National News

Niël Terblanché The global diamond industry is encountering unprecedented challenges, with significant impacts on countries like Namibia that are reliant on diamond exports for vital foreign revenue. The Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo highlighted these concerns during a parliamentary budget speech. He emphasised the declining global demand and highlighted the potential risk posed by the G7's new regulatory stance on the diamond trade. The G7/EU sanctions regime is based on technological traceability and has set forth import restrictions on Russian diamonds, impacting the trade of rough and polished diamonds of any size imported directly or via third countries…

Martin Endjala Namibia is currently experiencing a more rapid slowdown in annual inflation than anticipated. This was said on Tuesday by an economic researcher at Simonis Storm Securities, Halleluya Ndimulunde who was responding to the recently released economic outlook report, stating that this marks a deceleration from the 7.2% recorded in March 2023 and 5.0% in February 2024. In March 2024 the country saw an annual inflation rate of 4.5%, the lowest since July 2023. “Monthly inflation remained unchanged, consistent with the rate reported in the previous month (0.0 %). The primary contributor to headline inflation remains the food and…

Martin Endjala The trade volumes between Namibia and China will be U$1.3 billion in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 16.5 percent. This was revealed by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy Shen Jian, at the promotion conference of the Seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) and Hongqiao International Economic Forum held in Windhoek on Tuesday. According to Jian, China has been the second-largest trading partner of Namibia for many years. “China welcomes more Namibian products to enter the Chinese market, and the two governments are currently negotiating on the export of Namibia’s deep-sea red crab, abalone, mutton, grape,…

Niël Terblanché An act of desperation led to the arrest of eight farmers from Gobabis who took matters into their own hands by occupying a government-owned farm near Gobabis in the Omaheke Region on Saturday. The group, along with their livestock, set up residence at the Witsand farm, which has reportedly been unused for more than three years. This action led to their arrest for trespassing by the Namibian Police on Tuesday. The farmers, frustrated by a lack of grazing land and what they perceive as inaction on the part of authorities, erected shacks and offloaded more than 300 of…

Stefanus Nashama Bank BIC Namibia clients are reportedly unable to perform electronic banking or withdraw their funds at the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM), instead, they have to negotiate with the bank to access their cash. Martin Lukas, a client of the bank, explained that bank officials told him that the system was hacked. “All they told us is that the system was hacked but no official communication was made to us. We have been forced to go inside since the beginning of March,” he said. Clients raised their concerns due to a lack of communication from the bank. Some customers…

Niël Terblanché The Namibian Government has embarked on a determined initiative to gather citizens' perspectives on the performance of its Offices, Ministries, and Agencies (OMAs), Regional Councils (RCs), and State-owned Enterprises (SOEs). Under the guidance of Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the Citizen Satisfaction Survey (CSS) campaign, a collaboration with the University of Namibia, came to an end over the past weekend. The campaign covered all fourteen regions of the country. The CSS campaign sought to involve citizens in a participatory approach to governance. By condensing the public's view on various governmental bodies' effectiveness, the Office of the Prime Minister aims…

Niël Terblanché Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has inaugurated an important water project, delivering a multi-faceted borehole system to the Ohamutwe-Tautende village in the Epembe Constituency of the Ohangwena Region. This long-awaited intervention, comprising three pumps and ten tanks, as well as several water points, marks a turning point for the residents who have been without clean water since Namibia's independence. At the handover, the Kuugongolwa-Amadhila said that the establishment of the new facilities is in line with the government's pursuit of ensuring that all citizens have access to clean water She urged community members to take care of the infrastructure…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Internet Society Namibia Chapter (ISOC Namibia) has criticized Mobile Telecommunication Limited (MTC) for its continued collection of biometric data, citing it as a blatant violation of fundamental human rights. The society’s president, Anna Amoomo, argues that the collection of such data infringes upon privacy rights and questions the security of storing biometric information. "Attempts to justify the collection of biometrics by MTC remain elusive. We feel that biometric data doesn't have to be part of the package. When one refuses to give their biometric data, they are refused registration That means they are denied their basic human…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ondonga Traditional Authority will be hosting the second annual Omagongo Festival in May. Former prime minister, Nahas Angula who is also a member of the Omagongo Festival 2024 Organising Committee, expressed anticipation for the event, which is poised to commence on 24 May and conclude on 26 May. “The festival serves as a platform to celebrate Aawambo culture and foster unity amongst the Namibian people,” said Angula. The Omagongo Festival is a commemoration of the Marula fruit harvest. Angula emphasised the significance of the festival's rotation among the eight Northern Traditional Authorities He reflected on the previous…