Blog – Page 91 – Windhoek Observer

02 Oct

Land bill returns to parliament for debate

National News

Justicia Shipena The land bill was reintroduced in the National Assembly on Tuesday by minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Management Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi. She said the legislation aims to create a coherent legal framework to drive equitable land reform in Namibia. Zaamwani-Kamwi told lawmakers that the land question remains one of the most complex and emotive issues in the country’s history. “The land reform process does not view access to land merely as a commodity. It is a foundation of dignity, identity, and economic freedom,” she said. The bill was first tabled in March 2025 by former minister Calle…

02 Oct

Brake failure causes Windhoek truck accident

National News

Renthia Kaimbi A truck that was not permitted to use the Sam Nujoma Drive intersection disobeyed restrictions and triggered a chain of collisions in Windhoek yesterday. The police confirmed the truck exceeded the gross vehicle mass allowed at the junction. The incident began around 12h20 when the westbound truck lost its brakes at the junction of Sam Nujoma Drive and Robert Mugabe Avenue. Windhoek City police spokesperson superintendent Marcelline Murapo said the accident highlights the risks of ignoring restriction signs. “This applies to trucks exceeding the permitted gross vehicle mass, as was the case with the truck involved in this…

02 Oct

UNFPA sounds alarm on climate and GBV crisis in South Sudan

National News

Moses Magadza A senior United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) official has presented findings from a recent vulnerability assessment showing that climate change is magnifying existing humanitarian, health and gender challenges in South Sudan. Hussein Hassan, the emergency coordinator and head of the UNFPA Humanitarian Response Unit in South Sudan, presented the assessment at a high-level workshop convened by the SADC Parliamentary Forum and UNFPA for researchers and senior parliamentary staff in Johannesburg on Monday. Speaking via Zoom, Hassan outlined the scale of South Sudan’s climate crisis. He said rising temperatures, which are projected to increase by up to 2.5°C by…

02 Oct

OBSERVER COASTAL | Novanam, Lalandii agree to three year pay rise

National News

Renthia Kaimbi A new agreement in Lüderitz will see temporary workers gain permanent employment under a new three-year wage agreement. Eighty-five land-based employees and 31 seagoing staff will be converted from temporary to permanent status each year until 2027. The agreement was signed between Novanam (Pty) Ltd, Lalandii (Pty) Ltd and the Namibian Seamen and Allied Workers Union after nearly 11 months of negotiations. The minister of Justice and Labour Relations, Fillemon Wise Immanuel, chaired the talks and confirmed the deal. It covers land-based employees in Lüderitz and seagoing staff on the wet fish and Walvis Bay-based freezer fleets. The…

02 Oct

OBSERVER COASTAL | Chief Seibeb threatens to bulldoze Ultimate Safaris from conservancy

National News

Renthia Kaimbi The chief of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority, Zacharias Seibeb, has threatened to evict tourism operator Ultimate Safaris and remove endangered black rhinos from communal land if the company continues opposing mining in the Kunene Region. In a letter dated 30 September, Seibeb expressed firm support for miners Timoteus Mashuna and Ottilie Ndimulunde. "Tourism and mining should coexist to benefit my community and the Namibian nation at large," he said. He cited high youth unemployment and described it as “unacceptable for me as a leader to oppose projects that will bring gainful employment for my people.” Seibeb said…

02 Oct

Namibia’s debt burden will still rise after eurobond repayment

Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira Namibia’s total debt stock is expected to dip in October when a US$750 million eurobond is repaid but rise again to reach N$172.4 billion by the end of the 2025/26 financial year, equal to 62% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to the Bank of Namibia’s September quarterly bulletin, central government loan guarantees as a share of GDP declined by one percentage point to 3% at the end of June. The debt stock stood at 61.7% of GDP at the end of June 2025, compared to 62.7% recorded during the same period in 2024. In nominal terms, government…

02 Oct

OBSERVER DAILY | Resettlement farms: From land reform to national embarrassment

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

There are few topics in Namibia as emotionally charged and politically potent as land reform. Rightly so. Land is not only an economic asset but also a deeply symbolic issue rooted in the country’s colonial and apartheid past. The generations of black Namibians were robbed of land, denied ownership, and consigned to the margins of society. When independence came, the cry was loud and clear: “The fight was about the land.” And now, over three decades later, we must ask—what have we done with the land we fought for? The painful truth is this: Namibia’s resettlement programme has failed. Catastrophically.…

02 Oct

Foreign reserves dip 1.9% to N$57 billion

Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) stock of international reserves fell by 1.9% in August to N$57 billion. The central bank attributed the decline to increased government foreign payments and withdrawals of customer foreign currency by commercial banks. “This level of international reserves translates into 3.7 months of import cover, whereas the import cover excluding oil exploration and appraisal activities stood at 4.2 months,” BoN said. Broad money supply (M2) growth slowed to 10.2% in August from 10.4% the previous month. “The slight decrease in M2 growth was underpinned by the slowdown in the growth rate of domestic claims…

02 Oct

Doctors, pharmacists claimed N$3.6 billion from medical aids

Observer Money

Chamwe Kaira Hospitals, pharmacies, medical specialists, and general practitioners received the largest share of healthcare spending in 2024, accounting for 70.9% or N$3.6 billion of total benefits paid by medical aid funds. Hospital claims were the highest at N$1.8 billion, followed by pharmacy claims for medicines dispensed at N$802 million. Claims by specialists amounted to N$563.2 million, while general practitioners received N$473.1 million. The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) reported that the country’s medical aid funds industry remained unchanged in 2024, with seven active funds in the market. Of these, five were open funds, representing about 71% of the…

02 Oct

Rhino Resources and partners make third oil discovery in orange basin

Observer Money

Staff Writer Rhino Resources, together with its joint venture partners Azule Energy, the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) and Korres Investments, has announced a gas discovery at the Volans-1X exploration well on Block 2914A, Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 85, offshore Orange Basin. PEL 85 is operated by Rhino Resources with a 42.5% working interest. Azule Energy also holds 42.5%, while Namcor has 10% and Korres Investments 5%. The Volans-1X well was spudded on 31 July 2025 using the Northern ocean semi-submersible deepsea mira and reached a total depth of 4,497.5 metres TVDSS on 30 August 2025. The well successfully…