National News

Stefanus Nashama The Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, Utoni Nujoma, said he has observed a number of politicians who try to capitalize on the struggles of Namibian workers and derail their trade unions. Nujoma referred to his fellow politicians as ‘self-styled leaders of workers’ who have personal intentions to not organize workers into trade unions but rather to put on colorful costumes and stage media events for their own interests. The Minister made these remarks on Friday while he was addressing the 12th Congress of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), in Ongwediva. “I note that self-styled…

Hertta –Maria Amutenja Recon Energy Namibia(REN) has refuted claims by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) that there was a lack of public consultations for the amendment of an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for the oil company. Last week, the LAC said there were submissions made about the lack of public consultation for the clearance certificate. “Despite submissions made, in particular around the lack of public consultation and the inadequacies of the environmental impact assessment undertaken in the first application, the Environmental Commissioner failed to consider such and granted the amendment of the ECC 0091,” Corinna van Wyk of the Land,…

Niël Terblanché The town Council of Grootfontein has been advised to settle with Kisco Sinvula as the town’s Chief Executive Officer instead of pursuing the matter further in the Supreme Court of Namibia. Sinvula was removed from his post as the Grootfontein municipality’s CEO in March last year and a few months later he approached the High Court to review and set aside the council’s decision to suspend him. At the time of his suspension, he was served with a notice of a pending disciplinary hearing on 30 counts of misconduct. These allegations ranged from insubordination, abuse of power, violations…

Niël Terblanché Prominent Businessman Theo Borstlap, the owner of the SuperSpar in Otjiwarongo is battling for his life in a Windhoek Hospital, after sustaining serious burns covering more than 60 percent of his body during an explosion. Sources say the explosion occurred on his small holding on the outskirts of the town of Otjiwarongo. The explosion is said to have happened while Borstlap was busy exterminating termites. He reportedly used petrol mixed with other combustible liquids to burn termite nests. The mixture exploded, setting his clothes and the grass and bush surrounding the termite nest on fire. He has since…

Martin Endjala The International Youth Fellowship (IYF) Secretary General, Sidney Hanstein, has called on young people to focus more on finding their character and building on it, adding that character is more essential than talent. He made these remarks during the IYF Dream Camp held over the just concluded long weekend, with 100 youth in attendance under the theme and Talent Character. “To ensure long-term and sustainable success, the SG said that one should know how to find and build character, “we hire for character and train for skills,” he said. He stated that if young continue to participate in…

Martin Endjala More and more anticipation weighs on the 2024 elections with tension mounting on both the incumbent government and other political parties, but with recent frustrations expressed by the masses, the question lingering on everybody’s mind is, is Namibia ready for a new government? Despite the healthy democratic freedom Namibians enjoy, the incumbent government has from time to time been accused of not equally sharing the resources of the country with its citizens, and since then, it has prompted numerous resentment towards the incumbent government. To share light on the matter, the Windhoek Observer posted this question to Political…

Niël Terblanché Namibia became one of 12 countries in Africa that have embarked on an ambitious initiative aimed at strengthening Emergency Preparedness and Response, Disease Surveillance by signing a Memorandum of Agreement with the World Health Organisation. The new MoA will increase Namibia’s capacity to manage and reinforce the prepare–detect–respond phases of future public health emergencies. At the same time, the WHO made more than N$50 million available to assist with funding for the initiative. While officiating at the signing ceremony the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, said the initiative is designed to build capacities in…