Opinions – Page 12 – Windhoek Observer

05 Jun

World Bank’s dictates regarding NEEEFno more than Capitalism preservation

ObserverOpinionsWorld Bank’s dictates regarding NEEEFno more than Capitalism preservation

Kae Matundu “World Bank study says no to NEEEF,” screamed the headline of the lead article of a local English daily. Yours Truly Ideologically could not but muse as to who the heck is the World Bank and what nerve and audacity if not arrogance they have to literally dictate to Namibia how she may or may not run her affairs? This to some may be seen as a friendly advice from a world institution to a friendly but sovereign nation. But there’s more to the seeming friendly advice by the World Bank. Simple dictatorship all in the final analysis…

05 Jun

Growth, increased investments meaninglessunless accompanied by belief in socialist ethos

ObserverOpinionsGrowth, increased investments meaninglessunless accompanied by belief in socialist ethos

Kae MatunduA government publication, titled Namibia: A Decade of Peace, Democracy and Stability, describing the decade 1990-2000 as such as the title. Relative Peace, Democracy, indeed have been in Namibia during the said decade. Regarding Prosperity Yours Truly Ideologically cannot be so sure. Also wondering if the government itself can be so sure about prosperity without qualifying it indeed. Because prosperity in Namibia since independence is not something obvious, and thus a commodity one can take for granted unless prosperity can be qualified as the widening of the gap of inequality and increasing impoverishment of the masses. Accompnaied and paralleled…

05 Jun

“Only full reparation can remedy past wounds”

ObserverOpinions“Only full reparation can remedy past wounds”

Kae Matundu The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) Special Rapporteurs are requesting for answers from both the Namibian and German governments regarding the way in which they have been dealing with the issue of Genocide, Apology and Reparations. While it has written to both governments this February, this has become public only this month. But be that as it may be, the UN is raising pertinent questions as well as making very fundamental observations. Observations which descendants all along have been raising and impressing upon our Namibian government and its German counterpart. With regard to the Namibian government, they…

05 May

“Only full reparation can remedy past wounds”

ObserverOpinions“Only full reparation can remedy past wounds”

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) Special Rapporteurs are requesting for answers from both the Namibian and German governments regarding the way in which they have been dealing with the issue of Genocide, Apology and Reparations. While it has written to both governments this February, this has become public only this month. But be that as it may be, the UN is raising pertinent questions as well as making very fundamental observations. Observations which descendants all along have been raising and impressing upon our Namibian government and its German counterpart. With regard to the Namibian government, they are observing…

17 Mar

Workers a benign folk without a good shepherd

ObserverOpinionsWorkers a benign folk without a good shepherd

Kae Matundu Tjiparuro It has been becoming all along obvious and apparent that workers in Namibia are a benign folk but without a good shepherd, if they still have any shepherd at all. Despite their vanguard role during the liberation struggle, a struggle more about civil and political rights, as predominantly manifested in a free and independent Namibia, rather than being about bread and butter issues, where and in which the rights of workers remain neglected and relegated to the backburner of a free and independent Namibia’s political agenda, including the legislative agenda. As the legislative timetable of the Namibian…

04 Mar

Do free Namibia, colonialism have anything in common?

ObserverOpinionscolonialism have anything in common?, Do free Namibia

Yours Truly Ideologically in the last instalment, was still ever seized with the vexed question of education, prompted by the dismal examination results of last year and which since have seen various stakeholders scurrying around, passing the buck from one to the other. Continuing to muse as to what could be the cause of the extremely disappointing results, postulating that the problem is not so much the content of the education system. Because what is has been delivering is exactly what it has been designed to deliver. Thus this system cannot be seen in isolation from the productive system in…

22 Feb

Judicial Diversity- The Gender Gap

ObserverNational News, OpinionsJudicial Diversity- The Gender Gap, Namibian women holding 44.2% of the seats in parliament

Mercedes Ovis Despite Namibian women holding 44.2% of the seats in parliament, we still lack female judicial leaders. An important seat of power is the bench, as it allows arbitration on nearly every political issue. Judicial diversity promotes fairness, gives legitimacy to state institutions, ensures women’s interests are adequately represented and promotes access to justice. To date no woman has occupied the position of Chief Justice, an important leadership position as it heads the judiciary. Astonishingly, the bench in the supreme court has exclusively comprised of male judges since independence, despite this being the highest court where constitutional issues affecting…

18 Feb

Armchair Activist: (Un)sanitary Peasants

ObserverNational News, OpinionsArmchair Activist: (Un)sanitary Peasants, Harald Kabrude

Dear Comrades in bling So, there I was, watching some mindless television and lo and behold, some Councilor from some constituency I am yet to visit came on my screen spewing some nonsensical gibberish about condoms and sanitary pads. When I heard the word ‘condom’ I immediately became erect (excuse the pun). Because in my mind I was thinking, “are they whining about that infamous tender by our fellow blinger, again?” We all know what a bunch of cry babies these lot can be. Anywho, I digress. Now as I was watching, one Harald Kabrude started talking about condoms and…

12 Sep

Don’t play political football with land issues

ObserverNational News, OpinionsAgribusdev, Carl Schlettwein, Don’t play political football with land issues, Green Schemes

The Green Schemes that were touted as Namibia’s blueprint to food self-sufficiency has failed and the government is now looking at a different management model to continue its strategy to make Namibia produce what its people consume. The company created in 2011 to run 11 Green Schemes, the Agricultural Business Development Agency, experienced serious governance, financial and operational deficiencies. In addition, the running of the Green Scheme according to the Minister of Agriculture, who was moved there in the second term of the current President’s term, observed that there were institutional challenges in the administration of the schemes. According to…

12 Aug

Cry of the Namibian Youth

ObserverOpinionsCry of the Namibian Youth, International Youth Day and President Hage Geingob

Today is International Youth Day and President Hage Geingob have wished our young people a Happy International Youth Day and assuring them that the government will continue to live up to its responsibility to accompany and support young people in ‘’their endeavours to become productive citizens’’. The many programmes the government has set in motion to empower the youth, including its spend in the education sector, show that the government is concerned with where the youth find themselves in the Namibian society. What concerns the government and the society at large is the slow off-take of these programmes and their…