Editorial – Page 15 – Windhoek Observer

02 Feb

Streamlining of policies is essential to ease doing business in Namibia

EditorialStreamlining of policies is essential to ease doing business in Namibia

With Namibia facing significant challenges but also possessing the potential for substantial economic growth and development, the country finds itself at a crossroads. Government initiatives to improve the business environment and legislative reforms aimed at easing the process of doing business indicate a commitment to fostering a more conducive climate for investment. However, addressing structural issues such as unemployment, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and economic inequality remains critical to unlocking the full potential of Namibia’s economy. Doing business in Namibia presents both challenges and opportunities, reflecting the nation’s commitment to improving its business environment while grappling with structural issues. Investors and businesses…

27 Jan

Is a fist full of dollars, worth it over the long run?

EditorialIs a fist full of dollars

Legislation and the direction of sound policies will play a crucial role in the expected transformation of the revolutionary transformation of the Namibian Economy. In anticipation of gains from green hydrogen projects and newly discovered oil off the coast, the Namibian Government must create effective policies and laws that will direct new industrial development in such a way as to secure the economic future. It was recently reported that China’s trade with Namibia amounted to N$18 billion over the past year and that it will increase. Multinational oil giants have been boasting about new and promising oil discoveries in the…

19 Jan

The year of expectation should be a year of new beginnings

EditorialThe year of expectation should be a year of new beginnings, year 2024 hopes

As dawn broke on the year 2024 hopes for a new beginning for the Namibian House in the year of expectations grew exponentially because it is also the year of elections. The imagery of dawn breaking signifies the end of darkness and the arrival of light, which is commonly associated with new beginnings and opportunities. At the break of dawn on Monday, roughly 150,000 members of the second generation of so-called ‘bornfrees’, while holding the hands of the hopeful parents, arrived at schools across Namibia with bright and wide eyes. Every parent who spent hours in the sun waiting in…

05 May

International Workers’ Day is a cliché

EditorialInternational Workers' Day, International Workers' Day is a cliché

May 1st is a holiday on automatic. With the theme of: 'Workers United in Ensuring Productivity for National Economic Growth and Guarding Against Unfair Labour Practices in the World of Work,' it is no wonder that International Workers' Day is not taken seriously. Whoever heard of a 19-word title that is so convoluted and cobbled together that it is meaningless? The holiday for workers is no longer an empowering call to arms for workers to unite around co-ownership of the means of production, profit sharing, better and safer working conditions, and labour union representation in all workshops and factories. Instead,…

14 Apr

Her Ladyship for a change

Editorial

Opposition leaders desperately in search of an issue are making noise about the recent appointment of Zimbabwean Justice Rita Makarau as Acting Judge of the Supreme Court in Namibia. We take issue with those unjustified rumblings. Ostensibly, statements about The Honourable Justice Makarau’s past connections to late President Robert Mugabe seem to headline opposition blustering both here and in Zimbabwe’s newspapers. Namibian opposition parties add whipped cream and a cherry on top of their hollow arguments against Makarau by appealing to xenophobia to whip up the usual uninformed nationalistic prejudices against any foreigner earning money in Namibia. Let us drop…

31 Mar

Weaponizing the police to silence Comalie

Editorial

The suggestion that the police were weaponized to scare or distract National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (NAMCOR) board Chairperson Jennifer Comalie away from taking action to address a disputed N$100 million payment to Sonangol, the Angolan national oil company, forces all of us to sit up and take notice. If N$57,000 in illegal narcotics were planted in Chairperson Comalie’s car and the police were anonymously tipped off as a part of a frame game, Namibian infighting and backstabbing in the halls of power have reached a new low.This entire saga is unfolding in the news daily, and background information fueling…

24 Mar

There is no miracle of loaves and fishes at events

EditorialThere is no miracle of loaves and fishes at events

This year’s embarrassment of an insufficient Independence Day budget was evident when the annual post-speech and program food handouts went sideways in Outapi. Who wouldn’t want something like a biblical miracle to provide more loaves and fish for the masses to eat at such a festive event? Reality check: in our secular world, there is no such thing as a free lunch. The loaves and fish—or brötchen and boerewors—for the masses have a price tag that the government can no longer afford. What happened with food chaos at underfunded Independence Day celebrations must serve as a wake-up call. Please note…

17 Mar

At 33, it is time to grow up

EditorialAt 33, it is time to grow up

Consider this situation: your 33-year-old underperforming offspring is sleeping each night on your sofa, usurping the remote control, not delivering on promises and obligations, demanding that you feed and clothe him, borrowing money from everyone, occasionally doing good things while having braai and beer parties with his circle of friends at your expense; it’s time for tough love.Your man-child needs to grow up and deliver on his promises. It’s time to put his bags in the street, block his calls, end the free meals, stop making excuses for him, give him a final loving hug, and change the locks on…

10 Mar

All that Glitters Is Not Gold

EditorialAll that Glitters Is Not Gold, Jonker-1X, president Hage Geingob

Oil is black gold, and its recent discovery in potentially commercial quantities in Namibia is a mixed blessing. QatarEnergy discovered light oil in their Jonker-1X deepwater well located 270 km off Namibia’s shores. We write this editorial knowing that years will pass before champagne corks are popped, and Namibia begins to rival the barrels of daily crude oil production of Nigeria, Angola, or Gabon. Nevertheless, the discussion about Namibia as an oil producer must start in earnest. Understandably, there must be a joyous gleam in the eye of those struggling to manage the debt-laden national budget while waiting for more…

04 Mar

FISHROT: Justice delayed is Justice Denied

EditorialFISHROT: Justice delayed is Justice Denied

We embrace the timeless words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who quoted a 19th-century British Prime Minister, “…justice too long delayed is justice denied.” Currently, the Namibian judiciary has a limitless time clock that denies justice. The amount of time between arrest and trial and judgment is appalling. Is the Namibian judiciary held back by insufficient investigatory skills such that it takes years to collect credible, usable evidence? Is there such an overload on the court dockets and too few trained staff that being arrested in Namibia is tantamount to an extra-judicial prison sentence? Has the judiciary process…