National News

Niël Terblanché Grow Namibia CC trading as About Africa.Co has clarified the circumstances surrounding its recent acquisition of a lucrative tourism concession in Namibia amidst a wave of public scrutiny and media coverage. This is because the company has been awarded a 25-year contract to manage transportation, campsite operations, and guided trails in the iconic Sossusvlei area of the Namib Desert. The company founder, Heiko Dörgeloh, said that their adherence to fairness, transparency, and ethical practices throughout the bidding process is above suspicion. “The process, conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT), involved a thorough and transparent…

Niël Terblanché Employees of Namibia’s premier provider of marine engineering solutions, Namdock downed tools on Monday accusing the top management of the company, partly owned by the Namibian Ports Authority, of changing their working conditions without prior notice. The employees staged a protest in front of the company entrance on Monday morning demanding answers from management. One of the employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said management cancelled their tea break without consulting them nor their labour union, Metal and Allied Namibia Workers Union (MANWU). “The company took away our tea time without even…

Martin Endjala The restriction of payments between countries of Common Monetary Areas (CMA) that was scheduled to be enforced on 14 April has been extended to 30 September. The Bank of Namibia(BoN) spokesperson, Oskar Josefina confirmed this today. She said a detailed statement will be issued later in the week. Standard Bank Namibia has issued a formal communication to its client confirming the extension of the effective date of the PSD-9. “The extension aligns with the regulatory deadline from other CMA countries and affords the industry sufficient time to ensure compliance with PSD-9,” the Standard Bank statement reads. The bank…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), will start receiving shares from the Sungara Energies oil deal when transaction completion has been achieved. Namcor Spokesperson, Utaara Hoveka told this publication yesterday while responding to questions on how far along the deal is and how Namcor is going to benefit that he could not provide a timeline for when Namcor can expect to start receiving its shares from the deal. The Sungara Energies deal came to public attention when Namcor Managing Director Immanuel Mulunga had allegedly paid N$100 million to secure the deal with Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol…

Erasmus Shalihaxwe A total of 9,110 people applied for legal aid during the 2023/24 financial year, of which 5,428 applications were granted while some are still pending. This was done with a budget of N$35 million, which includes expenditure for ongoing cases. The Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab revealed this in the National Assembly this week during the budget debate. She stated that Namibia is one of the few countries in the African continent that provides legal aid to indigent litigants at the expense of the State. Therefore, the government makes budget provisions for that purpose every year, because access…

Martin Endjala Employees of Namdeb who have been sleeping in tents in Oranjemund accused the Mineworkers Union (MUN) of taking bribes from the country’s largest diamond miner, to ignore their problems with proper housing. “We are paid up members to the union. This union ought to fight for us, but for reasons only known to them, they are very reluctant to fight our issue, it seems like they got bribed to look the other way. We have sent letters to the union but received no feedback until now. We are still sleeping outside and this is unacceptable. We worked for…

Niël Terblanché A resident of Katima Mulilo, Likando Mambena, sustained serious injuries when a stray lion attacked him earlier on Monday. The lion is possibly part of a pride of lions that were seen crossing into Lake Liambezi in the area of Zilitene via Salambala. The lions are presumably from Botswana. The lions were also sighted in the surroundings of Musanga and Serera last weekend. An initial report provided by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism said they are aware of the lions on the loose in the Zambezi region. According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, details are…

Ester Mbathera Former Swapo parliamentarians have distanced themselves from a list circulating on social media claiming they are part of a group that funds the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party. On the list are Helmuth Angula, Isack Katali, and Pendukeni Ivula-Ithana, business personalities Marth Namundjebo-Tilahun, Erastus Shapumba, and Israel Kalenga, as well as the founderof the International University of Management (IUM), David Namwandi. The message comes as many are questioning the fundraising of the IPC, which recently acquired a fleet of 100 vehicles. Ivula-Ithana said the list is old but believes its resurrection serves a particular agenda aimed at…

Niël Terblanché The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) has signed a landmark agreement with Africa Global Logistics (AGL) to oversee the operations of the bulk terminal in the strategic Port of Walvis Bay. This long-anticipated partnership formalized on 20 March 2024, announces a new era of trade facilitation and economic growth for Namibia and the broader Southern African Development Community (SADC). During the signing ceremony in Walvis Bay, Namport’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Kanime and AGL Regional Director for South Africa, Tony Stenning, stressed the transformative potential of this alliance. AGL is renowned for its global reach and innovative logistics solutions.…

Niël Terblanché In a desperate effort to mitigate the harsh impacts of the ongoing drought, representatives from the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), the Namibia National Farmers' Union (NNFU), and the Namibian Emerging Commercial Farmers Union (NECFU) convened with Calle Schlettwein, the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, on Thursday. The unions' visit was aimed at discussing a set of proposed emergency measures to address the drought conditions worsening in certain areas of Namibia, despite recent rains. The key proposals put forth during the meeting encompassed a wide range of initiatives intended to alleviate the drought's socio-economic effects on both…