Featured – Page 3 – Windhoek Observer

15 Jan

The value of the village

Featured, Opinions

John Mendelsohn I hope that 2026 will see a good deal of reasoned debate and discussion in parliament. Indeed, an abundance of sensible ideas and sound facts are needed if new legislation is to resolve the multiple messes in which so much Namibian land now finds itself. Some of the questions and uncertainties about the purpose and value of land emerged in an interesting opinion by Lazarus Jacobs in the Windhoek Observer on 15 December 2025. The article – entitled The village has died. Long live the village – described some of the changes and agonies that now surround rural…

13 Jan

Diplomacy is not a training ground for rookie errors

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Diplomacy is often described as the quiet engine of international relations. It runs on protocol, trust, discretion and mutual respect between sovereign states. When it functions well, citizens rarely notice it. When it falters, however, the consequences can be swift and embarrassing, not only for the officials involved but also for the national image they represent. Recent developments in relations between Namibia and Ghana have raised legitimate concern. Ghana has sought clarification from Namibia over the appointment and public commissioning of former agriculture ministry executive director Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata as high commissioner-designate to Accra, despite the fact that formal consent from…

12 Jan

TURNING POINT | A renewed vision for Namibian education: The urgent case for schools of excellence

Featured, Opinions

For many Namibians who passed through the school system in the 1980s, the mention of Concordia Secondary School still evokes a particular sense of pride. It was not simply a school; it was a destination for academic promise. In an era defined by segregation and profound injustice, Concordia became a place where academically gifted Black students from across the country were gathered, challenged, and nurtured. Ironically, while the system that created it was unjust, the principle behind it was sound: exceptional academic ability requires intentional cultivation. Today, more than three decades after independence, Namibia no longer has a national institution…

12 Jan

Clarity is the currency of trust in public policy

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

Namibia’s announcement that the state will begin covering tuition and registration fees at public tertiary institutions from the 2026 academic year is, without question, one of the most ambitious and potentially transformative policy decisions in recent years. It is a policy rooted in the noble objective of expanding access to higher education and vocational training, particularly for students from low-income households. Yet, as President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s clarification during the 2025 state of the nation address demonstrated, the public conversation around this initiative has been muddied by confusion over what “free education” means. This confusion underscores a deeper and recurring challenge:…

12 Jan

A transformative agenda for Namibia’s invisible workforce: from informal to formal

Featured, Opinions

PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar) The silent backbone of the nation Over half of Namibia’s workforce is engaged in the informal economy. These workers wake up early, toil hard, and provide for their families, fuelling the nation’s economy, yet they largely remain invisible in official statistics, social protection schemes, and public policy. Yet, this is not a peripheral sector but the quiet backbone of the country’s survival. Considering that more than half of Namibia’s workforce is informal and excluded from tax and social protection systems, how much potential revenue does the government lose each year…

12 Jan

Six emerging artists named in Apple Music’s Africa Rising Class of 2026

Featured, Latest, Uncategorised

Staff Writer Apple Music has announced the Africa Rising: Class of 2026, featuring six emerging artists from across the continent who are shaping the next chapter of African music. Africa Rising is Apple Music’s artist development programme that supports up-and-coming African musicians with clear creative visions and global reach. The Class of 2026 highlights artists gaining recognition in their home countries while taking African music to wider international audiences. The new cohort includes South African artist Ciza, Kenyan singer tg.blk, Ghanaian musician Gonaboy, Nigerian DJ and producer Damie, Nigerian pop artist Khid Ceejay, and Abuja-based Afro-pop artist ru. Ciza said…

10 Jan

YOUNG OBSERVER | Planning with purpose: May Nghipondoka on faith, vision, and building a life that thrives

Featured

Young Observer sat down with May Nghipondoka a chartered accountant turned purpose-driven planner creator to unpack the journey behind Thrive — a Christian-based life-navigation tool designed to help young people move from inspiration to execution. In the conversation, she reflects on how her background in finance shaped her discipline, how faith guides her ambition, and why intentional planning is key to living a meaningful and grounded life in a fast-paced world. YO: You are a Chartered Accountant by profession. How did your journey in finance and structure shape the way you think about purpose, discipline, and personal growth? MN: My…

10 Jan

YOUNG OBSERVER | The January question at the school gate

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January has a way of arriving with promise but also stress. On the one hand you have new exercise books, freshly ironed uniforms, and careful plans made at the end of the previous year. On the other hand, you have uncertainty regarding placement in a decent school for children. For many families, the start of the school year is meant to signal continuity and the reassuring return of routine; however, every January, that reassurance fractures. Across towns and cities, the same quiet uncertainty resurfaces. Parents move from school to school asking about space. Phones stay close, waiting for calls that…

10 Jan

YOUNG OBSERVER | Surviving Janu-worry

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There is an almost scientific anomaly that occurs every twelve months. While every other month on the Gregorian calendar certainly consists of 30 or 31 days, January somehow manages to stretch into a grueling, 744-hour marathon of fiscal anxiety.For many young people, January has become a reckoning; similar to the cold shower after the neon-lit fever dream of December. If you find yourself checking your bank balance with the same caution one might use to approach a sleeping lion, you are not alone. This is the Young Observer’s guide to surviving the longest month of the year without losing your mind…

10 Jan

YOUNG OBSERVER | #Unmuted

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Dearest gentle readers, would this greeting count as plagiarism on my part? I have determined to be warmer with you this year. Welcome to the year 2026 from the desk of Young Observer’s editorial team. The start of this year has been quite eventful for us as a nation and beyond our borders. Gen Z and Alpha are living through their first capture of a sitting Head of State by the United States in a much more theatrical manner. With learners set to resume and begin classes next week, the Minister of Education is cautioning against bribes in exchange for…