The importance of census data cannot be overstated. Accurate census data is crucial for a wide array of national interests, including economic development, transportation, healthcare, education, business planning and overall decision-making. It plays a vital role in planning and enforcement, helping to shape socio-economic policies and improve the welfare of the population. Conducted by the...
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, once remarked “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters”. His message reverberates in Namibia today at a crucial juncture as we...
In July, this publication ran an article titled ‘Amushelelo: Opportunist or Activist?… finds refuge in LPM’. The erstwhile self-proclaimed forex trader-turned-politician, Michael Amushelelo, had just dumped the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters following their deregistration for non-compliance and joined the Landless People’s Movement. This week, he shocked many and set social media abuzz after failing to...
Namibia is currently grappling with serious food insecurity, which the latest Integrated Food Security Phase classification report projects could throw over 1.26 million people further into abject poverty between now and March 2025; if left unresolved. The same Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report also estimates that households are likely to exhaust all their food...
The fact that the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) was this week again caught in a controversy of its own making should make Namibians sit up and notice. During meetings with the political liaison committee this week, the ECN provided an update on the procurement process for the ballot papers for the 2024 Presidential and...
Prime Minister (PM) Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila haswarned officials to not politicise hunger, and ensure that drought relief food gets to those who need it most. The PM was speaking at the opening of the two-day National Platform on the Implementation of the 2024/2025 Drought Relief Programme. Trying to score cheap political points or make political opponents...
The recent barbs exchanged by youth leaders regarding allegations that the ruling party, Swapo, generated parts of its election manifesto using ChatGPT has stirred debate. This commotion comes at the time Namibia celebrated the eighth National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Summit, centred on digital transformation and artificial intelligence. There, ICT minister Emma Theofelus said...
Fossil-fuel-producing countries and companies are being asked to pay into a new international fund to help poor countries cope with the effects of the climate crisis. The climate investment fund is being set up by the Azerbaijani government, the host country of the COP29 United Nations climate summit in November. The Climate Finance Action Fund...
With Namibia’s National and Presidential Elections less than three months away, chaos, characterised by factionalism, reigns in Namibian politics. It would seem Namibian political operators are passionate about and committed to division. As the African saying goes, “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” The saying is true for several political parties...
Preliminary findings of the NaMedia media monitoring project, how these findings were presented, and what the organisers chose to amplify would have left a bitter taste in the mouth of any sane individual. The Media Ombudsman undertook a study with the support of private media, foreign development agencies and a local research outfit. The ombudsman’s...