In the Newsroom
In the Newsroom takes a deeper look at top stories, stories of interest and issues of the day... we speak to various experts and bring you a more three-dimensional take on the news.
Mobile app developed to assist disabled Namibians
The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung together with the Minds in Action Team launched the Namibian Constitution Mobile App. The app was created in order to assist people with disabilities. It's available on both Google play and the App Store. In the Newsroom spoke to Claudia Gossow Programme Manager at Konrad Adenauer…
Can Swapo be returned to its glory days?
The Swapo Party has for many years been known as a party of unity and a powerful liberation movement. However, in recent years the members of the party have been embroiled in infighting, causing harm and disunity within the party. Now with the party elective congress happening this weekend, the…
Fishrot: Restorative justice is needed
Civil Society Organizations call for restorative justice following the marking of the third year anniversary since the country’s biggest corruption scandal, Fishrot, was uncovered. Over 30,000 leaked documents revealed how, since 2012, Iceland’s largest fishing company Samherji had paid millions of dollars to political figures and their associates in Namibia…
Murorua chats about communal farmers and the law in Kunene
Communal farmers and their utter disregard for the labour law when it comes to farmworkers is still in the news. In the Newsroom checked in with UDF member, member of parliament and farmer in the Kunene region, Dudu Murorua and asked him how farmers in that region are abiding by…
Communal farmers under fire for labour-law infringements
Tucna has given the formal unions for farmworkers well-deserved credit saying these unions are doing very well in obeying the labour law and even going above and beyond, especially when it comes to wages. The challenge, he says, is the communal farming industry that underpays, uses illegal workers and child…
Omnipresent poverty is breaking Namibia
The Namibian People Against Poverty Organisation says it has around 25 000 members nationwide, of whom 40 have committed suicide this year due to poverty. The organisation held a peaceful demonstration in Otavi to draw attention to their state of poverty while also having the government to support and finance…
Swapo does not value black lives
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila during her visit to the southern regions of Namibia, told traditional leaders that the negotiations for reparations are not complete, and urges them to step up and get involved in the process. The government has in the past been criticised for going ahead on their own…
M&Z Motors sponsors 4X4 ambulance to the Namibia Marshal Rangers
Namibian Marshal Rangers Emergency Rescue Services was given a Mahindra 4X4 Ambulance by M&Z Motors at the Motor Show. The Mahindra will go to the coast to serve the Erongo Region to get to those in need in the dunes and areas with access challenges. They also established their toll-free…
Drink and drugs amongst learners is a nationwide problem
Drunk and high learners are in the news since the director of education in the Oshana region, Hileni Amukana, said she has received reports that learners arrive at school under the influence of liquor and drugs. There are also those who drink and smoke between classes. She says some of…
Namibia chairs the Security Council at the AU
Namibia became a member of the African Union Peace and Security Council on the 1st of April this year. The chairmanship of the council is on a rotational basis, as every member of the council will have an opportunity to chair the council. November is Namibia’s turn. The Executive Director…
Gee gehoor aan Amupanda se eise dat rooilyn verwyder word
The debate around the removal of the redline is still a hot topic in the political arena. The call off Dr. Job Amupanda is seen by many as a threat to the national beef industry, while others see it as a thing of the colonial times that was used to…
Quality and employability of tertiary education in the spotlight
Namibian universities have a number of courses that can kickstart a career, however, complaints have been made regarding the subject matter of some of these courses which limits employability in Namibia. Some course are also simply too theoretical. In the Newsroom chats with Dr Alfred van Kent, Executive Director at…
Tourist disturbance caused desert ellie-calf's death
It has been reported that tourists often get too close to wild animals and cause them to panic. The guides of Twyfelfontein Country Lodge came across a sad and unique story of an elephant calf that was too weak to survive in the harsh environment, but the mother carried her…
Crime in the spotlight, especially the high incidence of rape
The Namibia Institute for Democracy in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation hosted a discussion at the Goethe Institute with the focus on the latest developments and trends as far as crime is concerned. The public had the opportunity to engage with Nampol and the Namibia Correctional Services. Nampol's Chief…
Genocide reparations were never about the money
The deputy Namibian president Nangolo Mbumba says the government will meet again with their German counterparts to review the 18 billion Namibian dollar reparation payment because not all communities are happy with the negotiations. Mbumba says the affected communities, the government, and Namibians in general, must agree on the settlement…
Land is at the heart of it all
Land is a burning issue everywhere on the continent. LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi is in Johannesburg attending a session of the Pan-African Parliament and in his word, ancestral land is at the heart of his campaign there. Swartbooi tells In the Newsroom that land is at the heart of it…
HIV: Virally-repressed cases by far the majority
HIV concentration in 90 percent of children living with the virus in Ohangwena Region is so low that a blood test cannot detect HIV anymore. This is the encouraging result of strict adherence to antiretroviral therapy and other support services provided by Project Hope’s Namibia Adherence and Retention Project. “Once…
Politicians like looking back and placing blame...
During a session of the National Assembly, McHenry Venaani of the opposition Popular Democratic Movement PDN and Swapo Party's Utoni Nujoma locked horns when Venaani addressed the lack of economic development by the Swapo party led government for over 32 years since independence. Nujoma was quick to remind Venaani that…
Produce price differences at farm gate and store shelf 'explained'
Following the Namibian Agricultural Council's announcement of various vegetable prices for September this year, eyebrows were raised by die sometimes exceptionally large discrepancies between the prices paid at the farm gate and those paid by the consumer in Windhoek. In some instances, the difference is up to three times, or…
Why are civil servants always broke?
Following recent the payment of the civil servants' 3 percent by government, Siyanga Silinda, a civil servant who is a teacher by profession could not help but observe how his fellow civil servants were broke a day after they got paid, backpay from April. Silinda penned an opinion piece on…