Is your boss making your work life miserable? Or are you surrounded by a team of seasoned bullies? If so, you are definitely not alone. In fact, research shows that a staggering 70% of junior employees have faced bullying from senior staff. So, what is this behaviour about, and what is behind it? What effects...
Opinions
Opinion – A moment of choice: Standing on the right side of history
As Namibians prepare to head to the polls on 27 November 2024, we are called upon to reflect on our past and its lessons. Our history is filled with resilience, bravery and the unwavering determination of those who fought for freedom. During the liberation struggle, our people were divided into three groups: those who...
Opinion – Factors organisations can consider in implementing menstrual leave
Employers and female employees had conflicting reactions to the article supporting menstruation leave a few weeks ago. Menstruation leave may seem ideal on paper, but it is challenging to administer and monitor. This kind of leave is complicated, involves many facets, and is greeted with societal opposition and unconscious bias. Therefore, to prevent abuse, the...
Opinion – From the ivory towers of academia to village homesteads
COMMUNITY service is critical for any university, its employees, students and external stakeholders. For a university to remain relevant and impactful, it must continue to engage in authentic community service. Institutions of higher learning should engage in community service within their ecosystems to address local and global challenges while providing rich, real-time learning experiences for...
Opinion – Preserving Namibia’s national values and ideals
It has been 34 years since Namibia gained independence through the barrel of the gun, after which independence the country has transformed into one of Africa’s best democracies. This has become possible because of espoused national values and ideals that are entrenched in the preamble of the Namibian Constitution. However, these values and ideals need...
Opinion – Namibian Christians and voting: A hallowed entitlement and obligation for all
In recent years, if you questioned Christians on who they will vote for, many could ignore you or dismiss your question as profanity. Since independence, from 1990 to the current indescribable years of hostilities and political differences among Christians, most, if not all Namibian Christians, have a rich legacy of political engagement, dating back to...
OPINION – Safeguarding financial integrity: A call for vigilance against fraudulent investment schemes
Recently, the Bank of Namibia, as the country’s central bank responsible for safeguarding the stability and integrity of the financial system, has been at the forefront of identifying a troubling surge in fraudulent investment schemes. These schemes, which falsely promise financial support for Namibia’s development initiatives, have been targeting high-ranking government officials, ministries, traditional leaders,...
Uncommon sense – Winds of change sweeping across the world
If the election outcomes in South Africa, Botswana, and now the USA are not clearly pointing to something, one would not know what else to do. It has not been clearer that there is a great and fundamental spiritual transformation going on in the entire world. The truth of the matter is that, at some point, the world seemed to have forgotten that...
Opinion – Does your vote count?
The importance of elections cannot be doubted or over-emphasised. At the very least, they provide the public with its clearest formal opportunity to influence the political process and help, directly or indirectly, to determine who will hold government power. From this perspective, elections are about results. In other words, who wins and who loses. ...
Opinion – Taxpayers bankroll political campaigns
One of the trademarks of a democracy is regular elections after a specified period, as stipulated in the constitution of the country. Namibia is once again exercising this democratic right on 27 November this year. Twenty-one political parties in a population of three million people are participatingin the elections, and the election campaign ball has...