Day: March 1, 2024

OKANKOLO: The Director of Education in the Oshikoto Region, Aletta Eises, has urged learners to prioritise their studies over social media platforms.

Eises was speaking during the launch of the 2024 academic year and Oshikoto regional performance enhancement awards ceremony at Onguti Secondary School in the Okankolo Constituency.

‘Many learners are on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. They need to get off Facebook and face their books,’ said Eises.

The education director further said learners should not wait for the final examinations and should instead start preparing themselves now.

‘We need to start now because we only have a few months left before the final examinations,’ she said.

She also called upon parents to assist in fostering academic discipline among learners by establishing rules and standards at home.

Eises emphasised the theme for the year, ‘Teamwork for action towards excellence,’ stressing the collaborative effort required from both schools and parents.

‘Parents must
help the education system so that we can achieve excellence and move forward together to raise our learners,’ she said.

She further advised principals to motivate and inspire teachers and learners rather than resorting to bullying or manipulation.

‘Bullying and manipulation are not a management style, we should lead with a firm hand and a soft heart,’ Eises said.

The director’s remarks followed a decline in the Oshikoto Region’s ranking from fourth to seventh in Grade 12 results in 2023 and an improvement from eighth to fourth position in Grade 11 results.

The Regional Councillor for the Okankolo Constituency, Hans Nambondi, echoed the call for collaboration among stakeholders in the education sector to support learners in achieving their aspirations.

‘Teachers, parents, traditional leaders, business people and political leaders, let us all team up to help our learners in achieving their dreams,’ said Nambondi.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

OSHAKATI: Eemhunda residents in the Okalongo Constituency were left destitute after a strong storm and rain destroyed their homes, business premises and mahangu fields on Wednesday night.

Rafael Eduardo, 67, told Nampa on Thursday that the storm destroyed many of their properties and mahangu fields.

According to Eduardo, many of the zinc sheets that were blown off buildings were found a distance from the houses.

‘I was left now fixing the zinc sheets back that were blown away by the storm even though they are really damaged,’ he said.

He added that with their mahangu fields completely destroyed, they are worried that they will not have a harvest.

Another resident, Pendukeni Hifindako, 38, indicated that the storm affected his business badly resulting in damage of materials and equipment that will be costly for him.

‘My welding machines and other materials were damaged and getting my business off the ground once again will be costly for me,’ he said.

At this stage, Hifindako said the total value of the
damage is unknown as he will have to assess the matter.

‘I do not know what to do now, this business was my livelihood and I have lost everything in the blink of a night,’ he said.

Okalongo Constituency councillor, Laurentius Iipinge, said he is aware of the matter and will be writing a report to the Office of the Omusati Region Governor, which will then be sent to the Office of the Prime Minister for further intervention.

At this stage, Iipinge indicated that his office has no aid to help the affected residents.

‘We are waiting for the traditional authority to provide us with a detailed report as to how many homesteads were destroyed,’ he said.

Iipinge said that once the report is issued they will know how many people were already registered for drought relief and the rest will be added on the list as their mahangu field was destroyed.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

KATIMA MULILO: The Zambezi Region Governor, Lawrence Sampofu, says he believes there will be a positive outcome from the sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), arguing it will address the needs and plight of the community.

In his welcoming remarks read on his behalf by Kabbe South Constituency councillor John Likando at the consultation meeting here on Thursday, Sampofu acknowledged that NDP5 had lots of challenges and setbacks, and thus urged both the regional and local authorities and the public to actively participate in the interaction and bring desired development in the region through the new plan.

‘Our infrastructure are to be developed, in order to create employment. The Zambezi Tourism Waterfront is there, and we hoped it would create job opportunities but now it’s turning into a white elephant,’ said Sampofu.

Chief Executive Officer and Focal Point of the African Peer Review Mechanism office in Namibia, Ambassador Lineekela Mboti argued that Namibia ‘has good plans from NDP1 to NDP5, but impleme
ntation is the challenge.’

‘We must tell ourselves the truth, we are failing to implement our plans. Yes, there are resource challenges and inadequate funding, but we still need to implement our plans,’ Mboti urged.

The ambassador argued that as the mantra goes on inclusivity, indeed no one should be left out in the formulation and benefiting from the plan.

National Planning Commission Deputy Advisor, Habani Munyungano says the main reason the NPC was in the Zambezi Region was to engage in extensive consultations with everyone, from the well-informed man to the grassroots level.

‘The findings show that there is a high unemployment rate among the youth, which needs urgent attention, our own youth, we need to take care of them, we are mandated to plan on their behalf, we need them to get them access to health facilities and basic needs,’ Munyungano stated.

The NDP6 is a six-year plan that will cover 2025-2031.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

OTJIWARONGO: Learners of the Orwetoveni Primary School, Karundu Junior Secondary School and Monica Geingos Junior Secondary School on Friday afternoon gathered at Otjiwarongo’s central businesses district to celebrate World Wildlife Day.

The 2024 World Wildlife Day at Otjiwarongo was jointly organised by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and Otjikoto B2Gold Mine’s environmental department.

The three institutions each asked learners questions about the general environment, positions of charging carnivores, relaxed herbivores and names of various trees and animals.

CCF lead environmental educator, Ignatius Davids at the event said World Wildlife Day is an important annual occasion at CCF as this provides an opportunity for them to celebrate and raise awareness about the world’s fauna and flora.

‘Therefore, this day is very important as most of the environmentalists across the world and staff members of CCF who look after a total of about 30 wild cheetahs
at the farm would come together yearly and celebrate their achievements in conservations,’ he said.

The school learners then held dancing competitions under the theme ‘Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation.’

The three schools also had poster competitions, interactive exhibitions and community engagement initiatives with a purpose to help educate and inspire the local community members here about the importance of preserving and protecting wildlife.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

The Victory of Adwa is a hard won battle in 1896 during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. Following the declaration pronounced by the emperor that the sovereignty of Ethiopia was endangered by Italian Aggression, Ethiopians from four corners of the country marched to Addis Ababa and Were Ilu.

Peasants, women and volunteers, artisans and others from all backgrounds and ethnicities left for Addis Ababa and Were Ilu to fend off Italian aggressors who had the support of the colonial powers in the Scramble for Africa.

The victory of Adwa is commemorated annually on March 2 in Ethiopia.

Exactly 128 years ago, more than 100,000, multi-ethnic, barefooted and well equipped but courageous Ethiopian irregular soldiers led by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taitu and 12 commanders drawn from across the country marched for a historic face off with invading Italian Army equipped to the teeth with modern firearms at the hills of Adwa.

The victory of Ethiopian youth army at the Battle of Adwa on March 2, 1896 is a histor
ic landmark in the history of the black population across the world, particularly in Africa. It ignited two important phenomenological incidents in Ethiopian and African history including the decolonization of African and the continental vision of Pan Africanism.

The victory at the Battle of Adwa immediately resonated across the world in complete negation of the invincibility of the diplomatic, political and military prowess of the European colonialists and their cry wolf of ‘civilizing mission.’

Every year on March 2, Ethiopia and Africa mark the victory at the Battle of Adwa, in which Emperor Menelik II mobilized youth army of artesian, women and volunteers from all walks of life to repel Italian aggressors which received the blessings of the colonial powers in the Scramble for Africa in line with the resolutions of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885.)

Professor Richard Pankhurst, in his book “Reflections on the Battle of Adwa,” highlights the enduring significance of the Ethiopian triumph at the Battle of
Adwa, which holds a prominent place in the collective memory of the African continent. This historic event stands as a remarkable testament, celebrated for over a century, and holds the unique distinction of being the sole secular occurrence in Africa’s extensive chronicles to garner such prolonged recognition.

A phenomenon such as Adwa is a complex nexus of various historical processes with wide ranging but as yet not fully explored meanings. Adwa does not only reflect its time, but that it also transcends it, and that the aspirations and meanings that flow from it have been a powerful constitutive force in the rise and evolution of modern African Pan Africanism. Indeed, it is an event that awakened the hope for emancipation and the struggle against colonialism and racism among Africans in the colonies and in the Diaspora.

Black people across the globe celebrate one historical asset that occurred 128 years ago in a small town in northern Ethiopia. The Battle of Adwa was a rocket booster or a launching pad
for the inception of Pan Africanism. This historic battle and the subsequent victory registered by irregular army of Ethiopia resonated across the world as the first victory against a colonial power ever to be won by an African country.

History proves that the victory at the Battle of Adwa was not a victory only for Ethiopia. Although the Battle was fought in Ethiopia, the entire global peoples share this outstanding victory against a European colonial power that was thought to be invincible.

It must be noted that the founding fathers of the former OAU were certainly inspired by the loft goals of pan Africanism. Kwame Nkrumah, who was undoubtedly one of Africa’s foremost freedom fighters, nationalists, writers, and thinkers, that influenced a generation of Pan-African nationalists and freedom fighters, and the founding member of the Organization of African.

He foretold that ‘It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided We fall;
United, We Stand” become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.

Will Africa live up to these expectations? The current trend is in the right direction but certainly there are huge challenges ahead before the lofty goals of Pan Africanism are achieved.

Today, the African Union (AU) has creatively designed Agenda 2063.

Ethiopia was and is indeed a forerunner in promoting the loft goals of Pan Africanism and the decolonization of the African continent by supporting major African liberation fronts like ANC.

Moreover, in the sphere of integrating Africa, Ethiopia has already gone a long way in connecting Africa by aviation, railway line, road transport, telecommunication and supply of renewable hydro-electric power for the neighboring countries.

The aspirations of the victory at the Battle of Adwa needs to be implanted in the African youth who are expected to continue to light up the torch of Pan Africanism. The spirit of Adwa will certainly continue to reverberate in the current pan Africanist bat
tle against abject poverty, climate change and pursue common destiny.

In this regard, Ethiopia has recently inaugurated a state-of-the-art memorial to honor those who fell at the Battle of Adwa. The Adwa Victory Memorial honors the bravery and resilience of Ethiopians in the face of colonial powers who labeled the continent Africa as dark.

In addition to its historical significance, the Victory Memorial also serves as a symbol of pride, unity, and resilience for the Ethiopian people and Africa at large. It is a place of remembrance, reflection, and education, preserving the memory of the Battle of Adwa and its enduring legacy for future generations.

Victory at the Battle of Adwa is indeed symbolic of how an irregular army of Ethiopia defeated an European army equipped to the teeth only because Ethiopians were united in purpose to ensure their freedom and territorial integrity. The lesson from Adwa was loud and clear, united Africans can overcome any challenge facing them.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

RUNDU: The suspected food poisoning incident at Rundu that claimed the lives of two children and left five hospitalised has claimed another life as a 12-year-old boy died at the Rundu State Hospital on Thursday.

This was confirmed in an update by Namibian Police Force (NamPol) acting commander for the Kavango East Region, Deputy Commissioner Eino Nambahu, on Friday.

‘One of the children from the suspected food poisoning passed on last night as his two siblings remain in critical condition,’ stated Nambahu.

It is alleged that the family prepared porridge with traditional spinach known as mutete for lunch. After lunch, one of the elder kids reportedly complained of stomach ache.

Later around 19h00 that day, seven-year-old Elfriede Nangombe Shinyemba started vomiting, felt weak and died.

Nambahu said police from Ndiyona Constituency, where the incident happened, together with medical personnel from the Nyangana District Hospital, departed to the scene and found Shinyemba deceased, while others were vomiting
and in a weak state.

‘The medical personnel started giving first aid to try and stabilise their condition,’ he said.

The seven kids were immediately rushed to the Nyangana District Hospital and later transferred to the Rundu State Hospital.

While being transferred to the Rundu State Hospital, the youngest of the seven kids, one-year-old Melania Nahambo Likuwa died.

Nambahu indicated that a team from NamPol and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in the region departed to the homestead of the eight children in Ndiyona to assess the situation.

He said all the necessary samples were collected and taken for laboratory tests.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

The Victory of Adwa is a hard won battle in 1896 during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. Following the declaration pronounced by the emperor that the sovereignty of Ethiopia was endangered by Italian Aggression, Ethiopians from four corners of the country marched to Addis Ababa and Were Ilu.

Peasants, women and volunteers, artisans and others from all backgrounds and ethnicities left for Addis Ababa and Were Ilu to fend off Italian aggressors who had the support of the colonial powers in the Scramble for Africa.

The victory of Adwa is commemorated annually on March 2 in Ethiopia.

Exactly 128 years ago, more than 100,000, multi-ethnic, barefooted and well equipped but courageous Ethiopian irregular soldiers led by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taitu and 12 commanders drawn from across the country marched for a historic face off with invading Italian Army equipped to the teeth with modern firearms at the hills of Adwa.

The victory of Ethiopian youth army at the Battle of Adwa on March 2, 1896 is a histor
ic landmark in the history of the black population across the world, particularly in Africa. It ignited two important phenomenological incidents in Ethiopian and African history including the decolonization of African and the continental vision of Pan Africanism.

The victory at the Battle of Adwa immediately resonated across the world in complete negation of the invincibility of the diplomatic, political and military prowess of the European colonialists and their cry wolf of ‘civilizing mission.’

Every year on March 2, Ethiopia and Africa mark the victory at the Battle of Adwa, in which Emperor Menelik II mobilized youth army of artesian, women and volunteers from all walks of life to repel Italian aggressors which received the blessings of the colonial powers in the Scramble for Africa in line with the resolutions of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885.)

Professor Richard Pankhurst, in his book “Reflections on the Battle of Adwa,” highlights the enduring significance of the Ethiopian triumph at the Battle of
Adwa, which holds a prominent place in the collective memory of the African continent. This historic event stands as a remarkable testament, celebrated for over a century, and holds the unique distinction of being the sole secular occurrence in Africa’s extensive chronicles to garner such prolonged recognition.

A phenomenon such as Adwa is a complex nexus of various historical processes with wide ranging but as yet not fully explored meanings. Adwa does not only reflect its time, but that it also transcends it, and that the aspirations and meanings that flow from it have been a powerful constitutive force in the rise and evolution of modern African Pan Africanism. Indeed, it is an event that awakened the hope for emancipation and the struggle against colonialism and racism among Africans in the colonies and in the Diaspora.

Black people across the globe celebrate one historical asset that occurred 128 years ago in a small town in northern Ethiopia. The Battle of Adwa was a rocket booster or a launching pad
for the inception of Pan Africanism. This historic battle and the subsequent victory registered by irregular army of Ethiopia resonated across the world as the first victory against a colonial power ever to be won by an African country.

History proves that the victory at the Battle of Adwa was not a victory only for Ethiopia. Although the Battle was fought in Ethiopia, the entire global peoples share this outstanding victory against a European colonial power that was thought to be invincible.

It must be noted that the founding fathers of the former OAU were certainly inspired by the loft goals of pan Africanism. Kwame Nkrumah, who was undoubtedly one of Africa’s foremost freedom fighters, nationalists, writers, and thinkers, that influenced a generation of Pan-African nationalists and freedom fighters, and the founding member of the Organization of African.

He foretold that ‘It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided We fall;
United, We Stand” become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.

Will Africa live up to these expectations? The current trend is in the right direction but certainly there are huge challenges ahead before the lofty goals of Pan Africanism are achieved.

Today, the African Union (AU) has creatively designed Agenda 2063.

Ethiopia was and is indeed a forerunner in promoting the loft goals of Pan Africanism and the decolonization of the African continent by supporting major African liberation fronts like ANC.

Moreover, in the sphere of integrating Africa, Ethiopia has already gone a long way in connecting Africa by aviation, railway line, road transport, telecommunication and supply of renewable hydro-electric power for the neighboring countries.

The aspirations of the victory at the Battle of Adwa needs to be implanted in the African youth who are expected to continue to light up the torch of Pan Africanism. The spirit of Adwa will certainly continue to reverberate in the current pan Africanist bat
tle against abject poverty, climate change and pursue common destiny.

In this regard, Ethiopia has recently inaugurated a state-of-the-art memorial to honor those who fell at the Battle of Adwa. The Adwa Victory Memorial honors the bravery and resilience of Ethiopians in the face of colonial powers who labeled the continent Africa as dark.

In addition to its historical significance, the Victory Memorial also serves as a symbol of pride, unity, and resilience for the Ethiopian people and Africa at large. It is a place of remembrance, reflection, and education, preserving the memory of the Battle of Adwa and its enduring legacy for future generations.

Victory at the Battle of Adwa is indeed symbolic of how an irregular army of Ethiopia defeated an European army equipped to the teeth only because Ethiopians were united in purpose to ensure their freedom and territorial integrity. The lesson from Adwa was loud and clear, united Africans can overcome any challenge facing them.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency