Blog – Page 624 – Windhoek Observer

12 May

BoN investigating WhatsApp Stokvel

ObserverObserver MoneyBank of Namibia (BoN), WhatsApp Stokvel

Staff Writer The Bank of Namibia (BoN) says it is still investigating whether the trending WhatsApp Stokvel are legal under the existing country’s banking laws. This comes as Namibians have been joining the stokvels as a means of making additional income under the harsh economic conditions persisting in the country. “Recently, the Bank has picked up a trending WhatsApp Stokvel, which it is assessing to determine whether it is permissible under the relevant provisions of the Banking Institutions Act of 1998, as amended,” BoN’s Deputy Director: Corporate Communications, Kazembire Zemburuka told the Windhoek Observer. He said the current laws does…

12 May

New appointments at CPBM

ObserverObserver MoneyCentral Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN)

Staff Writer The Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) on Monday announced the appointment of 14 new staff members to fill vacant positions at the body tasked with leading the procurement process on behalf of government. Among those appointed are Saara Shapua who is now the CPBN’s Manager of Internal Procurement and Aune Ndeutepo who was appointed Manager of Finance and Administration. This comes after the organization was engulfed in a tribalism storm last year after it was reported that allegedly non-Oshiwambo-speaking employees at the CPBN were being removed by a group within the organization for supposedly being “unamenable to…

12 May

Momma Oteya has a baby girl

ObserverUncategorisedMother’s Day, Oteya

Staff writer Mother’s Day this year was a perfect celebration for popular Afro pop artist Oteya who was blessed with a bouncing baby girl a month before the popular day. The veteran songstress gave birth on the 1st of April 2020. Even more interesting, Oteya managed to have a baby on her own birthday! The former Gal Level queen confirmed the news on her social media posts. We had wondered what Oteya was up to these days. Lockdown is tough, but bonding with a new baby during these times is a blessing. We wish her a Happy Mother’s Day! Her…

12 May

Lioness finds closure with new song

ObserverUncategorisedLioness

Here to work through some recent heartache, Namibian rapper and singer Lioness has dropped a new album this week. She is switching things up from her usual rap-focused sound with something a little more melodic on Wish You Were Here from the album of the same name. As the track unfolds, on her smash hit video filmed in Cape Town, it becomes clear this is about more than the beautiful South African setting. “I wrote Wish You Were Here when I was infatuated with my ex-partner," Lioness told Complex via email. "It was a long-distance relationship where I felt very…

12 May

The price of not knowing why

ObserverNational NewsCovid-19, Government, schools

Our educational system teaches students to ‘do’ but not to think. Beneficiaries of apartheid and colonialism loved this. Thinking people will quickly and easily perceive weaknesses and attack strategically. After independence, in most public schools, that same back-handed educational trend continued. The reason changed. The priority was increasing higher literacy statistics and ‘grades.' The government did not want to slog up the hard road of educating teachers and teaching students critical thinking. In this pandemic, we now pay the price for this. We ask people to wear masks, but do not help them to understand why. That is the reason…

09 May

Couch Cat: Mask etiquette rules

ObserverUncategorisedCouch Cat, Masks

Jackie Wilson Asheeke For now, we all have to wear masks on our faces. So, let’s make the best of a weird situation. It cannot be all doom and gloom. Let’s look at this whole thing with a different eye; shall we? I put on my mask for the first time to go to work on the first day after the lockdown ended. My rude awakening is that I dirtied the inside of the thing immediately with my face make-up and lipstick. Duh-uh. I must be some smart person to not have thought about that one. Rule #1 – no…

09 May

N$500m required for e-learning

ObserverObserver MoneyArts and Culture, Covid-19, Ministry of Education

Andrew Kathindi The Ministry of Education needs N$500 million to fully implement its e-learning needs to cater for learners whose normal learning schedule has been disrupted by COVID-19. Deputy Director of Information Technology in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Johan van Wyk, told Windhoek Observer that the ministry has submitted a request to government for a COVID-19 stimulus package and has also submitted a request within its normal ministry budget process. “For an end-to-end package and what we would need for all solutions, not just data, although internet will be the most important part, we are looking at…

09 May

Govt weighs MTC listing plans

ObserverObserver MoneyCovid-19, Government, Mobile Telecommunications Limited, MTC, Namibian Stock Exchange, NSX

Staff Writer Government could be forced to review the set timelines and defer the listing of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) due to COVID-19 outbreak, for what was to be the country’s biggest listing of a Namibian company on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). According to the initially announced timelines, MTC was expected to be listed on the bourse by July 2020, after having submitted its listing application to the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) by February 2020, with the opening date for its public offer having been set for March 2020 and closing in June 2020. “We are discussing the matter…

09 May

Time to analyse issues ideologically, give them an ideological perspective

ObserverUncategorisedlockdown

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Certainly the emergency and lockdown could not but compel all of us to shift gears in one way or another given the time of reflection it may have afforded us. If only if to maintain some sanity from the solitary confinement, for some, and from depression visited by confinement with those some may all the time been trying avoid. For me criticisms which have been floated as analyses in our media, against the administration of Dr Hage Geingob, since the advent of his first term in 2015, compelled me to shift in an ideological gear. A gear that…

09 May

Observatory: Lives are worth more than the economy

ObserverUncategorisedCovid-19, World Health Organisation (WHO)

Clementine Tjameya Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa has listed Namibia as having reported zero cases of COVID-19 over a couple of weeks. I humbly question this conclusion. I am not a doctor, nor do I have any health care training. Admittedly, I can make my choices about what to believe regarding COVID-19 in Namibia, based only on what I read. With the low level of testing in Namibia (maybe only 1000 tests done for 2.5 million people), I am not certain the number of 16 cases can be accurate. Countries with reportedly high infection rate…