For a man his age, incoming US president Donald Trump has a knack for cultivating a bad-boy image. Refreshingly direct to the point of rude honesty or dishonesty, he has no time for polite circumlocution. His threats are harsh, his demands unvarnished, including towards Washington’s so-called allies in Europe, which really are, at best, clients,...
On Friday, 13 December 2024, the Electoral Court ordered the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) to grant the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) access to specific statistical electoral data pertaining to the recentl-held National Assembly (NA) election. This case raises several curious questions. For brevity, only two issues are...
I have been deeply reflecting on the election outcome, and the consequences we will likely face as a nation. Our situation is critical, knowing that our elections were neither free nor fair. We mustn’t shy away from acknowledging this uncomfortable truth. When elections are unfair, we risk a serious erosion of trust in our institutions....
The Namibian government should seriously consider merging the National Youth Council (NYC) and the National Youth Service (NYS) into a unified entity to address governance inefficiencies, overlapping mandates and resource wastage. This bold proposal aims to streamline youth development efforts and establish a more accountable structure for empowering Namibia’s youth, who constitute over 70% of...
The festive season is finally here, and people have already started travelling to their respective places across the country. It is a season where family and friends come together and celebrate Christmas and New Year. Yet, it is also a season prone to criminal activities. Crime trend The trend has indicated that crime escalates during...
For those who have been around since the inception of social media, and mostly Facebook, they would have a story to tell. They would tell you how it, first, was a platform with mature and constructive engagement. Although there were no restrictive terms of use, its users at a time demonstrated a high level of...
Namibia’s financial market is poised for a significant transformation, with the introduction of the Central Securities Depository (CSD), a critical infrastructure approved by the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) on 8 March 2024. As a cornerstone of modern financial systems, the CSD promises to revolutionise the issuance, settlement, safekeeping and corporate servicing of financial...
As an independent economic and business researcher and board member of the African Council on Foreign Relations, I would like to celebrate Namibian history by extending my heartfelt congratulations to H.E. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s first female president-in-waiting and, therefore, first female president of SADC. One must be familiar with Iceland’s first female president, Vigdís Finnbogadottir,...
Namibian Women’s Day, observed on 10 December, serves as a solemn tribute to the courage and resilience demonstrated by Namibian women during the tragic 1959 massacre in Windhoek. On this day, women played a pivotal role in protesting the forced eviction of black communities from the Old Location. Despite violent repression, they remained at the...
The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying climate crises and mounting frustrations from least developed and developing nations. Although framed as a ‘Finance COP,’ the summit exposed the deep inequities in global climate governance, leaving vulnerable nations questioning the sincerity of wealthier countries’ commitments...