Featured – Page 6 – Windhoek Observer

08 Aug

Brand Africa honours Namibia’s Best Brands: Windhoek Observer to publish exclusive supplement

Featured, Observer Money

Windhoek — A celebration of African excellence and branding took centre stage recently as Brand Africa, in collaboration with the Windhoek Observer under the auspices of Paragon Media, hosted the 3rd edition of Best Brands Namibia awards. Held in the capital, the event brought together Namibia’s leading voices in business, media, and marketing, united by a shared vision to define, promote, and elevate African brands. At the heart of this movement is Brand Africa, a pan-African non-profit initiative founded in 2010 by renowned branding authority Dr Thebe Ikalafeng. The initiative was born from a bold and urgent mission: to drive…

07 Aug

Namibia’s 51% Mining Ownership Gambit: A Strategic Win or a Populist Trap?

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

The Namibian government’s recent announcement that it will take up a 51% stake in all mining operations came at an interesting time, right in the middle of the Mining Expo, where international investors were visiting the country. The timing was clearly intentional, aimed at signaling a new era of resource nationalism. For many Namibians, the declaration sounded like a long-overdue corrective to decades of foreign dominance in the sector. The applause was loud, and understandably so. Who would not support the idea of Namibians finally owning the wealth beneath their soil? But beneath the rhetoric lies a more complicated reality.…

07 Aug

Beauties FC pleads for CAF funds

Featured, Sports

Erasmus Shalihaxwe FNB Women's Super League champions, Beauties Football Club, are appealing for financial support to participate in the upcoming CAF Women’s Champions League. The team was drawn in Group B alongside Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC (South Africa), Ntopwa FC (Malawi), and Zesco Ndola Girls (Zambia). The matches will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 22 to 30 August. . The group winner and runner-up will advance to the next phase of the competition, scheduled for November 2025 in Morocco. Despite receiving N$250 000 for winning the league in May, the club says the amount is insufficient to meet…

06 Aug

Over 790 athletes compete in SADC Corrections Games

Featured, Sports

Allexer Namundjembo Structured sports activities promote discipline, self-esteem, and behavioural transformation, preparing inmates for reintegration in society. This was the message from home affairs, immigration, safety and security minister Lucia Iipumbu during the official opening of the fourth edition of the SADC Corrections/Prisons/Penitentiary Services Sports and Cultural Games in Windhoek on Monday. Iipumbu said the games are not only about competition but also about improving the physical and emotional health of correctional officers while supporting reform strategies and rehabilitation programmes across the region. She referenced World Health Organisation (WHO) findings on the mental toll of correctional work, saying initiatives like…

06 Aug

Paved Roads, Unpaved Lives

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

There’s something to be said about Namibia’s roads. Anyone who has driven across our vast, open country knows the feeling, smooth tar under your wheels, horizons stretching endlessly, and barely a pothole in sight. In fact, our roads are ranked among the very best on the African continent. That’s no small feat for a nation as sparsely populated as ours. With a population of only about three million people, we have close to 49,000 kilometers of roads crisscrossing this wide land. Of those, around 6,600 kilometers are fully paved to international standards. For perspective, that’s roughly 16 meters of road…

05 Aug

Eco Fuel owed Namcor before my time – Dunaiski

Featured, Latest

Justicia Shipena Former commercial manager of downstream sales and marketing at the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Olivia Dunaiski, says she had no authority to increase any credit limit.“I certainly increased no credit limit,” she said in an affidavit filed in the ongoing Namcor bail application at the Windhoek Magistrates Court. Dunaiski said she joined Namcor Trading, a subsidiary of Namcor Holdings, in October 2019.At that time, she said, Eco Fuel Investment CC was already conducting business with the company.She said Eco Fuel was already in arrears with a substantial amount when she started.Eco Fuel is reportedly linked to…

05 Aug

Sankwasa orders local authorities to drop Redforce

Featured, Latest, Uncategorised

Justicia Shipena Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa has directed all municipalities and town councils not to renew or enter into agreements with Redforce Debt Collectors. Sankwasa said Redforce has caused economic and political problems for residents in areas where it operates. “It has been noticed that some municipalities and town councils have contracted Redforce Debt Collector Company to collect debts on their behalf from residents and businesses,” he said in a directive dated Monday. He instructed that existing contracts must be allowed to lapse. “This ministerial directive should be adhered to without fail, since it has a very…

05 Aug

The slow death of our towns: Namibia’s local authorities in crisis

Editorial, Featured, Opinions

As Namibia heads toward the local authority elections this November, one cannot help but look around our towns and villages and ask: What has become of us? The decay is not only physical but moral, institutional, and systemic. Our local authorities, which should be the engines of development and custodians of urban dignity, have instead become symbols of mismanagement, neglect, and corruption. What we are witnessing is not just decline; it is the slow, painful death of our towns, one municipality at a time. From Dreams of Housing to Settlements of Despair Drive into almost any Namibian town today, and the first…

05 Aug

Resettled farmers receive commercial land in Omaheke

Featured, Observer Money

Allexer Namundjembo Twenty-two commercial farmers received their farming units during a handover ceremony held last week in the Omaheke Region. The event marked the 12th induction ceremony for resettled farmers under the national resettlement programme. Minister of agriculture, fisheries, water, and land reform, Inge Zaamwani, said the farmers had undergone training before taking ownership of the units. She explained that the 22 units were advertised during three periods: March to May 2023, July 2023, and October to December 2024. “The ministry has planned to provide a platform for the newly resettled commercial farmers, who have been allocated land on 13…

05 Aug

Wantenaar sets new national swimming record

Featured, Sports

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Namibian swimmer Ronan Wantenaar has set a new national record in the 50 m breaststroke, clocking 26.85 seconds at the ongoing 2025 World Aquatic Championship in Singapore. He broke his previous national record of 27.05 seconds. Namibia Aquatic Sports Federation president Riaan Steyn congratulated Wantenaar, saying his performance put Namibia on the international swimming map. “Ronan Wantenaar has made a major splash in the world of competitive swimming by setting a new national record in the 50 m breaststroke at the 2025 World Aquatic Championships in Singapore. Currently ranked 10th in the world for the 50m breaststroke, Wantenaar’s…