Featured – Windhoek Observer

18 Dec

Transparency is the best medicine

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The Ministry of Health and Social Services deserves recognition for the urgency and coordination it has shown in responding to the threat of poliovirus in the Kavango East and Kavango West regions. The rapid rollout of a preventative vaccination campaign targeting children under the age of 10, the mobilisation of international partners, and the strengthening of surveillance systems all reflect a ministry that understands the gravity of polio and the catastrophic consequences of complacency. The detection of poliovirus type 2 through environmental surveillance at Ndama sewage could easily have been dismissed or delayed. Instead, it triggered action. The involvement of…

17 Dec

When classrooms become crime scenes, policy silence is complicity

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The resignation of a teacher from Wilhelm Nortier Primary School while in police custody is not just another tragic headline. It is an indictment of a system that continues to react to sexual abuse in schools rather than prevent it. Once again, Namibia is forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: our children are not as safe in our learning institutions as we claim they are. The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture has condemned the alleged sexual assault and promised cooperation with law enforcement. These statements, while necessary, are painfully familiar. We have heard them before, after…

17 Dec

WHEN INEFFICIENCY BECOMES A CULTURE: NAMIBIA’S PUBLIC SECTOR

Featured, Opinions

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara) Weak accountability in Govt derails development Former finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi said accountability must be elevated to the highest level if the country is to meet its national goals. He added that weak coordination among government institutions has hampered the country's progress in several development areas. Speaking on his tenure as finance minister, as it was reported in one of the daily newspapers, Shiimi admitted that while Namibia has no shortage of well-crafted plans and strategies, implementation continues to fall short due to fragmented coordination. Reflecting on his experience, Shiimi argued…

16 Dec

Zambezi warning bells ring again: Act now or risk repeating a national tragedy

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Namibia is once again standing at a familiar and deeply uncomfortable crossroads. The renewed calls for Zambezi secession, now resurfacing in Katima Mulilo, should chill every Namibian who remembers the painful lessons of our past. We have been here before. We ignored the warning signs then, dismissed legitimate grievances as fringe agitation, and laughed off the danger until it erupted into a national crisis. To do so again would be reckless in the extreme. Let us be clear from the outset: there is no credible evidence that the majority of Zambezi residents support secession. Analysts are correct in pointing out…

15 Dec

The village has died. Long live the village

Featured, Opinions

Not long ago, a friend and I found ourselves locked in a heated debate about our traditional villages, what many of us still affectionately call “back home". What began as a casual conversation quickly turned into a fundamental disagreement about the future of these places. His position was blunt: our villages are dying and not worth investing in. Mine was equally firm: if villages are dying, then it is precisely our generation, the one with education, mobility, and relative means, that must step in to ensure they do not disappear. That debate forced me to confront a broader national question:…

15 Dec

A milestone worth noting, not a moment for complacency

Editorial, Featured, Observer Money

Namibia’s ranking as the fifth safest country in Africa for money laundering and financial crime risk is, by any reasonable measure, good news. According to the 2025 Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crime Risk Index, the country continues on a positive trajectory, recording steady improvements over the past three years. With a score declining from 5.09 in 2023 to 4.78 in 2025 on a scale where lower scores indicate lower risk, Namibia now stands among the continent’s stronger performers in safeguarding its financial system. This achievement deserves recognition. At a time when illicit financial flows, corruption, and transnational crime…

15 Dec

When unity becomes a performance, the centre no longer holds and the nation falls apart: The selective accountability dilemma

Featured, Opinions

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara) Namibia is widely praised for its stability, democratic institutions, and robust legal frameworks. Yet beneath this reputation, a troubling pattern has emerged: accountability is increasingly inconsistent, seemingly influenced more by political proximity than principle. From diplomatic postings to internal reshuffles, some officials face swift public censure, while others with comparable controversies are quietly elevated. This uneven application of rules raises concerns that Namibia may be drifting toward selective governance, a phenomenon observable in other African democracies under political strain. Let us unpack these contradictions, trace their origins, and examine what they…

12 Dec

YOUNG OBSERVER | Namibians who stopped the show in 2025

Featured

In every generation there are figures whose achievements capture national attention and inspire widespread admiration. In 2025, several Namibians did more than simply excel. They stopped the show by performing on global platforms, elevating national pride, breaking barriers, and reshaping cultural narratives. From global beauty stages to creative entrepreneurship and political leadership, these individuals demonstrated ambition, resilience, and excellence that reached far beyond Windhoek. This feature highlights some remarkable Namibians whose work defined the year and gave young people real stories of success to celebrate. Selma Kamanya: A global pageantry trailblazer One of the most memorable Namibian successes of 2025…

12 Dec

YOUNG OBSERVER | #UNMUTED

Featured, Opinions

December often arrives with a unique intensity in Namibia. It brings an air of celebration, a sense of relief, and the familiar anticipation of gathering with loved ones after a demanding year. Yet beneath the lights, the music, and the busyness of the festive season, December also invites a quieter and more meaningful form of reflection. It is the one period in the year when many young people confront the reality of who they have become, what they have survived, and what they hope to build in the year that follows. For many young Namibians, 2025 has been a year…

12 Dec

Rent control: A terrible idea for Namibia, and a disastrous answer to the wrong question

Editorial, Featured

Namibia stands at a dangerous crossroads. Faced with an undeniable housing crisis, one driven by a chronic shortage of serviced land and formal units, the government is once again flirting with the illusion that administrative decrees can override economic reality. The push for a Rent Control Bill, still present in ministerial legislative plans, is not merely misguided. It is a profound policy error that risks strangling an already over-regulated economy, undermining investment, and worsening the housing crisis it claims to solve. Rent control is often sold as a compassionate intervention, a quick fix to high rents. But the global evidence…