Day: April 15, 2024

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Service held in honour of the late Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros


Residents of the ||Kharas Region on Sunday gathered at the farm of the late liberation struggle veteran, Ida Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros, to honour her legacy and celebrate her life.

Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros died on 03 April at the age of 79 after a long illness.

Speaking during the opening service that took place at Farm Snipriver in the Bethanie district, Chief of the !Aman Traditional Authority, Johannes Frederick, said the late Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros was among the few women that were determined to ensure that Namibia was liberated at whatever cost.

‘She said she would not hide as she wanted to be part of the fight and she achieved that. Even though she was a liberation struggle veteran, she never acted like she was entitled to benefits from government. She never asked what government could do for her, she always asked what she could do for the government and that was remarkable,’ he said.

Pastor Abel Vries said the late Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros’ footprints will never be forgotten or erased from the ground she walked on, going through dif
ficult situations that included being detained, all for her country.

‘She fought and stood up for injustice for the Namibian people and not only did she play a role in the liberation of this country, but up until her passing she took care of those who were helpless. Her footprints will be forever be seen,’ he said.

Among those in attendance were ||Kharas Governor Aletha Frederick and Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab.

Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros was born in Keetmanshoop in the year 1945. She served, among other roles, as Keetmanshoop urban constituency councillor, Swapo regional coordinator for ||Kharas between 1992 and 1998, member of the Swapo politburo and central committee and Swapo head of elections and district coordinator for Lderitz.

Last week, President Nangolo Mbumba conferred the honour of national heroine and state funeral on the late Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros.

Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros was laid to rest on Saturday at Farm Snipriver.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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ECN calls for professionalism from voter registration officials


SWAKOPMUND: The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), Dr Elsie Nghikembua has called for professionalism, transparency and non-partisan work ethic from registration officials assigned to foreign missions during the upcoming voters’ registration and polling.

This is in preparation for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections and Regional and Local elections in 2025.

Nghikembua at Swakopmund on Monday, during the opening of two weeks of training for diplomatic mission staff members who will act as electoral officials at their respective foreign missions, stressed that the commission will not tolerate laxity by electoral staff in the undertaking of their duties or any conduct that compromises the commission’s commitment to upholding the integrity of the electoral process.

‘Section 65 of the Electoral Act provides for the commission to make appointments and withdraw such appointments in the event of negligence of duties. The penalties are outlined in Section 176 of the Act. You wil
l be fully briefed about these penalties as part of this training,’ she outlined.

The training is aimed at enabling the officials to understand their roles and responsibilities and to impart technical skills that will help them discharge their responsibilities.

The officials are expected to assist the commission in managing, directing, supervising and controlling all processes under their jurisdiction within the confines of the Electoral Act No. 5 of 2014.

Nghikembua added that as part of the preparations for the 2024 general registration of voters and Presidential and National Assembly Elections, the commission undertook a comprehensive electoral review process after the 2019 and 2020 Presidential and National Assembly Elections and the Regional Council and Local Authority Elections, respectively.

This review resulted in, amongst others, the enhancement of the current Mobile Voter Registration System into the Integrated Mobile Voter Registration System (IMVRS), an Integrated Solution, interfacing the vot
ers’ registration, identification and verification, registration of political parties and organisations/associations, among others.

‘The IMVRS leverages on technology to make voter registration more responsive and efficient, marking a significant milestone in our efforts to modernise and improve our electoral processes. The system incorporates advanced security and verification measures to ensure the integrity of the electoral processes.’

Nghikembua also noted that ballot papers will be used in the upcoming elections.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Notorious fugitive ‘Nine’ Masule escapes custody again


KATIMA MULILO: Serial escapee ‘Nine’ Masule and 10 other inmates escaped from prison at Katima Mulilo in the early hours of Monday.

The eleven suspects cut through the roof of a cell with an unknown object before escaping, the spokesperson of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) for the Zambezi Region, Inspector Kisco Sitali, said.

Three of the escapees were re-arrested on Monday while the other eight, including Rick Mutolwa ‘Nine Masule’, were still at large.

The suspects are all awaiting trial on various charges such as house breaking and robberies cases and are said to be dangerous.

Masule is serving a five-year jail term for escaping from lawful custody while awaiting trial on eight charges emanating from various offences, including two murder charges; two counts of rape, and three of housebreaking.

Masule has previously outwitted the police on three occasions when he escaped from prison. In the second incident in October 2015, he was only rearrested after six months. He also escaped from custody in Oc
tober 2021 and was arrested within 24 hours.

Hundreds of people at Katima Mulilo converged on the police station to see for themselves that he had indeed been rearrested in 2021.

On that occasion, Masule was said to have been posting audio clips on the internet threatening police officers and their informers with death.

Meanwhile, Inspector Sitali called on the public not to panic and gave his assurance that his team is working hard on the matters.

He also urged anyone with information that could lead to the re-arrest of the escapees, to contact the police

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Man to appear in court at Karasburg for various housebreaking incidents


KEETMANSHOOP: A 34-year-old man is expected to appear in the Karasburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he was allegedly found in possession of suspected stolen properties.

Namibian Police Force crime investigations coordinator for the ||Kharas Region, Deputy Commissioner Nikodemus Mbango in a crime report on Monday said the suspect was arrested on Sunday between 12h00 and 14h00 in the Westerkim residential area of Karasburg.

His arrest followed an intelligence-led operation conducted by serious crime detectives, special reserve force members and police intelligence.

The man was arrested in possession of items that were allegedly stolen during housebreakings earlier this year at Aussenkehr, Karasburg, and Ariamsvlei.

‘The operation was done in relation to the recent housebreaking incidents perpetrated by criminal syndicates in the area, and the complainants who fell victim to these housebreaking incidents have positively confirmed some of the items,’ he said.

Among some of the items recovered are rifl
es, a microwave, an ice maker machine, three television sets and a digital camera.

The suspect faces charges of possession of stolen property, possession of firearms without a licence, and possession of ammunition.

Mbango said three other suspects have been identified and are expected to be arrested and charged.

Meanwhile, the police at Tses are searching for 21-year-old Denzel Blauw who escaped from police custody at the village Sunday afternoon.

‘It is alleged that the inmate was taken out of the holding cells to be charged and after being charged he was left in the care of the two members on duty, who failed to take him back into the cell immediately. When they started looking for him after a few minutes they could not find him,’ he said.

Mbango added that a case of aiding escape will be opened against the members involved.

Police investigations into both matters continue.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Namibia goes down 10-3 to ruthless Egypt


WINDHOEK: Namibia’s Brave Five were on Sunday outperformed 10-3 by Egypt in a thrilling game at the 2024 Morocco TotalEnergies Confederation of African Football (CAF) Futsal African Cup of Nations.

Namibia squared up against three-time competition champions Egypt in their second Group B match at the championship and could not match the quality of their opponents.

As in their opening match of the competition, Namibia’s goalkeeper Cee-Jay Van Wyk was once again the star of the show, preventing the Egyptians from finding the back of the net in the opening minutes of the match.

Despite Van Wyk’s best efforts, the three-time champions broke the deadlock after five minutes through Alaa Eissa and they almost found the second goal, but Khaled Abbas smashed a shot straight into the stomach of Van Wyk as the Egyptians were pushing for their second goal.

The resilient Egyptian continued pushing for more goals, with Mohamed Abdelrazak Koki missing a great opportunity to extend their lead.

Despite being under pressur
e, Brave Five’s Nanguel Kamatuka almost found the back of the net, but his efforts were cleared off the line by an Egyptian defender.

The Brave Five levelled matters eight minutes before halftime, courtesy of Reginald Clive Willemse’s stunning finish. Willemse pounced on a loose ball just outside the area to rifle his effort into the roof of the Pharaohs’ net.

Namibia’s celebrations lasted only a minute as the Egyptians found the back of the net once again to take the lead through a goal by Khaled Abdelhalim, who curled a delightful shot past Van Wyk. Abdelhalim celebrations were also short-lived as Rowen Jager equalised for the spirited Namibians.

Brave Five’s captain Ken Salote almost took the lead for his team for the first time in the game but missed the target.

Namibia was then punished on the stroke of halftime for wasting their chances when Mohamed Abdelrazek Koki slotted in Egypt’s third to go into the break with a 3-2 advantage.

The second half saw a more transformed Egypt scoring from all angle
s as they opened the scoring in the first minute of the second half.

Essam Ramadan, Koki, Abdelrahman Moawad, Khaled Abdelhalim, and Mohamed all managed to find the back of the net, leading to a runaway victory for the Egyptians.

Meanwhile, Namibia’s third came through their replacement keeper Ryiena Riya who pulled a goal back in a losing effort.

With the win, Egypt sits at the top of Group B with six points, while Mauritania is in second with three points. Libya Namibia anchor the group, both without a point.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Gender ministry spends N.dollars 3.4 billion on grants in 2023/24


WINDHOEK: The Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare has spent a total of N.dollars 3.4 billion on old age, disability, orphans and vulnerable children grants during the 2023/2024 financial year.

Giving an update on the ministerial performance for the 2023/2024 financial year here on Monday, line minister Doreen Sioka said the grants led to a total coverage of 208 170 old age beneficiaries, 53 835 disability grants and 377 743 Orphans and vulnerable children.

She further highlighted that the ministry has successfully converted the food bank programme from an in-kind food parcel into a cash transfer in April 2022, to what is known as a Conditional Basic Income grant of which a total of 8 907 households have benefitted to a total expenditure of N.dollars 81.3 million.

‘The goal of this programme is to contribute to Namibians’ social and economic upliftment while eliminating poverty through adequate and durable safety nets,’ she said.

Sioka further highlighted that 2 835 marginal
ised community learners were successfully transported to and from hostels in all 10 regions where marginalized communities are found, while 308 marginalised students have access to institutions of higher learning through the ministry’s interventions and 287 were paid living allowance.

Equally, she noted the ministry provided support to 265 students with disabilities to cover their tuition accommodation, transport and other needs to the tune of N.dollars 7.5 million, while 800 persons with severe disabilities from various regions were assisted with diapers, formula milk and portable toilets amounting to N.dollars 4 million.

Sioka indicated that the ministry provided psychosocial support services to 1 200 children hosted at the Namibian Children’s Home and After School Centres in Windhoek, while at the regional level, 3 200 children received psychosocial support.

Equally, she noted the ministry provided food supplements to 29 000 households across the 10 regions where marginalised communities live.

‘The min
istry remains committed to ensure that it implements and strengthens the programme under its mandate,’ she said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Kandjii-Murangi cautions against dissolving NTA board


WINDHOEK: The Minister of Higher Education, Training, and Innovation, Itah Kandjii-Murangi, has warned against the dissolution of the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) board, saying it will disrupt its operations.

The minister made the observation on Monday, when she addressed concerns raised by stakeholders against the constitution of the NTA board.

‘It is important to acknowledge that the dissolution of a duly appointed and functioning board would disrupt the continuity of operations at the NTA, thereby impending the delivery of essential services to stakeholders.

‘Such a course of action would be detrimental to the interests of all parties involved and would not serve the best interests of the nation,’ Kandjii-Murangi said during a media briefing.

The minister was clarifying the matter surrounding the board appointment after media reports that labour unions and employer federations have given the board 30 days to dissolve.

They claim that Kandjii-Murangi failed to incorporate their representatives in l
ine with the Vocational Education and Training Act.

Kandjii-Murangi appointed the new board in January 2023 to oversee the operations of the NTA, which is responsible for technical and vocational training. The seven-member board is chaired by Jerome Mutumba, a senior manager at the Development of Namibia, and businesswoman Ester Hoveka as deputy.

‘It is regrettable that the concerns regarding the composition of the board have only been raised at this juncture; despite the board having been in operation for over a year now, it is crucial to question the timing of these objections and to consider whether they are driven by genuine concerns for the effective functioning of the NTA, or by other motives,’ the minister said.

In order to address the issue, Kandjii-Murangi said she has asked the Ministry of Labour and Employment Creation, the unions, and employer associations to nominate individuals to be added to the current board.

Meanwhile, the minister said she was not involved in the process, adding that app
licants were shortlisted and interviewed by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises in line with the Public Enterprises Governance Act.

‘It is recommendations that come to us that we look at and see whether or not these names that are here will be able to fit in serving the different functions of the given institution,’ the minister said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency