Category: General

Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater) on Saturday pumped water from Olushandja South wall outlet into the Etaka-Uuvudhiya earth canal, which stretches across 130 kilometers.

The raw water is fit only for livestock consumption and agriculture purposes.

NamWater Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Abraham Nehemia, said that the exercise was done due to previous and recurrent prevalent drought reported in the northern part of the country.

Nehemia indicated that the Office of Prime Minister allocated N.dollar 3 million to ensure the completion of the project.

‘Households are expected to utilise the water for their daily needs, especially gardening for nutritional purposes,’ he said.

He added that they are confident that the water will be available in the dam to supply the canal until the rainy season.

Nehemia also indicated that they are expecting the new pumps at Calueque to be commissioned soon, adding that NamWater is strategically looking into the rehabilitation of most of its infrastructure in order to ensure sustainable water supply up to the year 2037 as a planning horizon.

Speaking during the same occassion on Saturday at Etaka dam, Omusati Governor, Erginus Endjala, said for the past 5 years, they did not really receive sufficient rainfall, which has affected many people living alongside the west of the canal, including Oshana and Oshikoto regions.

Endjala said that this is a game changer for people living along the canal, as their livestock will have water throughout the dry season.

He then urged community members to guard against the vandalism of the canal.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Thirty full tablets of mandrax and cannabis with a street value of nearly N.dollars 98 000, were confiscated Friday morning from a taxi which was en route to Outjo.

Namibian Police Force (NamPol) head of community affairs in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha, in a media statement on Saturday said a 37-year-old man who was traveling in the taxi was arrested in connection with the matter.

The suspect faces a charge of dealing in and/or the possession of mandrax tablets and canbabis of a skunk type with a total value of N.dollars 97 550 for both, said the police officer.

“We arrested him on Outjo-Kalkfeld T-junction west of Otjiwarongo when the police at about 01h15 in the early hours of Friday stopped a taxi at a mobile roadblock and these prohibited drugs were found,” said Mbeha.

The suspect is expected to appear in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Walvis Bay has the potential to actively participate in and benefit from the blue economy by capitalising on its coastal advantages and focusing on the array of options available, its mayor, Trevino Forbes has said.

Forbes was speaking on Friday during the opening of the inaugural Walvis Bay Maritime Festival, where he noted that the town can develop and strengthen its fishing industry by promoting sustainable fishing practices through supporting local fishers and investing in aquaculture operations to diversify seafood production.

To this, the mayor added that the town’s municipality has already identified several plots for aquaculture as a form of its direct contribution towards the cause.

“Walvis Bay is also known for its stunning coastlines, marine wildlife and unique landscapes and by developing and promoting tourism initiatives such as wildlife tours, beach activities, and coastal cruises, the town can attract visitors, and create employment opportunities,” he said.

The mayor also, however, highlighted numerous challenges faced when it comes to the health of the ocean ecosystem, such as plastic pollution, overfishing and climate change, among others.

“These issues not only impact marine life but also jeopardize the livelihoods and well-being of our local communities.”

Forbes therefore called on all stakeholders and residents to use the Walvis Bay Maritime Festival as a platform for education, awareness and collaboration in preserving and saving the ocean.

Held under the theme: “Preserving a Healthy Ocean Ecosystem for a Resilient Economy”, the two-day festival also aims to enlighten residents about the different sectors involved directly or indirectly in the maritime industry by providing them with an opportunity to showcase their products and services.

Walvis Bay Acting General Manager for Community and Economic Development, Tulimekondjo Iishitile, said the festival’s initiative stemmed from the recently launched Local Economic Development Strategy by the Municipal Council of Walvis Bay.

“The strategy emphasises the use of existing infrastructure and available assets to promote and stimulate economic growth, and among these valuable assets is the maritime industry, which serves as the economic backbone of our port city and the silk fiber in our country’s economy,” she said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Ethiopian Aviation University, the largest aviation university in Africa, graduated today 1,551 professionals, about 100 from other African countries.

The university graduated 160 pilots, 458 aircraft maintenance technicians, 702 cabin crews, 69 hotel operation professionals and customer service agents.

Ethiopian has been providing aviation training for Africans from all 54 countries since its formation in 1956; and today’s graduates were from seven African countries, including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Togo, DRC, Tanzania, Uganda, and Sudan.

Speaking on the occasion, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tassew said the Ethiopian Aviation University graduated 1,551 aviation professionals, the highest in its history.

The CEO congratulated the academic and administrative members of the university for enhancing the capacity to train and graduate so many aviation professionals for Ethiopian Airlines and the African aviation industry.

“This is a demonstration that Ethiopian Airlines is committed to supporting the aviation industry by availing a large number of well-trained aviation professionals,” he noted.

Mesfin revealed that ten pilots from among the graduates were female captains, and stated that Ethiopian Airlines has more than 40 female pilots.

Ethiopian Aviation University Acting President Kassie Yimam said “all schools of the university have trained and qualified significantly more aviation professionals than ever before.”

Schools of the university are Pilot Training, Simulator Training, Cabin Crew and Catering Training, Commercial and Ground Services Training, Aircraft Maintenance Training, and Leadership Training, it was learned.

According to the acting president, “the change at the pilot training school is ground breaking in all parameters such as the number of qualified flight instructors, availability of serviceable aircrafts, flight hours flown per day and many more.”

The university has so far graduated three round aviation professionals this year.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The government is exerting efforts to overcome security problems in Amhara Regional State, according to the Government Communication Service.

In his briefing to journalists today, Government Communication Service Minister Legesse Tullu said the organized illegal extremist forces in the region are bent on dismantling constitutionally constituted regional government by arms.

He recalled that a state of emergency was declared yesterday by the Council of Ministers as the security problems in some areas of the region could not be controlled through the usual law enforcement systems and procedures.

The minister recalled that these illegal forces have been conducting hateful activities in the past and they did not accept the reconciliation efforts offered by the government and by the elders on various occasions.

Instead, they were involved in killings of regional authorities, he said.

The minister added that the extremist forces have carried out large-scale looting in some areas of West Gojam and East Gojam and they have blocked the roads and restricted the movement of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer to the farmers.

They have also blocked roads to prevent security forces from carrying out their law enforcement mission and they are engaged in an armed activities to overthrow the constitutionally constituted government in the region.

As a result, the Amhara Regional State has requested the federal government to take measures and enforce law in the region as the situation has become very serious and cannot be controlled by the regular law enforcement system.

The minister also said that a central command post has been established and started carrying out its activities.

He stressed that the state of emergency mainly applies in the Amhara region and where necessary measure will be taken against activities bent on disrupting the government’s law enforcement activities in any part of the country.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The 30-40-30 fruit development project under implementation in South Region is a new perspective that has been transforming the livelihood of farmers and pastoralists, according to Agriculture Bureau Head of the region.

South Region Agriculture Bureau Head with the rank of Deputy Chief Administrator, Usman Surur told ENA that the project is a means of lifting farmers and pastoralists out of poverty.

According to him, the project is changing the livelihood of farmers and pastoralists, and created new perspectives from the usual trends of the agricultural production.

Citing the success of the 30-40-30 fruit development project in the region, the bureau head said the project will be expanded to all areas of the region as the inhabitants are benefiting from the large-scale production of avocado, banana, papaya and apple.

Many people in various areas of the region have indeed benefited during the first year implementation period of the development project as the project entered its second year of implementation.

Recall that the 30-40-30 fruit development project is a program in which a farmer or a pastoralist benefits by planting 30 fruit seedlings in the first year, 40 in the second year, and 30 in the third year.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

As speculated, the Limbe District head of the Social Democratic Front party, SDF, Ndenge Godden Zama, has declared his intentions to table a candidacy in the upcoming SDF elective national convention.

The charismatic Zama made this known in a press conference held in the Seaside resort of Limbe.

“Our story is a story of a people who still wear a smile despite all of these odds. And This is why I am running for the chairmanship of the SDF. I am running because I believe like you dignity is possible. I believe like you that no matter what they do to us we have a collective will that is unbreakable. It is not possible to see a people more resilient than the Cameroonian people, it’s not possible to see a generation of young people more vibrant than the Cameroonian youth. Despite everything that has been thrown at them they get up every day with a smile and try to find solutions to these very complex problems.” Godden Zama said in a declaration speech.

The Limbe-based politician said he is the right person to change the narrative and bring the party back to track, “As Chairman I want to accompany you; I want to lead from in front so that this great national party can take its rightful place in the Cameroonian nation and finally deliver on its huge promise. Like you I have never given up; I didn’t give up when they kept me in a rat hole in SED for a month; I didn’t give up when locked up in the dungeons of Kondengui for 7 months. The Cameroonian prison system didn’t break me; it didn’t stop me from my dreams of leading our people. Nothing can break me! As leader of the party, we would build back better, we would inspire a new generation of militants, and we would fight for the dignity and honour of the Cameroonian youth.”

Zama also said his major task if elected national chairman of the party, is to stop the war in the two Anglophone regions that have caused devastating effects to its population.

Now is the time to end the war and develop our villages and cities, now is the time to end the war and allow our kids to go back to school. As chairman, I promise to capitalize on these gains and put an end to the war within 6 months of my ascension to power. Nothing concrete can be achieved without peace, our dignity cannot be restored with the constant raping of our mothers and sisters, the kidnapping and ransom taking, the arbitrary detention and wanton killing, the extortion and the crazy abuse human rights. My dear brothers and sisters,Incessant bloodshed will never be the path to dignity. There is no glory in War!! We lost alot already, our mothers, wifes and sisters have shed enough tears. Now is the time to bury and differences and find what dignifies us.

Zama 2023

He criticized the government for not taking care of her people. The people, he said, have been left to fend for themselves. Thus, thousands in search of greener pastures have fled Cameroon risking their lives even in the deserts.

“These compatriots have come face to face with death, slavery, and sexual violence all for the promise of a better life and who can blame them? Their parents worked hard and sent them to school, they studied and offered their blood sweat, and tears to serve the nation but in return, the nation gave them nothing.”

The “Limbe boy” said his team will kickstart the campaigns to meet and greet members and sympathizers and personally inform them of the plans he has for the party.

Source: Cameroon News Agency