National News

Martin Endjala The Lüderitz Town Council has approved the cancellation of pensioners' debts, which are estimated to be several thousands of dollars. The chairperson of the management committee, Annemarie Hartzenberg, presented a motion last month to write off pensioners' debts. The council made this decision last week during the ordinary council meeting. "It is necessary for such a motion to be implemented and executed. We have observed that unemployment and poverty levels in Lüderitz are increasing, and there is also a growing concern with regard to household but income remains stagnant due to economic decline," she said. Hartzenberg, the committee…

Stefanus Nashama The leader of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), McHenry Venaani has called on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources to conduct an urgent investigation into the revenue loss of approximately N$230 million at Namdia. He also called on relevant stakeholders to address the issue decisively. "An expedited investigation is necessary to ascertain the full extent of the losses, identify any underlying issues, and hold accountable those responsible for this situation," he said. In a statement released by the party on Wednesday, Venaani said the impact of such financial losses goes beyond the immediate figures. "It has broader…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe Loide Kasingo, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, has urged her fellow lawmakers and the people of Namibia to address the negative impact of climate change as a threat to human existence. Kasingo made these remarks at the Southern Africa Parliamentarian regional workshop on strengthening the capacity of national parliaments to oversee climate action accountability and reporting in Windhoek on Wednesday. She emphasised that the effects of climate change are real, and lawmakers should fulfil their role as legislators by enacting laws that are based on existing scientific data. As elected representatives, they have a responsibility to…

Niël Terblanché The Swakopmund Municipal Council has commenced with a general valuation of all rateable properties within its jurisdiction. The announcement came in a statement on Wednesday. The systematic and in-depth process aims to re-evaluate all immovable properties to ensure equality among property owners and accurate property rates. According to the Local Authorities Act 1992 (Act 23 of 1992), as amended, this general valuation is a statutory requirement every five years. The town stated that the exercise will cover approximately 19 200 registered rateable properties in Swakopmund. Valuers and data collectors from SBN Property Investments CC will conduct the inspections,…

Niël Terblanché Overcrowded classrooms at Tsumeb Primary School are now a thing of the past, thanks to the donation of eight new classrooms, a laboratory, and a storeroom. Funded by the MTC Rural Schools Project with N$3.4 million, this project is a corporate social investment (CSI) initiative launched in 2019 by MTC in collaboration with the MVA Fund. MTC’s corporate social responsibility project aims to assist the government in enhancing sub-par learning environments and standardising education practices across Namibia. The rural schools project focuses on renovating dilapidated structures and adding new classroom blocks where needed. School principal Petrina Shafewa expressed…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The National Council Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform to provide adequate training and financial support to resettled farmers across Namibia. In a report released on Wednesday, the committee also directed the ministry to establish a proper monitoring and evaluation system to track all developments in the resettlement programme. The committee also called for a review of the resettlement criteria used for point scoring to ensure that the programme can effectively identify suitable and deserving candidates to benefit from it. "The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and…

Martin Endjala The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) has postponed finalising the N$222 million tender with Central Oil Namibia (Pty) Ltd. for aircraft fueling services at the Eros and Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo airports. This decision follows a notice of appeal filed by Puma Energy (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd. on 21 February in the Supreme Court. Puma Energy is challenging the High Court's dismissal of its application to review and overturn the tender award decision made on 25 January. The High Court had ruled that Puma Energy must cover the court costs incurred by NAC and Central Oil Namibia. The NAC awarded…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The National Council Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy has strongly advised the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRa) to consider amending the Import and Export Control Act, 1994 (Act No. 30 of 1994). The committee chairperson, Peter Kazongominja, made this statement in the National Council on Tuesday. The Act currently restricts the import of second-hand vehicles into Namibia, resulting in a significant loss in direct import tax for Botswana. The committee's recommendations were based on findings from visits to several regions, including Karas, Ohangwena, Omaheke, and Erongo, where they assessed NamRa's operations. “The Commissioner informed the Committee that…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) has confirmed that it will no longer fund tuition fees for Namibian health professionals on study leave. In a recent letter, two of the students currently studying abroad expressed concerns about financial difficulties. In their letter, the students said that they were granted study leave to pursue Master of Medicine degrees at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College. They claimed that the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) denied them financial assistance, leaving them to pay for their studies. They stated that the rising costs of tuition, accommodation, research funding, transportation, and…

Martin Endjala The Namibian Competition Commission has discovered alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the automotive industry. This comes after the Commission finalised its investigation into the automotive industry against various Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), referred to as vehicle dealerships and panel beaters which commenced in September 2018, in terms of Section 33 of the Competition Act No. 2 of 2003. This was disclosed by the Commission’s report released last week. According to the report, the Commission’s investigation found that restrictive vertical distribution agreements/concerted practices and or territorial restrictions between OEMs and vehicle dealerships exist in the distribution of vehicles in Namibia.…