info_e12wt4cs – Page 942

15 Jan

COVID-19 vaccines are arriving soon; are we ready?

info_e12wt4csNational NewsCOVAX, Covid-19, Namibia

The rich countries of the world are already receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. Many have inoculated millions of their citizens so far. That won’t happen here; we can’t afford it, and we are not producing the vaccine locally. The ministry of health's announcement indicated that vaccine doses for 20 percent of the population (or about 508,000 people) could start in February. Namibia must handle the entire process with effectiveness, fastidiousness, trained workers, and discipline. We cannot afford to mess this up. We assume that our health officials are conquering the logistics of maintaining the extreme cold required for the doses' storage.…

15 Jan

Weed Control an Integral Aspect of Crop Production

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedCrop Production, Northern and North-Eastern Namibia

Hanks Saisai Crop production is a form of primary agriculture that provides many Namibian households with staple food (grains, fruits and vegetables). In most rural areas of Northern and NorthEastern Namibia, staple grains such as Maize, Pearl Millet (commonly known as Mahangu) and Sorghum are milled into a powder that is used as a staple porridge in many homes. Gratefully, Namibia continues to receive adequate rainfall in most parts of the country ensuring that soil moisture is readily available to support plant growth. When growing crops, it is of great importance to note that as soil moisture is maintained there…

15 Jan

Hardap prisoners, officers in jailhouse battle

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCommissioner General Raphael Tuhafeni Hamunyela, Covid-19, Namibian Correctional Services (NCS), Namibian Police Force

Details have emerged how the Namibian Police Force on Tuesday had to be called in to assist the Namibian Correctional Services (NCS) quell a prison fight that had broken out between inmates and prison officials at the Hardap correctional facility. According to insiders, it took more than six hours for the police and correctional officers to bring back order to the prison facility that houses over 250 inmates. The commotion is alleged to have been caused by demands by the correctional officers to carry out a routine search while prisoners were in the yard, where they converge when released from…

15 Jan

PM roped into Shoprite saga

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCheckers, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma, Minister of Labour, Nafau, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa, Shoprite, USave

Andrew Kathindi The Prime Minister, Saara Kuugongelwa has been dragged into the on-going Shoprite saga after Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU) leadership has been in consultation with the Prime Minister over the matter, Windhoek Observer can reveal According to sources close to the matter, the NAFAU leadership have been in meetings over the last two days with the Prime Minister along with the Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation Utoni Nujoma, to try and resolve the matter. The development forced the Shoprite representative and NAFAU to meet on Thursday 14 January at the office of the…

14 Jan

Smile! You may be on a viral video

info_e12wt4csNational NewsNamibia, video

In the new normal, video clips of anything and everything can go viral. Some of this footage is heartwarming or harmlessly hilarious. At other times, what is captured on camera is disturbing, frightening and whips up anger. But, those of us watching and forwarding such video clips or so-called ‘reports’ must be more responsible. The public must STOP believing everything they read and see automatically. People must check the source, corroborate, verify and question everything they read, hear or see online. If the public does not do this, access to the internet will be lost. Those in power will eventually…

14 Jan

Education versus Development in Namibia

info_e12wt4csUncategorisedCovid-19

Fritz H Dausab “Education is both a tool of social justice as well as a fundamental driver of economic development.” - Kevin Rudd Let’s face it Namibians…COVID-19 just condemned our prospects of economic development to the gutters of soon to be Zimbabwean dictatorship chronicles. In national budgets for the past 30 years, Namibia has given billions upon billions of Namibian Dollars to the education sector. Nothing bad about it…if we believe that those billions is an investment into our human capital, I guess. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding! Which means that for the past thirty…

14 Jan

COVID regulations extended . . .as virus variant suspicions surge

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCovid-19, Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula

Andrew Kathindi The government has extended the date for enactment of measures currently in place to control the spread of COVID-19 to 3 February. Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula admitted that the situation has worsened since his last address to the nation on 23 December 2020. In the Tuesday address, restrictions such as the daily curfew from 9pm to 4am, public gatherings being limited to a maximum of 50 were retained. Public gatherings are now, however, are not allowed to go beyond two hours and shall not continue beyond 8pm. The minister also revealed that there is…

14 Jan

Thousands of learners become pregnant during lockdown

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCovid-19, Education Minister Anna Nghipondoka, Ministry of Education

Andrew Kathindi The Ministry of Education has revealed that 3,629 school learners became pregnant since March last year when schools were forced to close due to COVID-19 lockdown regulations. Education Minister Anna Nghipondoka argued that this reality was partly the cause for the Ministry’s stance on the re-opening of schools. The figure is over two thousand more school learners than the entire 2019, which recorded 1,542 pregnancies of school going girls. “The number of learners who get pregnant within the time frame of closure and re-opening doubled the normal numbers. I'm just trying to re-emphaize the importance of reopening schools.…

13 Jan

Shoprite vs workers – a mixed bag of concerns

info_e12wt4csNational NewsCovid-19, Nafau, Namibia, Shoprite

There are arguments on all sides of the gap in the labour conflict at Shoprite. The solution will not be easy, and each side will end up feeling aggrieved. But, a resolution must be found. There is a need for clarification of ‘temporary’ worker. A part of the list of complaints by Nafau is that ‘temporary’ workers stay on staff for years as if they are permanent. They do the same jobs as ‘permanent’ employees. And yet, they have no benefits and no job security. There is a loophole being exploited. The call for a boycott and demonstrations should yield…

13 Jan

Shangula to address spike in COVID-19 cases

info_e12wt4csObserver MoneyCovid-19, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, Health Minister, president Hage Geingob

Staff Writer On Wednesday 13 January Health Minister, Dr Kalumbi Shangula will provide a COVID-19 public briefing on new or extended measures to contain the virus. The briefing comes as the country continues to record rising rates of infection, with 573 new cases recorded on Tuesday, bringing the country cumulative total to 27,255. President Hage Geingob has previously warned that he could reinstitute another State of Emergence if the current measures are not followed and COVID-19 cases continue to rise. According to the Ministry of Health figures, Windhoek (Khomas region) remains the epicentre of the second wave of the pandemic…