Author: Maihapa Ndjavera (Maihapa Ndjavera )

A Russian company exploring for uranium in the Omaheke region continues to ruffle the feathers of local farmers and environmental groups.

The National Housing Enterprise clients who tightened their financial belts during the last couple of months due to the devastating impact of Covid-19, coupled with a persistent domestic recession as well as escalating fuel and food prices, now face another hike in lending rates.

The real value of building plans approved declined by 7.8% and 9.1% year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, respectively, to N$502.4 million during the first quarter of 2022.

Prices for cooking oil and fats increased by 26.2% in June 2022 compared to 16.7% registered during the same period a year earlier. 

To deal with the challenge of inadequate capital and availability of affordable and serviced land, to provide houses as per its mandate, NHE is looking to private partners to boost the number of houses it is delivering.

Some 56.8% of Namibians are unable to afford a healthy diet. This translates to 1.4 million people in 2020 – and this number is expected to have increased during the last two years. 

The Namibia Transport and Allied Workers Union has reacted to the court’s decision to halt its industrial action at TransNamib with a demand that heads must roll.

Bank of Namibia governor Johannes !Gawaxab said the food industry offers economic opportunities and is suitable for the large unskilled labour profile of Namibia’s unemployed population. 

Mines minister Tom Alweendo has encouraged companies operating in the mining and beneficiation sectors to take the issue of skills transfer seriously, especially high-level skills. 

Due to lack of serviced land and funding, the Namibia Housing Enterprise (NHE) only managed to provide 896 houses since 2016. The NHE is a state-owned enterprise mandated to deliver housing to low- and middle-income Namibian households by undertaking and financing housing projects.