Page 1295 – Windhoek Observer

03 Jul

Couch Kitten: Have you paid your water debt?

UncategorisedCouch Kitten

Clementine Tjameya When last did you drink at least three glasses of water a day? When most of us are asked this question around this time; we are too quick to reply: “Oh I had coffee twice today,” or “I passed by a face and a latte/ cappuccino.” We are too hooked on hot beverages and have forgotten about our favourite juice and cold drinks, and most importantly water. A few weeks or months down the line when you start to have acne breakouts or can’t lose that extra winter weight, you wonder what you have been doing wrong. Have…

03 Jul

Opinion – Life is a gift from God

UncategorisedAbortion, Covid-19, gender based violence

Given the current social and economic challenges, it is worth noting that as a nation, we face a myriad of challenges and as such we believe we should focus on these as we work together to resolve them. These challenges include: an economy in recession, the Covid-19 pandemic, gender based violence, the brutal rape of women, especially our young people and senior citizens, poverty, retrenchments which lead to job losses, disease, alcohol and drug abuse, etc. It remains our firm conviction that these are the issues that should occupy the nation’s attention and dedication. Introducing abortion on demand is a…

03 Jul

We’re too relaxed about COVID-19

UncategorisedCovid-19

Thandizo Kawerama The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Namibia has shot straight up to a whopping 293 cases and counting (as of 7/2/20), this should be alarming to us but surprisingly, it’s not. It’s business as usual for the population and I’m not too sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. We definitely should not be panicking, that’s for sure. Panicking as we all learned earlier this year, leads to overcrowded grocery stores and an unnecessary shortage of hand sanitisers and other products. These are both terrible scenarios due to the nature of transmission of the virus.…

03 Jul

Namibia’s Long Road to National Reconciliation – Part 2

Uncategorisedpresident Hage Geingob, SWAPO

Oiva Angula All Namibians know it was war, but wars are less chaotic than they appear. Pain, suffering and death are inflicted on someone’s orders. And wars have laws – some are supposed to protect even ‘enemy spies’ by treating them humanely in all circumstances. Protecting such ‘spies’ against murder, torture, humiliating or degrading treatment, and providing such ‘spies’ a fair trial was and is in line with international law. In dealing with the spy hysteria “Swapo perfidiously defied all established international protocols regarding armed conflicts,” says Pauline Dempers, the BWS national coordinator. The Swapo Party has through the years,…

03 Jul

Another lifetime

Uncategorisedjournalist, The Time Traveler

The Time Traveler: Hugh Ellis Do you ever wonder how it would have been if you’d lived another life? Like, if you had pursued another childhood ambition perhaps? For me, as a kid, I was interested in all things environmental. As it happened, my math marks weren’t good enough to get into environmental science, and I did also have interests in photography and writing, so I went to journalism school. Maybe by now I would be one of those ‘Save the Rhinos’ guys, or a Greta Thunberg-type, imploring the world’s people to listen to science more, and their wallets less.…

03 Jul

The new normal must include support

UncategorisedCity of Windhoek

Jackie Wilson Asheeke The new normal must have a requirement that each person is our sister and brother’s keeper. We must move outside of selfishness and into a new world of standing together. If we cannot do this, anger will permeate the ‘newness’ of the normal. I read about a woman named Wilhelmina Afrikaner in Windhoek’s Dolam area who runs a self-initiated hostel where she takes care of young children in need. She gives them food, a fire to warm their hands and a place of safety. And yet, our dearly beloved City of Windhoek gave her a bill for…

03 Jul

Katjavivi must not ‘escort’, he must retire

National NewsHonourable Speaker of the Parliament, Peter Katjavivi, president Hage Geingob

A reliable source repeated a conversation he had earlier this year with the Honourable Speaker of the Parliament, Peter Katjavivi. When asked why he would not retire rather than attempt a second term as Speaker at this age, the Speaker said, “I want to escort my friend to his final term.” The ‘friend’ he refers to is President Hage Geingob. The two near octogenarians, indeed share a long history of friendship and comradery. But, the comment made as related, is quite telling. The Speaker’s decision to stay in office may not have been to first serve the people of Namibia,…

03 Jul

Ling appointed new Hartlief MD

UncategorisedGunther Ling, Hartlief, Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group

Staff Writer The Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group has announced the appointment of Gunther Ling as Managing Director (MD) its subsidiary, Hartlief. Ling, who has been with the O&L Group for the last 13 years and started in the Finance Department of the Group, and later Broll Namibia, had been serving as MD of another O&L subsidiary, Namibia Dairies, for the last seven years. Thereafter, he joined Namibia Dairies as the Financial Director before moving into operations which gave him good insight into factory life and manufacturing and was then appointed Managing Director of Namibia Dairies from 2014 to 2019.…

03 Jul

Savvy Banking Saves FNB Customers Money

UncategorisedFNB Namibia

Staff writer FNB Namibia has announced that it will cut prices across a number of its banking services and fees from 1 July 2020. The bank said with the updated pricing structure, it aims to offer more value and simplicity to customers when it comes to its banking fees, and thus has changed its pricing to reflect this. “FNB also altered its fee structures to facilitate the shift from cash transactions to electronic transfers and cashless payments.We are cognisant that customers are facing financial pressure, therefore several free transactions will provide relief to many. The financial impact of COVID-19 has…

03 Jul

Namibia’s long road to national reconciliation – Part 1

UncategorisedLubango, Namibia, SWAPO

Oiva Angula The two past weeks, Namibia’s National Assembly has been embroiled in a dramatic, sometimes bitter, debate about national reconciliation. This is not the first such debate since independence in 1990. Namibia seems to be burdened with a lingering wound of its past with some sections of society still crying for reconciliation, social integration and national healing. The great hope of a society based on social cohesion as promised at independence appears illusive for some Namibians. As a survivor of Swapo’s Lubango prison camps, Tangeni Mureko, 49, needed no reminder of how painful it was to live; how terrible…