Category: General

Construction of the Koysha Hydro Electric Power Station, which is under construction on the Omo River in the South Western Ethiopia Region, has reached 61 percent completion.

A group of journalists from local media organizations visited the ongoing construction activities of the project.

Deputy head of the project Engineer Abayneh Getaneh said the dam, which is under construction on the Omo River, will have an installed capacity of 1,800 Megawatts.

He explained that the project will be equipped with 6 turbines, each generating 300 megawatts, and construction of the turbine house and ventilation is underway.

the Deputy head noted that the civil work of the project, which started in 2016, is now 52 percent complete, the dam reinforcement has reached 30 percent, the ventilation 13 percent, and the electromechanical work is under study.

Overall the project completion has reached 61 percent, Engineer Abayneh confirmed.

He added that the project has created jobs for five thousand people and is making a great contribution to the transfer of knowledge and technology.

When the Koysha Hydroelectric Project is completed, an artificial lake of 130 kilometers long and 200 square kilometers in area will be created, it was noted.

Koysha Hydroelectric Project Manager, Engineer Eugenio ZOPPIS said the project is contributing in terms of knowledge and technology transfer in addition to job opportunities.

The State Minister of Government Communication Services, Selamawit Kassa, on her part said Koisha is one of the mega projects that have been around for a long time and have great significance.

However, she added that currently the construction of the hydropower project is well underway due to the special attention given to it by the government as part of the on going reform measures.

Selamawit further stated that the project includes national parks which are endowed with potential natural resources vital for tourist destinations. According to her, the artificial lake impounded behind the dam will increase the flow of tourists.

On the other hand, the project will connect the local community with the infrastructure networks and make the local products, including vegetables and fruits, accessible to the market, she said.

According to the State Minister, the government of Ethiopia has given a great deal of attention to Koysha Hydroelectric Project. She also affirmed that works are well underway to complete the project within short period of time.

Ethiopia has some of the richest fresh water resources in Africa by volume, distributed across eight major basins with an exploitable hydropower potential of 45,000 MW.

To help address the energy deficit, the government has developed large hydropower projects along the country’s major river basins.

This includes the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which once completed will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa and the recently-completed 1,870 MW Gibe III project.

Experts say that Ethiopia has the capacity and capabilities to become a great energy exporter within the region, which could benefit also the neighboring countries.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has arrived in Jimma, Oromia region for a review of projects under development.

According to Office of the Prime Minister, the premier has been accompanied by First Lady Zinash Tayachew and Federal and Regional leadership.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Traditional leaders representing communities in Aminuis of the Omaheke Region said they will stop at nothing to ensure that the uranium mining project planned for their area gets off the ground.

This is a departure from the initial opposition to a Russian entity that has been granted a uranium exploration licence to prospect for uranium in the vicinity of Leonardville and the communal areas of the Aminuis constituency.

The drilling activities by Uranium One are on hold after the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform withdrew the drilling permits after community members opposed the project, citing the danger of contaminating the underground water.

They expressed concern that their only source of water in the area, the Stampriet aquifer, may be contaminated as a result of the proposed mining technique.

The company has been drilling boreholes to take samples for laboratory tests.

Uranium One has reassured the community that it is going to use the in-situ recovery (ISR) method to extract uranium underground.

On Thursday, representatives of eight traditional authorities from Aminuis called on the government to take an interest in the Aminuis uranium mining project and ensure that it gets off the ground.

This came after their representatives visited the Dalur mining operation in eastern Russia to familiarise themselves with the ISR mining method.

Speaking of the visit to Russia, Senior Councillor for the Ovaherero Traditional Authority, Gustav Kasuto, said the delegation went to observe the mining activities and report back to their respective communities on the way forward. He said the community leaders approached Uranium One to facilitate the visit to Russia.

Kasuto described the visit as an eye-opener to the traditional leaders and said that they are in support of Uranium One using the ISR mining method.

“There is no hesitation that the proposed method to extract uranium can be classified as safe and sustainable. If an advanced, developed country like Russia can prove that the method is sustainable and profitable, the delegation can only support Uranium One in its endeavour to pursue its efforts to start its operations.

“And Aminuis cannot be the only exception to the rule and deny its people future benefits that can be derived from this opportunity,” Kasuto said while reading the joint statement.

Headspring Investment, a subsidiary of Uranium One, has eight EPLs to prospect for uranium deposits in the vicinity of Leonardville and the communal areas of the Aminuis constituency.

Kasuto, who is the deputy chairperson of the Aminuis Traditional Authorities Committee, stressed that the government has been quiet on the Aminuis uranium project.

“We are appealing to the government to take a keen interest in this issue because the government, except for the withdrawal of the licence, has been very quiet. We want them to come out and take a stance. What does the ministry of mines think, and what does the ministry of agriculture think? We want them to show a keen interest and guide us on the way forward,” he said.

Chief Andreas Kaiser of the Bakagadhi Ba Namibia said the uranium project brings economic opportunities to Aminuis and the Omaheke Region as a whole.

“For many years, we just believed that farming was the only economic activity in the Omaheke region. Fortunately, now we are sitting on top of minerals and really, these minerals can be put to good use,” said Kaiser, who chairs the committee.

The traditional leaders said they are now going to report back to their respective communities and are expected to send their report to Parliament.

With regard to the way forward, Uranium One’s director of operations and mining engineer, Aldo Hengari, told Nampa that the company plans to get everybody on board, including the government.

“The way forward is for us to find alignment with all the affected parties, together with the government, so that we get the right documents in place that were taken from us and then we start with exploration, and simultaneously, with test mining,” Hengari said.

The company has an environmental clearance certificate and is now trying to acquire a clearance certificate for the test mining, he said.

The company has already covered 50 per cent of exploration, which indicates the existence of around 75 000 tonnes of uranium that can be mined for 25 years.

“It is not like we are trying to force this process. We want to use all the technical data that we are collecting to guide us on the way forward. But should we foresee that it is not going to be safe, of course we will not proceed with the project,” Hengari said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

A total of 250 kilometres of gravel road in the Etosha National Park will be tarred with a low-volume seal following an agreement to upgrade roads in the park by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and Road Fund Administration (RFA).

Speaking at the signing ceremony here on Wednesday, RFA Chief Executive Officer, Ali Ipinge, said since 2020, the RFA has been mandated by a special cabinet resolution to financially support the ministry in regravelling roads in hotspot tourist areas covering 270 kilometres valued at over N.dollars 200 million, with RFA contributing 79 per cent.

Ipinge explained that the solution for RFA to support the upgrading of the road section from Okakuekujo, Halali, Namutoni and King Nehale gate to low-volume seal roads valued at N.dollars 700 million was further re-confirmed in 2022.

He stressed that continuing to regravel roads that are highly trafficked, such as those in Etosha with a traffic count of an excess of 44 000 vehicles per annum, will not help in the long term; therefore, a joint decision was made to upgrade to a low-volume seal road.

“The low-volume seal road will last longer; the investment will at least last us up to 15 years, which is a much lower expenditure in terms of maintenance compared to the gravel road that we have to regravel every three to four years,” he noted.

Ipinge further noted that the agreement equally seeks to put in place a levy to support the ongoing maintenance of the roads, such as gate fees for entering the park, among others, noting that the current investment is provided by the fuel levy.

At the same occasion, the environment ministry’s executive director, Theofulus Nghitila, said the ministry currently does not have the capacity to maintain roads like in the past; therefore, RFA has become a strategic partner in assisting road maintenance in Etosha, which is the most visited tourist flagship of Namibia.

“When we tried as a ministry to do it alone in 2019 we could not, and the road condition continued to deteriorate. Our capacity has declined, the equipment has gotten old, and operators, most of them have retired; therefore, we were left to look at alternatives to keep the roads in good shape,” he said.

The construction is expected to commence in 2024.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

A total of 783 livestock, with an estimated value of N.dollars 2.8 million, was reportedly stolen in the Oshikoto Region between January and September 2023.

According to a crime report issued by the Namibian Police Force’s Oshikoto Deputy Commissioner, Peter Nakadhilu, a total of 170 cases were opened relating to the thefts, leading to the arrest of 75 suspects.

“The large stolen stock is 384, with an estimated value of N.dollars 1 879 000, and only 66 of the large stock with a value of N.dollars 441 945 was recovered,” said Nakadhilu.

He reported that the small stock stolen was 399 with an estimated value of N.dollars 504 000, and only 105 of small stock were recovered.

“The animals most stolen from our farmers are cattle and goats,” said Nakadhilu.

The deputy commissioner explained that the large stock is cattle, donkeys and horses, whereas the small stock include goats and sheep.

“I want to urge our local farmers to take care of their livestock so they are not scavenged,” said Nakadhilu.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, on Thursday paid a courtesy call on Namibia’s President, Hage Geingob, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America.

According to the Office of The Presidency’s Facebook Page, Masisi said the meeting provided an opportunity to continue strengthening the diplomatic ties between Botswana and Namibia.

The presidents discussed progress on the two nations’ historical travel agreement for citizens from both nations to travel between the two countries using only their identity cards.

“We share more than a border. Our bilateral relations, people-to-people and business exchanges, have gained following our discussion to allow travel with national IDs,” Masisi said.

He further labelled the engagement as valuable and constructive, saying it reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to collaboration.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) has strongly refuted claims that social activist Michael Amushelelo who is currently detained, is on a hunger strike.

Windhoek Correctional Facility Officer-in-Charge, Deputy Commissioner Veikko Armas told Nampa on Thursday that officials have engaged Amushelelo and he has confirmed that he is not on a hunger strike. This is despite Amushelelo taking to social media to express that he has embarked on a hunger strike “to fight for his freedom”.

Amushelelo has been in detention since March this year, for allegedly going against a court order disallowing him to protest against unemployment, on Namibia’s Independence Day. He was arrested alongside Popular Democratic Movement Member of Parliament, Inna Hengari and social activist Dimbulukeni Nauyoma. The State has since withdrawn the charges against Hengari.

Amushelelo, in his post, expressed disappointment in those he fights for, saying he has come to the realisation that his life means nothing to them, or else they would be in front of the prison gates every day, demanding that he be released.

Armas said the facility is shocked to have read the news on social media.

“Mr Amushelelo is not on hunger strike at all. The facility is shocked to read such news on social media. Inmates are not allowed to post on social media while incarcerated, we do not know how it was done unless someone else is doing it on his behalf. During visiting time, visitors are not allowed to enter the facility with devices and we are sure that he does not have any electronic device in his position, which he could have used to post the article. We are busy investigating the matter,” Armas said.

In the post, Amushelelo maintained that due to his limited options in prison, he has to undergo an “inhumane process of self-torture” as the only means at his disposal to fight for his freedom.

“I Saddam AMUSHELELO would hereby like to inform the world that it has come to my realisation that my life means nothing, if my life meant anything to anyone then there would be thousands of people in front of the prison gates every single day demanding for my freedom. It is for that reason seeing that I have been abandoned by the people, I am left with no other choice but to fight for my own freedom,” the social media post reads.

“I will remain on hunger strike until I have obtained my freedom. If I have to die in order to attain my freedom then so shall it be, the way I see it. The government can either start preparing my release from prison or my death certificate but either way, I refuse to continue being a political prisoner,” Amushelelo said.

His wife, Julieta Amushelelo told Nampa on Thursday that he authorised the social media post.

“He is determined to go through until the end with this hunger strike. I have tried to talk him out of it but he is determined and that scares me a lot,” she said.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) issued a statement on Thursday, condemning Amushelelo’s continued arrest.

“The EFF calls on the Namibian government to review and look into what is clearly political persecution, and calls on the international community to take notice of what may possibly be a human rights violation,” EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency