South Africa

Banning trophy hunting will be catastrophic for conservation

Banning trophy hunting will be catastrophic for conservation

Staff Writer The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has come out guns blazing as he defends the significance of trophy conservation in the country, amid an international outcry to ban the import and export of trophies, saying countries who are advocating for this are jealous, arguing that a ban would negatively affect sustainable conservation. Pohamba Shifeta said there are so many wild animals whose numbers have surpassed the carrying sustainable capacity, hence the reason why many cases of human wildlife conflict is on the increase. “The same countries that are writing letters to us requesting for our wild animals,…
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Youth falling victim to dubious travel agents ……possible human trafficking at play

Youth falling victim to dubious travel agents ……possible human trafficking at play

Tujoromajo Kasuto OVER a hundred Namibians, mostly youth, have been duped and abandoned in foreign countries by unscrupulous people posing as travel agents leaving them high and dry penniless in foreign countries. The ambitious youth are scammed under the pretext of being assisted with travel arrangements, losing substantial sums of money in the process. According to Tousy Tjijombo, a concerned Namibian citizen who has lived abroad and is assisting to "rescue" the stranded youth in foreign destinations, the number is constantly rising as they continue to receive more complaints from family members whose loved ones are stuck abroad. She claims…
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OGF hosts virtual transitional justice panel discussion in the  observance of International Commemoration of Genocide Day

OGF hosts virtual transitional justice panel discussion in the observance of International Commemoration of Genocide Day

Staff Writer Diasporans from Botswana, South Africa, United Kingdom (UK) are among panelists joining descendants of the victims of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide in tackling this issue during a virtual discussion to be livestreamed tomorrow evening. This is to observe the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide, and of the Prevention of this Crime, which is observed every year on 9 December. This year also sees the 78th anniversary of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, also known as the Genocide Convention.…
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Health Ministry says no to ivermectin approval … as doctors submit petition

Health Ministry says no to ivermectin approval … as doctors submit petition

Andrew Kathindi The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) says it has no intentions to approve ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment. A petition by over 30 doctors was sent to the MOHSS and Namibia Medicines Regulatory Council (NMRC), asking that the drug should receive an emergency approval for COVID-19 treatment in the country. Health Executive Director (ED), Ben Nangombe, and the council's registrar of medicine, Johannes Gaeseb, both confirmed receiving the petition. “The ministry issued a document, a public notice on the second of February about the views on ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 in Namibia. A that point…
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Tourism sector crisis deepens as international arrivals dry up

Tourism sector crisis deepens as international arrivals dry up

Helena Johannes Namibia Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Digu Naobeb, has revealed that income flow from the tourism sector is still very weak regardless of the opening of boarders and relaxed COVID-19 measures. “The fact that the country has not seen much uptake by international travelers for holiday purposes is mainly driven by the fact that Namibia’s main source markets are going through a second wave after the borders were opened,” Naobeb said. “Namibia will surely, for now, rely on domestic and regional tourism from our neighboring countries, particularly South Africa, who opened its borders, and Botswana is also…
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State funds must build Namibia first

The contract for printing Namibian ballots is now farmed out to South Africa. This is a mistake during this unique, crisis situation in Namibia. How can this country hope to revive if state funds, i.e., taxpayer money, are going to secure South African jobs? The government must invest at home, even if it seems to cost more (on the surface) to kick start the economy and save local jobs, businesses and families. In this terrible economic crisis, the government must ensure that Namibia revives. The bottom line is that we need different avenues to invest at home to inject money…
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Choppies plans to exit 4 countries

Choppies plans to exit 4 countries

Staff Writer Choppies is exiting South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique having suffered running shortfalls, worsened by fraudulent activities, that contributed to the P139 million loss unveiled last week for the half-year ended December 31, 2019. Choppies has 88 stores in South Africa and first entered the country in 2008 The regional grocer will focus its attention on its cash cow, Botswana, as well as Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia, but rather than its previous aggression in expanding its footprint, Choppies now plans a “careful, phased” approach. “We are exiting from a few markets where the growth has been coming at…
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