President Hage Geingob says travel bans imposed by Western countries on Namibia and her neighbours have the potential to stall the much needed economic recovery as well as stoke tension between nations. 

Countries around the world rushed at the weekend to restrict travel from southern African countries in an attempt to contain the spread of a new coronavirus variant, dubbed Omicron. 

“I urge the developed world to consciously meditate on the wisdom of unilateral decisions that result in targeted, ambiguous regional travel bans, which are not based on scientific rigor and evidence,“ Geingob reacted yesterday. “These bans have many undesired impacts, including stalling much needed economic recovery in the Global South, stoking tensions and sowing seeds of division between countries and citizens. In Namibia, our scientists too are hard at work. We have yet to detect any Omicron variant in Namibia. Yet we too, have been blanketed by the same unnecessary collateral punishment. I therefore condemn this misguided and most unfortunate action and call for progressive and inclusive leadership from our peer countries.” Tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta yesterday also described the travel bans as unacceptable and that it lacks scientific proof. He also said the ban was discriminatory and contradicted the guidance of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO has advised nations around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African states because of the worries surrounding the new Omicron variant. The organisation’s plea comes after US President Joe Biden declared a travel ban starting Monday on South Africa and other countries, namely, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. “The ministry is discontented with the steps taken by several European member states, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other countries that have imposed restrictions and stricter measures on travellers from Namibia,” said Shifeta. The minister said this is a crushing blow to the tourism sector, on which many livelihoods depend. “Namibia has proven and remains committed to being a safe destination for business and leisure and we will continue to comply with and enforce necessary health and safety measures against the pandemic,” assured Shifeta.

The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) yesterday indicated that only TAAG Angola has cancelled their flights between Windhoek and Luanda due to the variant. “For the rest of the airlines, it is business as usual until such time they officially communicate to us. We remain vigilant to the ever changing dynamicof the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue to monitor and adjust accordingly.” In his address to the South African nation on Sunday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa also said the restrictions are unjustified and unfairly discriminate against South Africa and her neighbours. “The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic,” stated Ramaphosa. He pleaded with countries that have imposed travel bans on southern African countries to urgently reverse their decisions and lift the ban before any further damage is done to economies and the livelihoods of people. “There is no scientific justification for keeping these restrictions in place. We know that this virus, like all viruses, does mutate and forms new variants,” he added.