A sizeable number of government projects worth millions of dollars are on the brink of becoming white elephants, while others are facing daily mismanagement by those entrusted to look after them. This was the finding of the National Council Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy. The committee undertook follow-up regional oversight visits to various...
Author: Otniel Hembapu (Otniel Hembapu )
Govt quells Caprivi secession agenda … warns all options are on the table
Otniel Hembapu Albertina Nakale The government has warned that it will not rule out applying the “full force of the law” to crack down on renewed calls to secede the Zambezi region from Namibia. A recent protest was led by the banned United Democratic Party (UDP) through in Katima Mulilo last week. The UDP, a...
Foreign land ownership bill’s Achilles heel
A parliamentary committee has cautioned against a hasty and careless passing of legislation seeking to regulate, if not entirely ban, the ownership of land by foreign nationals. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources said the proposed law in its current form is in direct conflict with the supreme law of the land. The proposed...
Rukoro, Nudo smoke peace pipe
Two Nudo warring factions, one led by the party’s last democratically elected leadership now under acting secretary general Joseph Uapingene and another led by former football administrator Barry Rukoro, have smoked the peace pipe. The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) has for the past almost two years been a house in serious disarray, as the...
Omkhaisenra Taradi group makes great strides …progressive female farmers on a mission
The annual training session for members of the Omkhaisenra Taradi Group, a group of progressive and well-organised female farmers, was recently held at Farm /Aoxas in the Hardap region, where knowledge, skills and modern farming techniques were exchanged. Established three years ago, the women farmers’ group caters for female farmers from all over Namibia. The...
Namibia to strategically pursue rice production …N$314.1m imports in two years
Namibia is exploring strategic ways how to create stable, sustainable and self-reliant rice production value chains, which will help curb the country’s high import bill and bolster food security in the long run. The country heavily relies on rice imports, as domestic production remains extremely low to negligible. Currently, rice cultivation takes place at Kalimbeza...
Agra partners SwiftVEE to elevate online auctions
Namibia’s leading agricultural enterprise Agra recently joined forces with SwiftVEE, Africa’s largest online livestock and game trading platform, to elevate and bring a new dimension to online livestock and game auctions. The newly-formed partnership between Agra and SwiftVEE will merge the reliability and expertise of traditional livestock auctions with the scale and power of online...
NAB to invest N$250m in citrus sector expansion …aims to cut N$57.6m in annual imports
The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB), in collaboration with industry stakeholders, hosted a strategic engagement to unlock the potential of the Namibian citrus industry and strengthen value chain development. During the engagement, NAB CEO Fidelis Mwazi announced that they have revised their vision and mission to make its operations more inclusive, agile and impactful. Going forward,...
Nedbank’s agriculture bursaries to boost sector
Nedbank Namibia yesterday announced a sponsorship of N$560 000 towards the Nedbank Agra Agricultural Academy, which marked a significant step towards enhancing skills’ development and training in various agricultural disciplines. The academy, managed by Agra ProVision, a subsidiary of Agra Limited, offers students the opportunity to pursue national certificates and diplomas in fields such as...
Farmers remain wary as cattle, sheep exports decline
The Namibian livestock sector has over the past two months recorded mixed results in its cattle and sheep exports, which saw the total marketing of cattle decreasing by 71.06% on a year-on-year basis, and total sheep marketing declining by 47.72%. According to the latest trade statistics from the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia,...