Every Namibian voice matters: a call for a media support bill to strengthen rural coverage

Every Namibian voice matters: a call for a media support bill to strengthen rural coverage

Hidipo Hamata In Namibia, the right to information is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, which ensures freedom of expression and the press. Likewise, many newspapers, including The Namibian, Namibian Sun, and Confidénte, struggle to report from rural areas due to limited resources. Covering town councils, urban crime, and government announcements is far cheaper than sending reporters hundreds of kilometres to remote communities, where roads are poor, fuel is expensive, and audiences are small. Consequently, rural issues remain underreported, investigative journalism suffers, and newsrooms increasingly rely on press statements, Facebook posts, WhatsApp messages, or court documents instead of original…
Read More
Emotions live in the body 

Emotions live in the body 

Sybille Lindner Have you ever felt your shoulders pull up when you got a fright or your belly pull tight when you thought you had forgotten something important? Have you ever felt a current of restlessness in your legs when you really wanted to do something fun, or your heart expanding with joy when you realised someone had thought of you for your birthday? These experiences are so innately part of being human that we often forget that they are part of us every day. Our feelings and emotions are not just happening in our brains – they are felt…
Read More
The burden of being a single mother and lessons for co-parenting 

The burden of being a single mother and lessons for co-parenting 

Monika Shafuda  Being a single mother is two-way traffic – meaning that you have to juggle household responsibilities alone, work and childcare and carry the weight of two parents at the same time. In Namibia we have brave women who endured the hardship of raising children alone, not simply because it is what they want, but because it appears to be caused by many circumstances which are sometimes uneasy to mitigate, such as untimely death, cultural norms, and laws like protection orders and divorce, just to mention a few. While the road of single motherhood is filled with love and…
Read More

OBSERVER DAILY | NHE: Now or never to deliver on the dream of affordable housing

For decades, the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) has been the government’s principal vehicle to meet one of Namibia’s most pressing social needs: decent and affordable housing. Yet the promise of shelter for all has repeatedly been deferred. Backlogs have grown. Informal settlements have multiplied. The gap between aspiration and reality remains a national embarrassment.  With the ink now dry on a five-year collaboration agreement between the NHE and the Roads Contractor Company (RCC), the message is unmistakable: it is now or never for the NHE to prove that it can deliver on its founding mandate. The agreement signed this week…
Read More
Plastic Packaging, union deadlock over salary talks

Plastic Packaging, union deadlock over salary talks

Allexer Namundjembo Industrial action broke out on Tuesday outside Plastic Packaging (Pty) Ltd in Windhoek after wage negotiations with the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU) collapsed.  Workers began picketing at the company’s premises, demanding higher salary increases than those offered by management. Negotiations, which began in January 2025  have yet to yield an agreement.  The company confirmed the deadlock, saying it had tabled an above-inflation increase for employees but could not meet the union’s latest demands. Plastic Packaging’s managing director, Nico Du Plessis, said the company remains open to dialogue but must consider wider financial realities.  “We have…
Read More
Father denied bail in child murder case

Father denied bail in child murder case

Allexer Namundjembo A 33-year-old man accused of killing his two children in Onkani village, Omuntele constituency, was denied bail during his first court appearance in Ondangwa on Tuesday. The accused, Thomas Sheya, faces two counts of murder after allegedly twisting the necks of his children, four-year-old Ruusa Sheya and two-year-old Andreas Sheya, on Sunday night.  Magistrate Nelao ya France  refused granting bail citing the seriousness of the case, public interest, and the early stage of investigations.  The case was postponed to 23 March 2026 as police await postmortem results and continue with investigations. Sheya has opted for a state-funded lawyer.…
Read More
Residents demand ouster of Tsumeb’s acting CEO

Residents demand ouster of Tsumeb’s acting CEO

Renthia Kaimbi Tsumeb residents want acting chief executive officer Frans Enkali removed, saying his extended tenure is draining municipal resources. Enkali, a retired chief regional officer of the Oshikoto region, was appointed more than a year ago on what was meant to be a three-month contract to oversee the recruitment of a permanent CEO.  Despite interviews having been conducted before his appointment, the position remains vacant. The Tsumeb Concerned Residents Association, led by Lisken Claasen, is calling for his replacement by either a permanent CEO or an existing head of department. “We are tired of engaging a CEO that is…
Read More
IPC vice president to contest Walvis Bay Urban constituency seat

IPC vice president to contest Walvis Bay Urban constituency seat

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) vice president and Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes will contest the Walvis Bay Urban Constituency seat in the upcoming Regional Council elections. The confirmation follows the party’s announcement of vetted candidates for both regional council and local authority elections. The announcement was made in a notice issued on 12 September 2025 by IPC national general secretary Christine Aochamus to all Regional Executive Committees. The notice confirmed that the vetting process for candidates had been completed. According to Aochamus, “All approved candidates shall proceed with elections in their respective Local Authorities. In constituencies where…
Read More
Affordable housing impossible without serviced land – RCC

Affordable housing impossible without serviced land – RCC

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Roads Contractor Company (RCC) has stressed that affordable housing in Namibia will not be possible without serviced land. This follows the signing of a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) on Monday. The agreement between the two state-owned enterprises aims to speed up land servicing and housing delivery under the government’s sixth National Development Plan. RCC interim chief executive officer Dasius Nelumbu said the company’s role in road construction, water and sewer reticulation, stormwater drainage, and electrification is central to housing projects.  “Affordable housing is not possible without proper infrastructure. RCC’s role…
Read More
From crisis to hope: How genomic research could turn the tide on prostate cancer in Namibia 

From crisis to hope: How genomic research could turn the tide on prostate cancer in Namibia 

Uvatera Maurihungirire Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in Namibia, with an alarmingly high rate of 63.8 cases per 100 000 men. In Sub-Saharan Africa, this number is predicted to at least triple by 2040. This means that prostate cancer has now overtaken other leading malignancies in Namibia, including breast and cervical, making it a critical public health concern that requires urgent attention. Despite this, many men are diagnosed only when the disease has advanced, which limits treatment options and reduces survival rates. Why are the numbers so high? Several factors contribute to the high prostate cancer…
Read More