National News

Staff Writer  The Cuvelai Special Housing Scheme Fund was launched on 21 November 2025 in Keetmanshoop, marking the start of one of Namibia’s largest housing programmes.  The fund aims to build 100 000 affordable homes across the country within five years. The first phase targets 10 000 units, including 2 142 homes planned for Keetmanshoop. The scheme was created to help reduce the national housing backlog, estimated at between 300 000 and 500 000 units. It focuses on providing affordable homes to armed forces members, teachers, nurses, civil servants and informal sector workers. The deputy minister of urban and rural…

Renthia Kaimbi A raw water pump valued at about N$800 000 has disappeared from the raw water sewerage plant in Swakopmund.  The theft was discovered in August 2024 and remains under investigation after the council’s insurance claim was rejected. A report submitted to the management committee states that the stolen Grundfos pump weighed 1 490 kilograms and was removed from the plant at the corner of Nelson Mandela Avenue and Rakotoka Street.  Its size suggests that several people, using a crane and a truck, may have been involved. Triple One Investments CC, the contractor responsible for 24-hour security at the…

Justicia Shipena  The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) says it has done its part to educate voters to vote in the regional and local authority elections.  ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua said the commission carried out extensive civic and voter education in all constituencies ahead of the polls.  This comes after observations from Wednesday’s regional and local authority elections showed low voter turnout. “So I can say with confidence that we have done our part,” she said. Nghikembua said each constituency had a voter education officer working daily with communities. She said the Commission started with broader civic education and later…

Justicia Shipena The Office of the Ombudsman says Namibia has made little progress in tackling discrimination, tribalism and racism, despite clear recommendations made almost eight years ago.  The chief of office at the Ombudsman, Ingrid Husselmann, said public hearings held in 2017 produced a detailed report that outlined steps ministries should take to address discrimination and tribalism.  She said most of those steps remain untouched. “Unfortunately, not very many of those recommendations have been implemented,” Husselmann told the Windhoek Observer.  One of the key proposals was the development of legislation that would give people simple and informal access to remedies…

Renthia Kaimbi The government says it is ready to resume talks with the Magistrates and Judges Association of Namibia (MJAN) but will not simply accept the new demands made by magistrates. Justice and labour relations minister Fillemon Wise Immanuel on Thursday said the magistrates have shifted from an agreement reached earlier. Immanuel said the government was close to implementing allowance adjustments approved by former finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi in October 2023 when the industrial action began.  He said the dispute arose after the MJAN introduced new demands that the government believes are completely out of line with the 2023 agreement.…

Justicia Shipena  A new agreement will see the office of the judiciary move its entire digital infrastructure onto Mobile Telecommunications Company's (MTC) cloud platform.  The agreement was signed on Thursday in Windhoek. This partnership positions MTC as the judiciary’s official digital partner for cloud hosting services. The agreement follows a procurement process that awarded MTC the contract to provide a comprehensive enterprise-grade cloud service to the judiciary.  The package includes virtual machines, cloud resources and an integrated digital environment designed to support the judiciary's growing operational needs. Speaking at the signing ceremony, deputy executive director in the office of the…

Allexer Namundjembo Youth participation in the regional and local authority elections remained low, with many young voters not visible in the queues at the polls on Wednesday.  This is despite more than 643 000 youth registered to vote, making up about 42% of the 1.49 million voters on the final voters register released by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). The regional and local authority elections took place on 26 November 2025.  Landless People’s Movement (LPM) Youth leader Duminga Ndala says the low youth turnout in yesterday’s Regional and Local Authority elections signals a serious disconnect between young people and…

Renthia Kaimbi Residents of Okahandja are putting aside political loyalties to form a coalition aimed at holding the incoming local authority council accountable for its promises. The initiative, driven by frustration over poor service delivery, seeks to create an independent community oversight committee to ensure transparency and progress in the town’s development. The idea gained momentum after resident Shatty Haihambo publicly called for unity and accountability, saying political celebrations mean little without visible improvements. “Political chants will not develop the town. It is for this reason that I want to appeal to all residents of Okahandja, let us come together,…

Allexer Namundjembo The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) says political parties that held press conferences after the official campaign cut-off violated the electoral cooling-off rules. ECN commissioner Pius Iikwambi said the commission, through its chief executive officer, issued an operational directive on 20 November to all electoral stakeholders, including regional electoral officers, returning officers, and the police.  The directive outlined the legal framework for stopping campaigning and explained the statutory cooling-off period for regional and local authority elections. Iikwambi said the code of conduct, published in September 2024, binds all political parties, organisations, candidates, members and supporters.  The directive defined…

Renthia Kaimbi Human rights lawyer Norman Tjombe says the assault on Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi amounts to criminal self-help and has no place in a constitutional democracy. Tjombe was reacting to an incident in Keetmanshoop on Monday in which independent candidate Vernon Coleman confronted and assaulted Swartbooi. Tjombe said the act shows Coleman is unfit for public office. “Criminal self-help is impermissible in a constitutional democracy and blatantly unacceptable as a means to drive home your political message. He must have a serious and honest self-introspection if he is fit for public office as an important councillor,…