National News

Patience Makwele The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture has directed higher education institutions to allow Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF)-funded students to write examinations and access their academic results while funding processes are being finalised. The decision comes after weeks of uncertainty over delayed student funding payments and growing calls from student organisations for urgent intervention. In a letter dated 29 May and addressed to vice-chancellors, heads of institutions and TVET centre managers, executive director Erastus Haitengela instructed institutions to allow both continuing beneficiaries and newly approved students to sit for examinations and receive their…

Patience Makwele  The deaths of two members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) at military bases in Otjiwarongo and Otavi have renewed calls for stronger mental health support, better housing and improved welfare programmes for soldiers. Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) on Monday urged the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs to strengthen support systems for military personnel. The party said the well-being of soldiers deserves the same attention as military readiness and infrastructure. IPC shadow minister of defence and veterans' affairs Alosius Kangulu extended condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased while calling for a greater…

Renthia Kaimbi The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has renewed the board of directors of the Regional Fisheries Monitoring Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) in Maputo, Mozambique, as the region strengthens efforts to combat illegal fishing and improve fisheries management. The decision was approved on 29 May during the Joint Meeting of SADC Ministers Responsible for Agriculture and Food Security and Fisheries and Aquaculture in Victoria Falls. The renewal keeps Namibia’s Fisheries Observer Agency chief executive officer, Stanley Ndara, as chairperson of the MCSCC board for a second term. Other board members are Antonio Francisco Jaime of Angola, Kagisanyo…

Allexer Namundjembo  The Genocide Remembrance Day missed its purpose of promoting unity and collective healing, according to political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah.  Kamwanyah said the national commemoration is instead creating divisions. Kamwanyah said the day was intended to unite Namibians, preserve the memory of the genocide and encourage reconciliation. “The approach taken by government and regional organisers, the selection of some speakers, and even some of the messages delivered are contributing more to division than unity,” Kamwanyah said. Namibia marked the day last week Thursday in memory of the tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people killed by German colonial…

Renthia Kaimbi The Ministry of Health and Social Services has removed Fransina Nambahu as registrar of medicines at the Namibia Medicines Regulatory Council (NMRC).  The ministry has now appointed Frieda Shiweda to the position with effect from 1 June 2026. According to a letter dated 17 April 2026, the ministry's executive director Penda Ithindi informed Nambahu that the ministry was proposing that she voluntarily relinquish the position from 30 April. The letter stated that the decision followed a review of the structure of the NMRC secretariat and planned reforms within the ministry. Under the proposal, Nambahu would remain seconded as…

Patience Makwele  Inconsistent decision-making, weak discipline and communication failures within the security cluster are eroding public trust in Namibia’s frontline services, minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security Lucia Iipumbu has warned. Iipumbu made the remarks during a regional ministerial staff meeting in Katima Mulilo on Friday as part of a two-day working visit to inspect border posts and ministry projects in the Zambezi region. The meeting brought together officials from Immigration, the Namibian Police Force (Nampol) and the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS). She described the Zambezi region as both strategic and vulnerable and said officers responsible for border…

Allexer Namundjembo  The Sam Nujoma Foundation is finalising preparations for the opening of its new office building in Windhoek.  Its chairperson Nahas Angula told the Windhoek Observer last week that the board of trustees is completing the final arrangements.  Angula stated that the foundation will inform the public once it concludes its preparations. The new office is expected to support the foundation’s work of preserving and promoting the legacy of late founding president Sam Nujoma. Nujoma became Namibia’s first president at independence in 1990 and served until 2005.  He played a central role in the country’s liberation struggle and post-independence…

Patience Makwele  The Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO) vice-chairperson, Dawie Kok, says no country can successfully fight foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in isolation.  He said this as Namibia strengthens efforts to protect its livestock industry from the growing regional threat. Kok said Namibia’s internationally recognised FMD-free status remains an achievement worth protecting, but maintaining it requires cooperation between governments, veterinary authorities, farmers and regional partners. “Our FMD-free status is something we can be proud of, but it brings with it a greater responsibility not only towards ourselves but also towards the region of which we are a part,” Kok said. His remarks…