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Genocide agreement unlikely to be rejected … as analysts predict German apology embarrassment

Genocide agreement unlikely to be rejected … as analysts predict German apology embarrassment

Andrew Kathindi Despite groundswell sentiments against the genocide agreement between Namibian and German government s, it is and is ikely to succeed when it is brought to Parliament. “It is difficult to see it being rejected in Parliament unless Swapo members from the affected communities vote against it, which I don’t think is likely to happen as they would not wish to be seen as going rogue from the Party’s wishes,” says University of Namibia (Unam)’s Senior Lecturer and Political Analyst, Ndumba Kamwayah. Kamwayah says the only way the motion could possibly be rejected in Parliament is if a secret…
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Geingob locks down Khomas

Geingob locks down Khomas

Andrew Kathindi President Hage Geingob has restricted the exit and entry into Windhoek, Okahandja and Rehoboth local authority areas amidst an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases, in which Khomas has accounted for 52 percent thereof. The ban comes as on Tuesday evening 15 June, Namibia recorded 1206 new cases of COVID-19, of which Windhoek reported 359 cases, Okahandja 1 and Rehoboth 47. Travel into and out of these local authority areas have been banned with the exception for returning residents, essential service providers in possession of the relevant permit, emergency medical cases and the transportation of human remains to other…
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PDM youth calls for schools to end face-to-face teaching

PDM youth calls for schools to end face-to-face teaching

Andrew Kathindi The Popular Democratic Movement Youth League (PDMYL) have called for all face-to-face teaching countrywide to be suspended as the tide of the third wave continues to rise in Namibia. This comes as the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has sent out a call to its education regional directors to advise on the way forward. “It is therefore an undeniable fact that the country has entered the third wave of Covid-19, and our basic education centres have become hotspots for the spread of the virus,” PDMYL Secretary General,Bensen Katjirijova, states. “The PDMYL therefore calls on the Ministry of…
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ReconAfrica in water license misunderstanding

ReconAfrica in water license misunderstanding

Kandjemuni Kamuiiri A misunderstanding from ReconAfrica, an oil and gas exploration company searching for oil in the Kavango basin, led to the company operating without a water permit, Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MAWLR) Deputy Executive Director (ED) Maria Amakali has revealed. “As such, there was a misunderstanding from their side that because they are operating in non-water control area, they did not need a permit.” This appears to be a contradiction to Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein’s revelation last month that the company had applied to drill boreholes, for both exploration and abstraction and purposes and that, thus…
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Members of the executive violating the law

Members of the executive violating the law

Rose-Mary Haufiku It has emerged that it is illegal for any member of the executive to embark in any business activity, the Windhoek Observer can reveal. Attorney General (AG), Festus Mbandeka, has revealed that the law does not allow all members of the Executive to have any business interests. The AG according to Article 42, section 1 of the Constitution of Namibia that states that “During their tenure of office as members of the Cabinet, Ministers may not take up any other paid employment, engage in activities inconsistent with their positions as Ministers, or expose themselves to any situation which…
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Face to face classes continue amidst Covid-19 skyrocketing cases

Face to face classes continue amidst Covid-19 skyrocketing cases

Tujoromajo Kasuto Education, Arts and Culture Ministry plans to go ahead with face-to-face learning despite alarming rise in COVID-19 cases. Namibia reported 1,432 new COVID-19 cases on Friday evening, the highest number of new cases ever recorded in 24 hours, a day after the country reported 1,045 cases. The Executive Director of the Ministry, Sanet Steenkamp, says the ministry was taking the situation case by case. “At this moment the ministry is only looking at case by case, if the case arises for example the school in Aroab where the Ministry of Health advises the school must close and other…
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Secret ballot not on genocide … if Parliament has to vote  on agreement?

Secret ballot not on genocide … if Parliament has to vote on agreement?

Andrew Kathindi Parliament may have to vote on the genocide agreement the government of Namibia and it the German counterpart are due to sign before it is eventually debated in the Namibian Parliament and thereafter ratified. If there should be no consensus after the debate and a vote is necessary. Meaning the august house would then have to decide whether to go for a secret ballot or not to allow for conscience voting, if members of the same political party may be divided on the issue. Former Swapo Party of Namibia Parliamentarian and former deputy minister, Kazenambo Kazenambo, explaining the…
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Kavango West the poorest Namibian region

Kavango West the poorest Namibian region

Andrew Kathindi Kavango West has been found to be the poorest region in Namibia according to a multidimensional poverty index report conducted by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), with 79.6 percent. After Kavango West, the incidence of multidimensional poverty is followed by Kavango East (70.0 percent), and Kunene (64.1 percent). The two Kavango regions have generally been reported as among the poorest regions in the country over the years. The national multidimensional poverty stands at 43.3 percent. According to the NSA, the region with the highest poverty intensity levels is Kunene region, reported at 59.2 percent, “which indicates that on…
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Ovaherero and Nama leaders plan ahead …as appeal to US Supreme court is declined

Ovaherero and Nama leaders plan ahead …as appeal to US Supreme court is declined

Andrew Kathindi Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero, Vekuii Rukoro, has revealed that they will now seek recourse at the United Nations and the African Union for justice in the matter regarding the genocide that was committed by Germany between 1904 and 1908. On Monday 7 June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a petition by the Nama and Ovaherero leaders, which sought to restart a lawsuit for damages against Germany for the genocide. “In light of the latest diplomatic and legal developments, we shall now escalate our campaign at the diplomatic front by ensuring that the United Nations, the…
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High Court Skips Case Over German Imperial Africa Atrocities

High Court Skips Case Over German Imperial Africa Atrocities

Lauren Berg The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a petition to revive a lawsuit seeking damages from Germany for atrocities and property seizures committed by its colonial authorities against Indigenous groups from southwestern Africa more than a century ago. The high court’s denial comes after the Second Circuit in September tossed the suit after finding that a proposed class seeking to represent members and descendants of the Ovaherero and Nama Indigenous peoples could not overcome Germany’s sovereign immunity because they hadn’t proved that money used by the country to purchase property in New York could be traced…
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