents of the coastal town. Almost two years after the last of the first two phases of the Build Together Group Project was completed, the third Phase of the Build Together Group Project was launched by Namubes during a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday. During the ceremony, the Swakompund Municipality handed over 80 erven to beneficiaries to start the construction of their own homes. Phase 1, which consisted of 30 houses, commenced in May 2020…

19 Jun

Engineers feeling left out in decision-making

info_e12wt4csNational NewsEngineers feeling left out in decision-making

Martin Endjala The Engineering Professionals Association of Namibia (EPA) demands its presence at decision-making tables in order to better contribute to society with a strong voice. The EPA launched its five-year Strategic Plan which will serve as a roadmap for the next three years and the EPA Secretariat and Council is being urged to give full effect to the Strategic Plan. “The Engineering Fraternity needs to be heightened in Africa, particularly in Namibia. Engineers need to be recognized and involved in the decision-making role in society and not just be implementors of projects. This is something that the Engineering Fraternity…

19 Jun

Khomas Regional Council Budgets N$1,6 million for pit latrines

info_e12wt4csNational News6 million for pit latrines, Khomas Regional Council Budgets N$1

Stefanus Nashama The Khomas Regional Governor, Laura Mcleod-Katjirua, said the Khomas Regional Council has set aside N$ 1.6 million for pit latrines, for distribution to rural communities which are not near running water. In her State of Region address last week, Mcleod-Katjirua said that for the 2023/24 financial year, the regional council will implement a hybrid model of environmentally friendly dry pit latrines for those not close to water and flushing toilets for the communities close to water. Although the Governor did not specify the number of pit latrines and flushing toilets to be constructed in the rural communities, she…

19 Jun

Diplomatic passports for spouses questioned…MPs feeling left out

info_e12wt4csNational News

Martin Endjala The new implementation of diplomatic passports for Police Generals and Correctional Services Commissioners including all security clusters and Standing Committee Chairpersons as well as their spouses does not sit well with Popular Democratic Movement parliamentarian Elma Dienda, who says it is unacceptable as it leaves out crucial members of Parliament such as the Deputy Speaker. The implementation was I nitiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration Safety and Security and furthermore accords diplomatic passports to the President and the First Lady, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and spouses. Dienda said National Assembly and National Council officials…

19 Jun

Skeletal remains found at Okakarara

info_e12wt4csNational News

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Parts of a human skeleton along with some clothing items were found at Oukuvas Village in Okakarara constituency on Friday morning. According to the Namibian Police Spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, the unidentified human remains consist of a skull with teeth, a jaw bone, ribs, a spine, arm and finger bones. She said people also found a brown jersey and a grey balaclava at the scene. On the same day at Ohadiwa Village, Endola the lifeless body of a female Angolan national, Judith Paula Ngongololo, was discovered in her bedroom. She was allegedly employed as a domestic worker…

19 Jun

Swapo commands legislature to amend definition of “spouse”

info_e12wt4csMainSwapo commands legislature to amend definition of “spouse”

Stefanus Nashama The Swapo Party Central Committee has commanded the government to immediately take executive and legislature steps aimed at introducing a Namibian law defining the word ‘spouse’ in the Immoral Control Act, which definition will inevitably modify the common law principle applied by the Supreme Court. This follows a recent Supreme Court judgment recognizing same-sex marriages certified outside the country for purposes of Section 2(1)(c) of the Immoral Control Act, which was delivered on 16 May 2023. The Swapo Party on Saturday held a Central Committee meeting to address the matter of the Supreme Court judgment. According to the…

16 Jun

Peugeot Opel must scale up production

info_e12wt4csObserver Money

Chamwe Kaira Stakeholders in the Peugeot Opel Assembly Namibia at Walvis Bay hope that the government and French company, PSA Automobiles reach a mutual consensus and iron out their differences by ensuring a viable outcome to ensure the continuation of the operations at the plant. This follows a High Court ruling that the matter be removed from the roll because the joint venture agreement concluded between the parties in clause 20 of the agreement makes provision for the parties to amicably resolve their disputes and if they fail to so resolve their dispute, refer the matter to arbitration. “The parties…

16 Jun

Financing can boost low-income Countries’ resilience

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyFinancing can boost low-income Countries’ resilience

Low-income countries face multiple economic challenges, including rapid inflation, food insecurity, costly borrowing, and mounting debt, heightened by shocks from the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. As a result, the IMF has revised down its growth projections for low-income countries, where per capita income growth is falling further behind the rates needed to catch up with advanced economies. This threatens to reverse a decades-long trend of steadily converging living standards. To boost economic growth and put them back on a path to income convergence with advanced economies, we estimate that low-income countries need an additional US$440 billion of financing…

16 Jun

International investors to list in Namibian securities

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyInternational investors to list in Namibian securities

Chamwe Kaira More international institutional investors are expected to invest in Namibian listed securities without the typical due diligence required on the market, which has historically been a prerequisite to investing in Namibia, the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) said this week after it was admitted as a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) after being an affiliate member for over a decade. The NSX announced that the WFE Board of Directors, at their meeting on 24 May 2023 in Tokyo, approved the Namibian Stock Exchange’s full membership application. The full membership application process included a series of…

16 Jun

Local contactors awarded 15 road projects

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyLocal contactors awarded 15 road projects

Chief Executive Officer of the Roads Authority, Conrad Lutombi talks about the current road projects in the country and the involvement of local contractors. Observer Money (OM): Lately there were concerns about the lack of local involvement in road construction projects that are awarded to foreign companies. May you clarify, how involved are local companies in road projects carried out by the Roads Authority? Conrad Lutombi (CL): The concerns about the lack of local involvement in road construction projects are unfounded and not factual. To illustrate, the Roads Authority has embarked on 22 road construction projects in the five years…