Featured – Page 3 – Windhoek Observer

15 May

YOUNG OBSERVER | Japan boosts Unam emergency response capacity

Featured, Uncategorised

Lydia Sageus The government of Japan has donated two ambulances, a fire truck and emergency equipment valued at N$1.2 million to the University of Namibia (Unam) to strengthen emergency response services across its campuses. The handover ceremony took place recently at the university’s main campus. Japan’s ambassador to Namibia, Sinichi Asazuma, officially handed over the donation to Unam chancellor Nangolo Mbumba and Unam vice chancellor Kenneth Matengu. Receiving the donation, Mbumba thanked the government of Japan for what he described as timely support that will improve safety and emergency preparedness across UNAM campuses. “At a time when campus safety and…

15 May

Youth confidence shaken by online comparison culture

Featured, Uncategorised

Patience Makwele Growing social media use among young people in Namibia is raising concerns about its impact on confidence, mental health and online safety, especially among children and teenagers. The issue was recently discussed on the Wheels of Justice, a Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) TV show, where experts warned about the dangers young people face online, including addiction, harmful content and unrealistic social expectations. Information and communication technology minister Emma Theofelus said parents, governments and technology companies all have a responsibility to protect children online. “How old should a child be to be on social media? Children under the ages…

15 May

YOUNG OBSERVER | ǁKaras launches youth desk to boost empowerment

Featured, Uncategorised

Patience Makwele The ||Karas region has officially launched the Governor’s Youth Desk alongside the Youth Empowerment Strategic Framework 2026–2029, in a move aimed at strengthening youth participation in governance, skills development and economic empowerment. The initiative was launched on Wednesday evening in Keetmanshoop during an event attended by more than 100 young people from across the region, alongside government officials, traditional leaders and development partners. Speaking at the launch, ||Karas governor Dawid Gertze said the youth desk was created to ensure young people become active participants in development and decision-making processes. He said the desk will connect young people to…

13 May

Purpose by design: The case for purpose coaching

Featured, Opinions

Jennifer MatheMany individuals and organisations are lately asking deeper questions about meaning, direction, and impact. Beyond professional success or financial achievement, people increasingly seek alignment between their values, their work, and the difference they hope to make in the world. This growing search for clarity and fulfilment has given rise to purpose coaching.In 2022, I surveyed working women within the age group 25 to 45 for the purpose of developing a coaching framework. The women surveyed revealed that they felt little satisfaction and fulfilment even though they were employed in their dream job. They felt like they were just going…

12 May

‘Nujoma lives on’ – NNN

Featured, Latest

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says the late founding president Sam Nujoma continues to live on through the democratic Namibia he helped build and in the dreams of young Namibians. Nandi-Ndaitwah said Nujoma’s legacy remains visible in the resilience of the Namibian people and the country’s commitment to peace, democracy and unity. Nandi-Ndaitwah made this remark as she paid tribute to Nujoma as the country marked what would have been his 97th birthday. “Today, even in his physical absence, the legacy of Dr Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma continues to live on in the democratic Namibia he helped build, in the resilience of our…

11 May

Katti defends oil sector reforms

Featured, Observer Money

Staff Writer Businessman Knowledge Katti has called on Parliament and national leaders to support the establishment of the Upstream Petroleum Unit (UPU) and the Petroleum Amendment Bill, saying the reforms are needed to help Namibia move from oil exploration to production. In a memorandum addressed to parliamentarians and national leaders, Katti said the creation of the UPU in the office of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was meant to address long-standing governance and operational problems in the petroleum sector. Katti said the President inherited a sector facing major challenges, including a national oil company struggling financially and institutionally, declining investor confidence and…

05 May

The seed beneath the sand

Featured, Opinions

Obed Emvula Before we build Namibia's creative economy, we must first understand the people we are building it for. Picture a young woman in Katutura. It is early morning and still cool. She is charging camera batteries on a power strip beside her bed and checking the light through her window, mentally rehearsing the shots she needs before her client loses patience. She has no office, no salary, no sick leave. What she has is a story she wants to tell – and a country that has not yet decided whether that counts as work. Across town, a young man…

05 May

Angolan children on Namibia’s streets: silence is not a strategy

Editorial, Featured

A growing presence of Angolan children at traffic lights, shopping centres, restaurants and intersections across Windhoek and other towns has become impossible to ignore. What began as a matter that many residents initially viewed with sympathy has now evolved into a source of growing public frustration, social tension and visible hostility. This is not because Namibians are inherently unkind. It is because problems left unattended eventually mutate into crises. Reports over the weekend that some of these children were chased away from restaurants and threatened with assault should concern every reasonable person in this country. When a social issue begins…

30 Apr

The National Planning Commission’s blind spot

Editorial, Featured

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s recent directive that all government institutions must budget for internships and apprenticeships is a welcome intervention in a country grappling with an escalating graduate unemployment crisis. The instruction is both practical and necessary. For too long, thousands of young Namibians have walked across graduation stages, degrees in hand and hope in their hearts, only to be met by a labour market that appears structurally incapable of absorbing them. Internships and apprenticeships are not a silver bullet, but they are a sensible bridge between education and employment. They offer graduates what employers repeatedly demand: experience. They create pathways…

28 Apr

A national housing emergency demands a national response

Editorial, Featured

Namibia is facing a housing crisis of staggering proportions, one that can no longer be treated as a slow-burning concern or relegated to policy backrooms. Nearly one million people, representing roughly 42% of the population of Namibia, live in informal settlements. That figure alone should jolt policymakers, business leaders, and citizens alike into urgent action. It is not merely a statistic; it is a reflection of daily hardship, inequality, and a growing disconnect between policy ambition and lived reality. For years, housing has featured prominently in political rhetoric and development plans. Yet delivery has consistently fallen short. The reasons are…