Debt has become a lifestyle, and that’s a problem. Over the past decade, Namibia has witnessed a mushrooming of micro-lenders and cash loan businesses. While their services are legal and can sometimes be necessary, many operate with minimal regulation, predatory practices, and poor credit controls, pushing thousands of salaried workers into a dangerous cycle of...
Rudolf Gaiseb If guns or bombs are your go-to weapon in this age, you are old school. Today, all a person needs is a keyboard, Wi-Fi connection, and someone they disagree with. Yes, a war of words that kills more painfully than bullets. Social media is the arena, and like every soldier, the comrades chant...
Many natural or juristic persons find themselves in a predicament when aggrieved by the conduct of the functionaries or institutions that infringe their right to just administrative action. Such administrative conduct usually unravels in a form of a decision of public administrators. Think about a decision of a public body that affects a tender bidder...
The Namibian government has warned that it will not rule out applying “full force of the law” to crack down on renewed calls to secede the Zambezi Region from the entire territory of the Republic of Namibia. This is a complex legal issue which has been a subject of much debate throughout the 20th and...
Today, the world gathers once again to celebrate World Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day. This annual event, declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2017, is more than just a symbolic occasion. It is a global call to recognise the indispensable role of MSMEs in job creation, economic growth, innovation, and sustainable...
Weeks before Mee Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as Namibia’s first female president, I was significantly unnerved, wondering about the capacity of Namibian women to help her lead. Leadership is a team sport. An exceptionally qualified individual, it is worth noting that I have absolutely no qualms about her leadership qualities. Her leadership capabilities have...
Residents of Windhoek have increasingly found themselves in a precarious situation despite diligently paying for their prepaid electricity, their power supply is being blocked due to outstanding balances on other municipal services such as water, rates and taxes. This practice, implemented by the City of Windhoek, raises serious legal questions and appears to stand in...
On a typical morning in Windhoek, a 16-year-old girl scrolls through Instagram before getting out of bed. She’s not looking for news or inspiration, but she’s already comparing her life to influencers she’s never met. In Namibia, where much of the population is young, social media is not just a tool, it’s a mirror, a...
The 1904 uprising took place in the central highlands where Ovaherero people traditionally lived. Colonizers had seized Herero lands for settlers, provoking conflict. By January 1904, Herero chief Samuel Maharero and Nama leader Hendrik Witbooi led a revolt. They attacked the German garrison at Okahandja on 12 January 1904, killing over 100 settlers and soldiers...
Like the oppressed fighting for liberation, death permeates our waking dreams. Death selectively chooses women and children. Death walks the streets boldly, casually, intentionally, waving at neighbours as an active responsible member of society, masking his thirst for blood. The undisclosed nature of death. Our parasympathetic nervous systems are permanently switched on and we live...