National News

Stefanus Nashama The founder of the International University of Management (IUM), David Namwandi, has encouraged graduates to create wealth and employment, despite the slim job market. He made the remarks at the 30th IUM graduation ceremony of over 2 300 students on Friday. “If you cannot implement what you have learned in the university, then you are not educated. Although the market is tight, it is still absorbing people. The only animal we don’t want in our market is corruption,” he told the graduates. Despite not receiving government subsidies, Namwandi revealed that the institution has chosen to expand its infrastructure…

Niël Terblanché The Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture has centralized payment of the universal education grants, ensuring direct transfers into school accounts across Namibia. Sanet Steenkamp, the ministry's Executive Director, said this measure aims to enhance the efficiency and timeliness of fund distribution, which is critical for the smooth operation of schools. Steenkamp confirmed that 75% of the grants for the 2024–2025 financial year have already been disbursed to 1,322 schools nationwide. She said the remaining 438 schools are on track to receive their funds soon. This move, according to Steenkamp, is intended to prevent delays and ensure that…

Martin Endjala Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila says Namibia aims to end HIV/AIDS as a public health problem by 2026 and attain HIV epidemic control by 2028. She added that plans are also ongoing to decrease the burden of tuberculosis (TB), achieve zero indigenous malaria cases by 2027, and prevent the reintroduction. She made this revelation last week at the launch of the seventh Global Fund Cycle (GC7). “This was in part due to the partnership with our stakeholders, including the development partners and non-state actors (civil society and even the private sector). We are grateful to the global fund for…

Martin Endjala Namibia is intensifying efforts against illicit financial flows (IFFs) that pose significant threats to its economic stability and global trade integrity. Statistician Bojan Nastav emphasised the detrimental impact of IFFs, which include corruption, smuggling, and tax evasion, on Namibia’s socio-political and economic stability. He made these remarks during the national technical working group's workshop on IFF last week in Windhoek. “The outcomes of the workshop will equip the future work of the national technical working group to measure tax and commercial illicit financial flows, identify policy gaps, and develop further estimation and policy recommendations,” he said. Illicit financial…

Niël Terblanché South Africa is still battling an avian influenza outbreak and as a result, Namibia has put up measures to prevent the disease from spreading to local poultry farms. In an official notification on Sunday, Albertina Shilongo, the chief veterinary officer at the Directorate of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, announced the resumption of limited imports of poultry and poultry products from the country's southern neighbour. “It should be noted that only poultry meat derived from live poultry originating from bio-secure poultry farms as listed by the Veterinary Authority of South Africa will…

Niël Terblanchéon Trade between Namibia and the European Union (EU) has been on the rise and is constantly driven by new agreements and partnerships. The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Jennely Matundu, highlighted the increased and positive collaboration during the 74th anniversary celebration of Europe Day in Windhoek on Tuesday. Matundu stressed that the partnership is promoting the development and beneficiation of raw materials and renewable hydrogen to support green and digital transformation. “Over the past 34 years, Namibia and the EU have built a strong relationship based on political and social dialogue, trade and sustainable development, economic…

Niël Terblanché As the November Presidential and National Assembly elections approach, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has announced that it needs 997 vehicles to support the upcoming voter registration drive. De Wet Siluka, the ECN’s spokesperson, stated that most of these vehicles would need to be rented from private individuals. Out of the nearly 1,000 vehicles, 138 will be allocated for use in the Khomas Region alone. The ECN has previously informed prospective vendors that their vehicles must undergo inspection. According to Siluka, this requirement has led to a significant turnout of private vehicle owners at the Otjomuise Police…

Martin Endjala The President of the Africa Editors Forum and chairperson of the steering committee of the Africa Media Convention (AMC) Churchill Otieno, says that according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual Prison Census, at least 67 journalists were imprisoned across Africa in connection to their work as of 1 December 2023. He said this on Thursday, during the opening of the third AMC at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra, Ghana. “As a fraternity, as a people, we must say and do all that is necessary to stop this wanton muzzling of agents of truth. Desmond Tutu…

Martin Endjala Some residents of the Zambezi region removed the regional border signboard on Wednesday to express their dissatisfaction with the border between the Kavango East region and their region. The residents handed over the signboard to the Boundary Delimitation Commission during a consultation meeting at Katima Mulilo early this week. The residents told the commission that they would not wait for the commission to affect the change. The leader of the Zambezi Development Association, Blessing Manda, told the commission that they have been calling for the restoration of the old regional border for many years but to no avail.…