Uncategorised – Page 74 – Windhoek Observer

12 Sep

The word ‘corruption’ is being abused

Uncategorisedcorruption, SMS

Jackie Wilson Asheeke SMS pages, letters to the editor and social media conversations give great insight into public points of view. Through these avenues, I have seen an alarming misuse of word ‘corruption.’ When people label everything as 'corrupt', it is like crying wolf. After a while, no one listens to the cry of alarm anymore – that powerful word loses value and impact. Look at how people have killed the impact of the terms ‘terrorist’ or ‘fake news.’ These loaded words had solid meanings once upon a time. But, now, they have been co-opted by people on the left…

12 Sep

The Tour de France

Uncategorised

The Time Traveler: Hugh Ellis One sporting event that I’m delighted has not become a total casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic is the Tour de France. Imagine riding a bicycle up to 200 kilometers a day, every day, for three straight weeks, over mountain passes and along windswept coasts, clocking maximum speeds in excess of 60 kilometers an hour? That’s the kind of feat these athletes deliver, year on year. As someone who takes a bike out for a 10-kilometer spin on Saturdays and Sundays, I’ve always thought it completely out of this world. Of course, the reputation of the…

12 Sep

A Special Tribute to Phillip Shiimi – A True Champion of our Time

UncategorisedNdangi Katoma, NUST, Phillip Shiimi, University of Namibia

Ndangi Katoma I first met him at the yellow benches, in the present day NUST campus in Windhoek, while we were both queuing up for registration to commence our tertiary education at the University of Namibia, two years after Namibia’s independence. We immediately connected and bonded well, in a journey of solid friendship and camaraderie that lasted for a good solid twenty three years, when he departed from this earth, on that fateful day, 12 September 2015, in a tragic car accident, about 68 kilometres from Otjiwarongo to Otavi. Born on 21 November 1972 at Ondangwa in Oshikoto Region, the…

12 Sep

FirstRand Namibia profit down 23.7 percent

UncategorisedFirstRand Namibia, FirstRand Namibia Chief Financial Officer Oscar Capelao

Staff Writer FirstRand Namibia released its financial results for the year ending 30 June 2020 where its profit before tax decreased by 23.7 percent to N$1.21 billion compared to N$1.58 billion recorded prior year. “FirstRand Namibia entered this crisis in a position of strength in terms of capital, liquidity, technology and, importantly, talent. Considering the repo rate and prime rate reduction during the reporting period of 275bps, net interest income remained flat, N$2 013.4 million (2019: N$2 012.2 million). Interest expense decreased by 0.4 percent while interest income decreased by 0.2 percent,” FirstRand Namibia Chief Financial Officer Oscar Capelao said.…

11 Sep

The Sports Minister misses the point

UncategorisedHon Agnes Tjongarero, Minister of Sports, Youth and National Service

Jefta Mcgregor Gaoab The Minister of Sports, Youth and National Service (MSYNS), [Hon. Agnes Tjongarero] hijacked and postponed the initially planned media press conference by Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), which was slated for Monday, 31 August 2020. This was done because the Minister was not receptive nor in favour of the interventions by the very NSC that is entrusted with the administrative task of National Sports Federation and national sports umbrella bodies. The issue of the application of NPL’s federation status was not resolved as the Minister intervened and halted it. Mind you the reader, irrespective of which body you…

10 Sep

NAMDIA declares N$80 million dividend

UncategorisedNAMDIA, Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd

Clifton Movirongo Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd (NAMDIA) has declared a N$80 million dividend payable to the Government of Namibia for the financial period 2019/2020. The company’s full year profit after tax amounted to N$95.2 million, down 41 percent from prior year’s N$161.9 million, with N$63 million paid in taxes to the Ministry of Finance. NAMDIA also paid export levy amounting to N$19 million for the period under review. “NAMDIA performed relatively well during 2019/2020, despite an extremely challenging year for the diamond industry. This positive financial performance is attributed to a well-executed strategy that focuses on revenue maximization for…

09 Sep

Local referees undergo FIFA online course

UncategorisedNamibia Football Association (NFA)

Namibia Football Association (NFA) match officials are being taken through the ropes through the FIFA Member Association (MA) Elite Referee Online Course this week. The course is designed to develop and train referees remotely in order to be as safe as possible. The course will involve video presentations, online polls and questions-and-answer sessions. The four-day FIFA MA Referees online course which has thirty-five participants is being conducted by Tracy Lovell (Physical Instructor) and Ali Ahmed (Technical Instructor). Due to the major impact of the Covid -19, FIFA has been searching for alternative ways to continue their mission of supporting and…

09 Sep

FNB records Q2 house prices softening

UncategorisedFNB Market Research Manager Frans Uusiku

Staff Writer FNB Namibia says although market sentiments point to further declines in house prices due to expected distressed sales, it is of the opinion that price contractions have reached their peak. “House price gains were notable in the Coastal and Northern regions, registering growth of 8 percent and 6 percent y/y respectively. Meanwhile, double digit contractions in house prices of 10.8 percent and 13.8 percent y/y were recorded in the central and southern regions due to affordability issues. As a result, the elevated demand for land in the central region led to a 12-month average price growth of 14.2…

05 Sep

Couch Cat: Liberate your hair on lockdown

UncategorisedCouch Cat, lockdown

Jackie Wilson Asheeke I have been wearing braid extensions since I was 21. Current articles on natural hair care say that I have done irreparable damage to my natural hair. They are right. The pulling, braiding, and twisting has weakened, thinned and broken off my hair. But, then again, I have had decades of loving my braided look. Life is all about trade-offs. That said, working remote at home in these pandemic days, there is no need to go out as much. So, I wear no braids most of the time. It was weird at first – I look so…

05 Sep

New political formations, how ideological are they?

UncategorisedUN-supervised elections, Yours Truly Ideologically

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro In the last edition, Yours Truly Ideologically compared the ideological position of the various political formations, during the First Phase of the Namibian Revolution. That is from the war of resistance against colonial penetration to the liberation war against colonial occupation, and even during the country’s first ever democratic elections, the 1989 UN-supervised elections. Despite some of the political parties initially gimmicking and posturing socialist positions, it transpired that in their manifestos for the 1989 elections, there was little difference in their economic policies, or their economic blue prints for the radical transformation of the country’s economy. Thirty…