Immanuel ‘Prince’ Naidjala is leaving for Japan on Monday for a fight described as one that “everybody in the world will be talking about”. The fighter will challenge Tomoki Kameda for his WBO world bantamweight title on December 3 and his promoter, Nestor Tobias, yesterday described the bout as one that will have the world abuzz. “Prince is ready... in fact, he was busy preparing to fight over 12 rounds locally when we were approached to fight and so he is fully prepared to fight 12 rounds,” Tobias said, adding that the boxer will “represent Namibia” in Japan. “It is not just for himself but for the Namibian nation, which is why we are asking for the country’s support and for them to pray for us,” he added. Addressing the media for the last time before heading out to Japan, a calm-looking Naidjala yesterday said he was raring to go. “I’m excited, as it is every boxer’s dream to fight for a world title and I want to thank my coaching team for pushing me to the limit during training,” he said. But while the fighter is in perfect shape, he was also quick to add that another element is likely to play a role in his fight. “In boxing, you don’t need just to be fit but you also need to have luck... and I hope I have that during the fight.” MTC, which sponsors the Nestor Sunshine Academy, said it is proud to be associated with the gym, which has produced several world champions in the last few years. “We would like to commend the efforts of the Academy to take boxing to the next level and in the same vein, extend our best wishes to Prince. We hope you will make us proud by coming home a champion,” said MTC spokesman John Ekongo. Naidjala will be attempting to become the fourth Namibian world champion, following in the footsteps of the trailblazing Harry Simon, Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses and Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda, who previously held the WBO bantamweight belt. Sadly, it appears unlikely that Namibian fans will be able to watch Naidjala’s fight on television, but Tobias said negotiations were continuing. Naidjala’s fight will mark the start of a very busy period as the Academy will be hosting a boxing bonanza on December 6, which will see Wilberforce ‘Black Mamba’ Shihepo fighting in the main event. Another card will be held on December 14 in Gobabis.

A three-month-old baby died at the Opuwo State Hospital’s casualty ward on Sunday, while disgruntled patients were blocking the entrance and accusing nurses of favouritism in carrying out their duties.
The nurses were embroiled in a heated exchange with more than 30 patients, who stormed into the ward and alleged that they had been waiting to be helped for hours, yet the nurses were allegedly first helping “friends and relatives”.
The incident brought work in the ward to a standstill from 21:15 to 23:30, and led to the matron, Lisias Ashivudhi, and the principal doctor, Dr Refanus Kooper, having to intervene to bring the situation under control.
Kooper later said the patients were to blame for the baby’s death as, they prevented her from receiving medical attention by blocking the entrance.
When Nampa arrived at the casualty ward at around 21:30, the door of the facility was being guarded by two security guards, while a large group of patients was standing outside.
Six other patients were still inside the casualty ward, involved in a heated exchange with nurses.
Jasuva Kuvare, who spoke on behalf of the patients, accused the nurses of practicing favouritism in rendering their services.
“Some of us have been lining up since 15:00 and have not been treated. Some people just come from wherever and bypass the line to be treated first, which is really unfair,” a fuming Kuvare said.
According to the aunt of the deceased baby, who asked not to be named, the infant was brought to the casualty ward at around 19:00, and died while the nurses and patients were involved in the altercation.
The baby was next in line to be treated when the fiasco broke out.
Ashivudhi said immediate investigations revealed that the patients who were still in the ward were not related to the two nurses on duty.
He explained to the angry mob that the casualty department was meant for serious emergency cases.
“We made an exception to also attend to patients who happen to seek medical assistance at the casualty ward, given the fact that we are aware of the shortage of nurses and the fact that the clinics cannot treat all the patients every day. It was done to help reduce the number of patients,” he explained.
Ashivudhi added that as a result, queues started forming at the ward, but when serious cases arrived, which were seen as emergency situations, the line is disregarded and such patients are attended to.
“This is what was being done, and community members or patients who were in the line misinterpreted that as favouritism and accused nurses of treating their relatives and friends first, which is not true,” he said.
One of the nurses, Josef Mutumbulua, excused himself from work after the marathon verbal fight, leaving the already agitated patients in the hands of his colleagues and the principal doctor.
Kooper, who confirmed the baby’s death, said he suspects that the infant may have suffered from severe pneumonia.
He said the baby could not receive treatment, as the disgruntled patients blocked the door for more than one hour, and when medical staff finally got to have a look at the baby, she had already died.
The baby’s parents can open a case against the people who prevented the child from receiving medical attention on time, the doctor added, and an investigation will also be carried out.
Kooper said such behaviour from community members was very discouraging, given the shortages of nurses, and how overworked nurses at the establishment indeed are.
He thus called on community members to try and understand how institutions such as hospitals work, before making insensitive accusations against medical officials.-Nampa

OPUWO TJIKUNDA KULUNGA

Government intends to upgrade the country’s informal settlements and completely do away with shacks in urban and peri-urban areas.
President Hifikepunye Pohamba promised this yesterday when he officially launched the mass housing programme in Otjomuise, saying this “undesirable phenomenon” will be done away with through intensified urban planning and increased efforts by the authorities.
“The fact that informal settlements are built on unserviced land has compounded the challenges of health and hygiene as well as the danger posed by fires that endanger the lives of people and destroy property in informal settlements,” Pohamba said. Under the ambitious housing project, government is hoping to build at least 185 000 affordable houses by 2030.
The programme, which will be facilitated by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE), will be implemented in several phases and it is expected to cost more than N$45 billion. The first phase of the project will run for a period of two years, primarily targeting the 14 regional capital centres.
About 8 800 low-cost houses will be built, while 10 200 plots will be serviced at an estimated cost of N$2.7 billion.
“As more people migrated to urban areas in search of employment and better living conditions, the housing backlog grew manifold,” Pohamba added.
Local government and housing minister Charles Namoloh said about 1 800 low-cost houses will be built in Windhoek’s Otjomuise area within 24 months. “We are hard at work to steer the project to its final conclusion,” he said, jokingly adding that Katutura, would “be transformed into multi-Tura”.
The Head of State also stressed the importance of implementing the programme successfully and called on stakeholders to coordinate their work and ensure that there are no unnecessary delays.

An 83-year-old man from Zambezi Region was remanded back in custody on Monday, following a brief court appearance for allegedly raping a five-year-old girl.
Likando Gilbert Mujiwa was arrested on October 23 at Mazanino village in the Sibbinda area, after he was allegedly identified by his brother’s granddaughter as the man who had sexually molested her.
During his court appearance this week before acting Magistrate George Mushabati in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court, Mujiwa was informed of his right to apply for a State-appointed lawyer.
The matter was postponed to January 7 next year.
Prosecutor Roger Sibungo requested the postponement, as investigations were still incomplete.
Mujiwa is alleged to have raped the girl after he had called out for her to join him in a hut, where he was polishing and sharpening his farming implements.
It is further alleged that Mujiwa tricked the child with sweets.
According to a police report, after allegedly raping the child, Mujiwa then gave her another packet of sweets and told her not to report the matter.
However, the child alerted her guardians.
The police report further states that the child complained of pain to her private parts and semen was also allegedly discovered.

A three-month-old baby died at the Opuwo State Hospital’s casualty ward on Sunday, while disgruntled patients were blocking the entrance and accusing nurses of favouritism in carrying out their duties.
The nurses were embroiled in a heated exchange with more than 30 patients, who stormed into the ward and alleged that they had been waiting to be helped for hours, yet the nurses were allegedly first helping “friends and relatives”.
The incident brought work in the ward to a standstill from 21:15 to 23:30, and led to the matron, Lisias Ashivudhi, and the principal doctor, Dr Refanus Kooper, having to intervene to bring the situation under control. Kooper later said the patients were to blame for the baby’s death as, they prevented her from receiving medical attention by blocking the entrance. When Nampa arrived at the casualty ward at around 21:30, the door of the facility was being guarded by two security guards, while a large group of patients was standing outside.
Six other patients were still inside the casualty ward, involved in a heated exchange with nurses.
Jasuva Kuvare, who spoke on behalf of the patients, accused the nurses of practicing favouritism in rendering their services.
“Some of us have been lining up since 15:00 and have not been treated. Some people just come from wherever and bypass the line to be treated first, which is really unfair,” a fuming Kuvare said.
According to the aunt of the deceased baby, who asked not to be named, the infant was brought to the casualty ward at around 19:00, and died while the nurses and patients were involved in the altercation.
The baby was next in line to be treated when the fiasco broke out.
Ashivudhi said immediate investigations revealed that the patients who were still in the ward were not related to the two nurses on duty.
He explained to the angry mob that the casualty department was meant for serious emergency cases.
“We made an exception to also attend to patients who happen to seek medical assistance at the casualty ward, given the fact that we are aware of the shortage of nurses and the fact that the clinics cannot treat all the patients every day. It was done to help reduce the number of patients,” he explained.
Ashivudhi added that as a result, queues started forming at the ward, but when serious cases arrived, which were seen as emergency situations, the line is disregarded and such patients are attended to.
“This is what was being done, and community members or patients who were in the line misinterpreted that as favouritism and accused nurses of treating their relatives and friends first, which is not true,” he said. One of the nurses, Josef Mutumbulua, excused himself from work after the marathon verbal fight, leaving the already agitated patients in the hands of his colleagues and the principal doctor.
Kooper, who confirmed the baby’s death, said he suspects that the infant may have suffered from severe pneumonia.
He said the baby could not receive treatment, as the disgruntled patients blocked the door for more than one hour, and when medical staff finally got to have a look at the baby, she had already died.
The baby’s parents can open a case against the people who prevented the child from receiving medical attention on time, the doctor added, and an investigation will also be carried out.
Kooper said such behaviour from community members was very discouraging, given the shortages of nurses, and how overworked nurses at the establishment indeed are.
He thus called on community members to try and understand how institutions such as hospitals work, before making insensitive accusations against medical officials. -Nampa

A Grootfontein community group has dismissed the response by the Ministry of Education that it will be able to resolve the textbook shortage during the first quarter of 2014.
On Saturday the Local Economic Development Committee, chaired by Uwe Rathamann, rejected the ministry’s spokesperson Johanna Absalom’s statement that a delay in the distribution of textbooks would have minimal impact and would be sorted out in the first term.
According to Absalom, the textbook budget allocation for the 2013/ 2014 year is N$74 184 645, of which N$36 058 954 is for the primary phase and N$38 125 691 for the secondary phase. She said these books could still be procured before the end of the financial year.
But the Grootfontein committee says it has been in contact with the publishers and distributors, “who are waiting desperately for the tenders to be decided on, as the realistic estimate from them is that textbooks could only be ready for distribution in the second quarter of 2014”.
Last week, the Tender Board said the two tenders – one for the printing and supply of textbooks, and the second for their sorting, packing and delivery - were delayed because 59 companies had tendered for the work.
Tender Board spokesperson Leonie du Toit said they still had not received recommendations from the ministry about who should be given the contracts.
The tenders were advertised in August and closed in September.
The Grootfontein committee is calling for urgent intervention by the highest government authority to resolve the matter.
In a letter to the Otjozondjupa regional education directorate, the committee pointed out that a new school offering grades 8 to 12 will open at Grootfontein next year and its pupils probably will be without textbooks for the first term.
“Under the circumstances, we the community of Grootfontein want to know which ratio of learners to textbooks can be achieved with old stock of textbooks in the first term in different schools.
“You [education ministry] are to start with a new secondary school but with what textbooks? This matter is urgent and of high importance,” reads the letter.

WINDHOEK FAITH SANKWASA

The State will not oppose applications for discharge by four of the six accused in the N$5.7m million Brakwater heist.
Deputy Prosecutor-General, Anita Meyer, conceded yesterday that there was insufficient evidence before the court to convict Benedictus Kasimbingwe, Elitana Nghimwena, Mateus Hauwanga and Jason Awene.
However, Meyer argued that in respect of Jan J. Julius and George Jambeinge, there is more than enough evidence for them to answer to when they launch their defence.
The six men are accused of robbing a Fidelity Services Group Namibia cash van of N$5.7 million in the early hours of December 29, 2004.
Judge Naomi Shivute reserved judgment in the application for discharge and postponed the matter to February 22 next year.
Meyer had earlier stated that there is no satisfactory evidence in respect of Nghimwena and Hauwanga. She further said in respect of Kasimbingwe that a State witness, a certain Mrs Van Rooyen from Kakamas in South Africa’s North West province, refused to come and testify in the case.
According to her, Awene was the last person to be arrested in the case and was picked up by the cash van as a hitchhiker.
His name appeared three times in witness statements, but a witness, Sunnyboy Iyambo, had retracted his evidence about the colour of the shirt Awene was wearing on the day of the robbery and also instead stated Awene was not the hitchhiker.
She conceded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Awene.
In respect of Julius, Meyer argued that he was employed by the Fidelity Service Group and that he had actively participated in the armed robbery. She maintained that as the driver, he was in physical control of the vehicle and that he deviated specifically to pick up Awene, who was hitchhiking. She said once inside the vehicle, Awene had struggled with another security guard and that Julius did not offer any assistance.
According to her, when the security guard grabbed the firearm to shoot the accused, Julius pleaded: “Do not shoot this man, I know him.”
She added: “It is not required to prove that Julius gained from the robbery. He actively participated. Had he not participated, the robbery could not have taken place.”
Meyer further said that Jambeinge, by his admission and confession, took police to a house in Hochland Park where his white Hyundai was parked. The police found N$1.5 million in the boot of the car, which according to Meyer was part of the money robbed on December 29, 2004.
Meyer said the Bank of Namibia (BoN) orders money from the South African Bank Note Company and that the bundle of notes was covered with a band with the company’s logo.
“That money links him to the robbery, as the recovered money still bears the logo,” she said.

WINDHOEK FRED GOEIEMAN

With increasing concerns over energy supply in Namibia and the Southern Africa region as a whole, power utility NamPower yesterday unveiled plans to drastically decrease the country’s electricity demand. Addressing a media conference in Windhoek, NamPower Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba said the organisation’s board of directors had resolved to approve a new Demand Side Management (DSM) programme, which includes the free installation of one million LED light bulbs in residential houses throughout the country. “The campaign will be executed by contracting Energy Service Companies, called ‘LED champions’, who will recruit local individuals to perform house to house replacements. The free installation will be implemented through two phases, with the first phase limited to two towns as a pilot project, and the second phase, which is to be the last, to be rolled out to the rest of the country depending on the outcome of the pilot phase,” Shilamba said. Light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs typically have much longer life spans than the more common incandescent bulbs and are thus considered both a more cost-effective and more sustainable option for home lighting. According to Shilamba, the campaign hopes to reduce the lighting load during peak demand times and is expected to reduce peak demand by up to 30 megawatts. Shilamba said the two towns to benefit from the pilot project are still to be officially named, but said Otjiwarongo would be one. Another way in which the utility hopes it can impact on citizens’ energy consumption, is through a 20 000 solar water heater campaign, exchanging traditional geysers with solar alternatives over the next five years. Supply challenges The utility’s DSM programme is only one initiative aimed at seeing the company through its current supply challenges, with a number of local and regional short and medium-term projects currently either underway or in the pipeline. Shilamba said the drought affecting some parts of the country has resulted in reduced output at the Ruacana Hydro Power Station, which is down by approximately 10% from 242 cubic meters per second in January 2012, to 181 cubic meters per second in January this year. In addition, the ongoing rehabilitation of the Van Eck Power Station has taken that power source out of service since last year, while South Africa’s Eskom has requested Namibia to be as conservative as possible with regard the use of its imported supply. Over the next 15 years, Shilamba said, the region has adopted an ambitious programme involving an investment of at least US$170 billion (N$1.7 trillion) for new power supply infrastructure. In the case of Namibia, the country’s power supply deficit is expected to prevail until the commissioning of the Kudu Gas power station in 2018. “Until then, and given the challenges of implementing large scale projects, Namibia will continue to rely on the short-term critical supply project (STCS), under which a number of short and medium term initiatives will be implemented to address the immediate power supply shortages,” Shilamba said. These short-term measures include the DSM programme, the refurbishment of Van Eck, the replacement of runners at Ruacana and the negotiation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with regional utilities and independent power producers.

Following in the footsteps of South African football giants Kaizer Chiefs, the Titans cricket team have added their name to the programme for the George Premier League 7s tournament at Outeniqua Park on December 13 and 14. While none of the cricketers will be playing in the tournament, their team will feature players from the Pumas rugby team in Mpumalanga - a region which falls under the Titans’ catchment area. Titans’ chief executive Jacques Faul said the franchise’s involvement in the tournament would give it more exposure to other markets. “For us it was an easy call. It gets the brand out there and we are also the first cricket team to do this,” Faul said in Pretoria yesterday. “The Pumas are actually part of our franchise which covers that area and some of our players come from there. “It is innovative and fresh -also your finals can’t be rained out in rugby- so it was quite a big attraction for us.” He said administrators had to look at new ways to get brand awareness and tap into different markets. The Unlimited Titans rugby team would be coached by Pumas mentor Jimmy Stonehouse, whose side won the 2013 Currie Cup First Division title and were promoted to the Premier Division next year. Rugby and cricket had a tradition of players being equally skilled at both codes at school level. Proteas one-day international captain AB de Villiers, who was contracted to the Titans, played flyhalf for the Blue Bulls in the 2002 Craven Week tournament before pursuing a career in cricket. Stonehouse said he was confident of adding the Sevens title to his growing list of accolades. He would be supported by his Pumas assistant coach and former Springbok Sevens player MJ Mentz. “We’ve got a great side with names like Coenie van Wyk and Rosco Speckman. Although he is with the Springbok Sevens, we’ve made arrangements that he will be part of this tournament,” Stonehouse said. The team could further call on JW Bell, former Springbok Sevens player Danwell Demas and Brian Shabangu, who captained the SA Emerging Sevens team in 2011. The tournament assembles some of the best sevens rugby players in the world, who will be vying for the N$1million prize money.

Fulham manager Martin Jol will look to raid his old club Ajax Amsterdam, in order to sign South African midfielder Thulani Serero in January. The Dutchman is under pressure at Craven Cottage after a poor start to the season, and SportsDirect News reported that he was hoping to strengthen his squad at the next opportunity. Serero, 23, is considered a promising prospect at Ajax, though he has not managed to establish himself as a first-team regular since joining the club in 2011, and could be tempted by a switch to the Premier League. With Fulham performing so badly at the moment, it remains to be seen if Jol will still be in the job by the turn of the year, but he remains committed to his role and is already working on targets to improve his side's chances of staying up. Serero is an attack-minded midfielder, who has scored three goals in 12 appearances for Ajax this season, and who could be available for around £5million (N$80 million).

Ramblers have a chance to halt Black Africa’s attempt to narrow the gap atop the MTC Namibia Premier League (NPL), when the two teams meet tonight. The clash at the Sam Nujoma Stadium at 20:00 was confirmed yesterday when the NPL released round 6 of the fixtures. Tonight’s clash will see the two teams heading into the game with contrasting fortunes. Ramblers have already lost three of their five matches thus far, while Black Africa has won three of its ties this season. That means that while Ramblers are third from bottom, their rivals in tonight’s match are second on the log - five points behind NPL leaders, Tigers. A win for Black Africa will see the team reduce Tigers’ lead, with the log leaders only due to play on Saturday. However, it will not be plain sailing for BA, especially if the Ramblers’ forward trio of Alfred Karamata, Alfie Ndyenge and Donovan Swartz find their form in front of goal. The trio gave Tigers a good run for their money last Friday, and provided they continue on that note, Black Africa may just be caught by surprise. Ramblers will also be buoyed by the fact that they scored two goals against Tigers, who had previously just let in one goal in four matches. Round 6 also offers some other intriguing ties with third placed Civics due to take on African Stars at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Friday. The round of clashes will also see the first Rundu derby taking place, as United Stars are scheduled to take on their town rivals Rundu Chiefs on Saturday. Eleven Arrows will hope to change their fortunes in the NPL when they host Blue Boys on Saturday, while Tura Magic is set to clash with Blue Waters on the same day. But the match of the round will feature two of the early pacesetters, with Orlando Pirates taking on the table toppers Tigers on Saturday.

Labour unrest is crippling the Namibian economy and must be avoided at all costs by negotiating settlements.
This was said by Omusati Regional Governor Sophia Shaningwa at the inauguration of the Social Security Commission (SSC) service centre at Outapi on Tuesday. Shaningwa said the opening of a SSC satellite office at Outapi was in line with the government’s decentralisation policy.
“This is testimony that the government is committed to decentralisation,” she said and thanked the SCC for bringing services closer to the people.
She expressed the hope that the new office would deliver better services to the public.
She further requested the SSC staff to serve their customers fairly and to provide excellent service. “This is not negotiable,” she said.
The SSC’s satellite office at Outapi opened its doors to the public in October 2010 and operated from temporary premises until earlier this year when it moved to its new premises in a shopping complex along the main road near the Anamulenge T-junction.
The Outapi office - with a staff of six under manager Lydia Povanhu - falls under the SSC Oshakati branch and provides services such as Social Security registration, contribution payments, revenue collection, claims and customer relations.
The SSC is expanding its services. It has been operating a satellite office in Katima Mulilo over the past few years and opened a new service centre in Mariental earlier this year.
The Mariental office was inaugurated on November 22, while the Katima Mulilo office will be inaugurated this Friday.
The Outapi event was also attended by the Labour and Social Welfare Permanent Secretary George Simataa, SSC Chief Executive Officer Kenandei Tjivikua and Swapo Party regional co-ordinator Erginus Endjala.

The company contracted to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) at the Otjivalunda salt pans, Enviro Dynamics Namibia, has recommended that Gecko Namibia go ahead with its plans to mine the two Otjivalunda salt pans.
The environmental management consultants found that there would be no negative long-term effects on the community and environment if the salt mining is done in line with their recommendations.
For the assessment, Enviro Dynamics Namibia appointed bird specialists, an archaeologist, a specialist to investigate the aquatic fauna at the pans and a specialist to assess the cultural heritage of salt mining.

Culturally significant
The latter, Carla Saayman, wrote in her report that salt harvesting is a culturally significant activity with an economic value that will be affected by commercial salt mining. She added that while locals also harvest salt from the Ondangwa and Ongandjela pans, the salt from the Otjivalunda salt pans is superior in taste and harvesting rituals take place at the western pan.
Saayman recommended that that mining should start at the eastern pan and before mining is done at the western pan, a cultural heritage study should be redone in about 10 years’ time to see whether the culture has changed.
“The mining may only commence at the western pan after the study has been redone. Only 50% of the western pan may be mined and no surface salt may be mined at the western pan,” Saayman recommended.

Gecko plans
According to a Gecko background information document, the salt-mining project plans to extract and process salt, trona, burkeite and sodium sulphate from the Otjivalunda salt pans.
These will be used to produce soap, detergents, table salt and sulphate at a production facility near Oshakati.
During their study, the bird specialists found that the salt pans are a stopover for aquatic birds migrating to the northern hemisphere and recommended, as did the aquatic fauna specialist, that the pans should not be mined at the same time.

Squabbles
Eloise Carstens from Enviro Dynamics Namibia said while they were conducting the EIA, they did not take into consideration the squabbles between Gecko Namibia and the community members of Uuvudhiya over the joint venture the company has entered into with the Ondonga and Uukwambi traditional authorities.
The environmental management consultants also did not involve themselves in the issue of the shareholding agreement between Gecko Namibia and the Ondonga Uukwambi Mining Enterprise (OUME). “We are not here to take sides. We are merely trying to work together with both parties to see if we came come to some form of agreement,” said Carstens during the presentation of the findings at Uukwangula on Tuesday.
Carstens said Enviro Dynamics Namibia has given recommendations to best mitigate some of the concerns raised by the communities, such as fears that the landscape of the pan will change as a result of the mining.
“We are recommending that they [Gecko Namibia] go ahead with the project because we think the project will be good for the economy and will create jobs for the locals,” said Carstens.

Community concerns
This news was not well received by the audience, with many raising concerns that the green light was given despite resistance from Uuvudhiya community members.
Once the floor was open for questions, Lukas Nantanga, a member of the Uuvudhiya committee set up to discuss issues pertaining to the salt pans, read a five-page letter listing the concerns of the community.
“The salt pans belong to the people and we are recommending that this project should not be allowed to go forward,” said Nantanga.

Political analyst – or as he came to be known lately, NIPAM executive director – Dr Joseph Diescho has expressed fear that the drive to have a 50/50 gender quota in our parliament and political parties could come back to haunt us.
It is a controversial statement, many would argue, but one that carries a lot of truth. A world where women and men enjoy equality of rights and opportunities is not only possible – it’s achievable.
But to push men out of positions and give them to women, on the basis of gender and not merit, could boomerang in our faces.
Diescho was spot on in his analysis – as he often is – especially when he brought in the element of other minority groups such as the disabled and homosexuals.
He also spoke about the youth, saying that they too could be the next in line to demand equal representation in parliament and party lists. And quite frankly, they would have a strong case to demand the same consideration of inclusion as women.
Gender justice is critical to continuing on the path of increased prosperity, equality and tolerance. But positions must be gained strictly on merit.
What we need is a level playing field for men and women to compete fairly. We don’t want a situation where a man stands a better chance to get a truck driver’s job than a woman – or where women enjoy preference ahead of men for secretarial and front-desk reception jobs.
Unfortunately in Namibia, the wheels have already been set in motion to consider people for positions because of their gender and not necessarily abilities.
In Swapo, for example, women have had the opportunity to battle it out for position against their male comrades and many have won fairly and squarely.
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and many others have competed against men in the party and beat them hands down to maintain their positions in the party, parliament and Cabinet.
In fact Iivula-Ithana is on record last year prior to the Swapo congress that she didn’t want to be chosen because she is a woman but because of her abilities as the country’s potential president.
If men keep winning the Namibian presidency, the next demand we might hear is of women demanding that the presidency be rotated on gender basis – a woman after every man. And then what?

Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa says overcrowded conditions in shacks lead to many young children witnessing sexual acts and domestic violence.
Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Nghidinwa said the influx of thousands of people from rural communities to urban areas in search of work results in “many negative things”.
“It is true that people want to come to the city to look for work, but this migration to towns eventually cause many people to live in overcrowded shacks because of lack of accommodation,” she said.
“Children and parents live together in the same small space and these children then get exposed to things such as sexual acts between their parents and even alcohol at an early age.”
She added that children also witness violence between their parents, as there is no privacy in a shack.
According to the minister, when young girls and boys witness “such kinds of things”, they are robbed of their innocence and their growth will be shaped by what they see throughout their childhood.
This inevitably leads to girls growing up and disrespecting their bodies, by sleeping around with different men, as they have not been raised to know that sex is a private act.
Young men, on the other hand, grow up to disrespect women and also with the mindset that violence is normal – having seen their fathers beat up their mothers.
Nghidinwa said people don’t have to move to urban areas when there is no work, but should rather come up with ideas for self-employment in their home regions.
They should also know that they have the right to demand services in rural areas - the same services they believe they can only access in urban areas.
She said her ministry is helping women in the regions with training and will establish more training centres by the end of next year.
These training centres in all the regions will ensure that women can be trained to be self-sufficient and enjoy economic independence.
She said organisations like Women’s Action for Development (WAD) have been instrumental in training women. These women, who have been equipped with different types of skills, are then able to go out and apply their new knowledge to start their own businesses.

“Women need to be empowered so that they don’t have to totally rely on men for everything. This also contributes to men thinking they own their women, and as such can do whatever they want with them, including beating them up and even raping and murdering them,” the minister said. Nghidinwa added that contrary to popular belief, violence against women and children is not only happening in black communities, but all races are suffering from the scourge of gender-based violence. “People think it is only black men who beat their women, but it’s the same story in other ethnic communities, and this is even worse because these people are suffering in silence.” “I want to urge people of all races to work together and contribute to the fight against violence toward women and children, both black and white,” said Nghidinwa.

None of the 42 African dollar-billionaires is from Namibia, the 2013 Billionaire Census published by Wealth-X and UBS bank indicates. The research reveals there are currently 2 170 dollar-billionaires in the world, with a combined net worth of US$6.5 trillion, but only 42 of these billionaires are from Africa. According to the study, 19 of Africa’s billionaires are from Egypt, followed by South Africa (9), Nigeria (7), Morocco (4), Kenya (1), Tunisia (1) and Angola (1). “Although Egypt has the largest number of billionaires in the region, the average net worth of South African billionaires is nearly double that of Egyptian billionaires at $3.3bn, as compared to $1.7bn,” the report says. It remains a man’s world when it comes to the continent’s billionaires, with 93% of those listed in the report being male. The wealthiest man in Africa is Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote, a self-made businessman with a fortune of US$17bn. Dangote started a small trading firm in 1977 that grew to become the Dangote Group, one of the most diversified business conglomerates in Africa and a major supplier to Nigeria’s soft-drink companies, breweries and confectionaries. Just over 47% of Africa’s billionaires are self-made, while about 14% inherited their wealth. The rest have part-inherited, part-made their fortunes. The average age of Africa’s billionaires is 62 and all of them have been married. Interestingly, only 7% of the continent’s billionaires amassed their wealth in the petroleum sector. The majority, or 19%, of billionaires operate in the financial sector, followed by industry (12%), real estate (12%), social organisations (10%), and construction and engineering (7%). There is no official record indicating who Namibia’s richest person is, although the country is believed to be home to a number of dollar-millionaires. Additional reporting by howwemadeitinafrica.com.

National Heritage Council chairperson Esther Mwoombola-/Goagoses says lack of organisation, unpaid membership fees and regionalism led to Africa losing out on having a new continental member elected to the Word Heritage Committee last week. The committee is elected from the World Heritage Convention’s 190 members. Mwoombola-/Goagoses attended a meeting which took place from November 19 to 21 at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Headquarters in Paris, France. The meeting elected 12 new members to the 21-member intergovernmental committee in charge of managing Unesco’s World Heritage List and implementing the convention. Africa still has two old members on the committee. “All members of the 1972 World Heritage Convention who were present and were up to date with membership fees voted, but I have to say we Africans really need to organise ourselves for the world to take us seriously,” Mwoombola-/Goagoses said. She said that regionalism is always at play when Africa is required to vote as a bloc. She added: “We are always the ones behind in payment of our membership fees and all this leads to us losing out on important opportunities, such as representation on this committee.” She said if Africa had put up fewer nominees, it could have won more seats, but each region just thought of itself. “This resulted in split votes and I hope we have learnt a lesson from this that we need to work together as a continent,” she said. Mwoombola-/Goagoses said some countries don’t even have the expertise to sit on the committee, but they force themselves into the running. She said Europe, for instance, only put up three candidates, and they all won seats. There were six African countries in the running, namely Angola, Mauritania, Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Kenya. The new members of the World Heritage Committee, elected for four years, are Croatia, Finland, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Turkey and Vietnam. They join nine other countries namely, Algeria, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Senegal and Serbia, whose term of office expires in 2015. There are 129 World Heritage Sites in Africa. The committee meets annually to review the state of conservation at these world sites and to inscribe new ones on the list, which today number 981 sites in 160 countries. The World Heritage list includes 759 cultural, 193 natural and 29 mixed properties. The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve these heritage sites. Measures include emergency assistance, safeguarding properties in danger, long-term conservation, management planning, technical assistance, professional training, public and youth education and awareness-building. The World Heritage Centre and its partners have developed a number of initiatives and have been actively involved in the implementation of projects, participatory workshops, seminars and training courses. WINDHOEK NAMENE HELMICH

The Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture’s permanent secretary (PS), Dr Vetumbuavi Veii, has served an eviction order that brought an end to the illegal occupation of the Windhoek Independence Arena by the Oruuano Namibian Artists Union.
Yesterday, the union’s secretary-general Vincent Mwemba was personally served with an order to vacate the premises where he was illegally subletting 12 shacks and operating a restaurant at the expense of the government.
The shacks erected behind the dilapidated Independence Arena in Katutura, along with the restaurant that is next to the entrance gate, will all be demolished by December 13.
The Independence Arena, which falls under the management of the youth ministry, was initially leased to the union by the Ministry of Works in the 1990s on condition that they hosted music and cultural activities there.
However, by 2010 the union had no operational budget and its finances were N$235 666 in the red.
Mwemba snubbed the first eviction order in 2011 and again in May this year.
During an inspection of the arena yesterday, Veii said Mwemba would have to answer to how he ‘milked’ the ministry with high municipal bills as a result of illegal electrical connections to the shacks and restaurant.
The inspection also established that an abandoned room within metres from the shacks is home to many homeless children, who along with Mwemba’s tenants use the free water in the showers situated below the arena’s stage.
Veii was further told by his ministry’s planning officers that Mwemba, who has been living at the premises with his family in one of the shacks and a storeroom since 2009, generated revenue of about N$800 and N$1 000 from the ten tenants for his own use.
“I do not know how he [Mwemba] managed to erect shacks on government property. This is a serious crime and is against municipal rules and regulations,” Veii said in disbelief.
Veii said plans are under way to demolish the arena to make way for an eight-storey building that will house the youth ministry’s new headquarters.
The current educational projects, youth centre, youth hostel and police accommodation at the premises will be incorporated into the development and managed under the ministry’s watchful eye.
“The whole place will be demolished and the ministry will put up its new headquarters on it. We will manage and control buildings leased out to projects, so our ministry can also generate money from it,” said Veii.
When asked by Namibian Sun whether he would comply with his third eviction order, Mwemba said he still needed to read the latest letter and then decide on the way forward.
Mwemba denied that his activities at the site are illegal, saying a generator is used to light the shacks, while the rent is injected back into the union’s office operations.
“I will be calling a press conference soon so I can clarify certain allegation made against me. I however need to study the content of this eviction order first,” said Mwemba.

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) bowlers, led by Pipi Raho, kept the team’s chances of qualifying for the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh alive with a convincing 25-run win against Namibia, who were eliminated from the race. PNG will now meet Hong Kong today, the winner of the match going through to the world event in Bangladesh. Raho’s three wickets in his first three overs helped PNG to reduce Namibia to 16 for 4 while defending 145, a start from which Namibia wasn’t able to recover and were bowled out in the 19th over. Craig Williams was the only batsman to put up any resistance, scoring 42 off 37 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes. PNG had been given a flying start, again by Tony Ura, who scored most of the runs in a 42-run opening stand. It was followed by two more important innings, first by Geraint Jones, who scored 36, and then by Jack Vare, who remained unbeaten on 30, to help the team to a competitive total. The PNG bowlers made sure it was more than enough. First time qualifiers Nepal joined Afghanistan and Ireland, becoming the third team to qualify for next year’s World T20 in Bangladesh with a last-ball win against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi. It’s the first time Nepal will be heading to a global event. Nepal entered the final over needing 13 to win and Sharad Vesawkar swung a six down the ground followed by an inside-edged four through fine leg. Vesawkar was back on strike to face the final delivery with scores level and pierced a packed ring through extra cover to send Nepal through to Bangladesh with a five-wicket win. The win also took Nepal to the semi-final of the qualifying tournament where they will meet Afghanistan. Scotland openers Richie Berrington and Calum MacLeod scored half-centuries to keep the team’s hopes of reaching the 2014 World Twenty20 alive, with a seven-wicket win over Italy in Abu Dhabi. Scotland will now play the loser of the game between the Netherlands and the UAE for a spot in next year’s showpiece event, but Italy have been eliminated. Berrington and MacLeod put up a stand of 112 that sent Scotland well on their way of overhauling the modest target of 126. Berrington hit 52 off 44 deliveries with six fours, while MacLeod’s 45-ball 56 included seven fours.

The national under-20 team are busy planning their triumph at the upcoming Under-20 Cosafa Championship in Maseru, Lesotho, which takes place between December 3 to 14.
The Namibian youth team has been in camp for the past three weeks, and according to coach Ronnie Kanalelo, preparations has been going well with combinations and tactics at the centre of the training camp.
“My assistant Timo Tjongarero and I have been working really hard with the boys and it has been all about finding the right combinations and drilling the tactics in. And thus far the response from the boys has been very pleasing,” states Kanalelo.
The coach reveals that the Namibian team plans to play a very high-tempo game and suffocate their opponents with speed and structure and score goals to progress as far as possible.
“We plan to play fast football, with a lot of numbers involved in our play in terms of going forward and defending as well. It is also about keeping the structure of the team at all times and pressing the opponents very up high their own half and playing for each other and for the team’ s cause,” explained Kanalelo. The former goalkeeper is, however, aware of the strengths of Namibia’s Group C opponents.
“We will surely face tough competition during the tournament and we respect all the teams we will play.
We all want to win and so it won’t be an easy walk in the park for us and we have to work hard for victories which are very important going forward,” said Kanalelo, who is also the Brave Warriors assistant coach.
The Namibian team is scheduled to depart for Maseru over the weekend. Namibia are in Group C along with Zambia, South Africa and Seychelles.
The team will open their group stage campaign against Zambia on December 4 before taking on the Seychelles on December 7 and finally South Africa on December 10.
Only the group winners will advance to the semi-finals.

Final squad:
Keepers: Edward Maova and Donovan Gaunub
Defenders: Innocent Tembo, Fimaneka Kabungu, Ananias Nakambuli, Ivan Kamberipa, Nathan Gideon, Salom Pamp, Marius Kotze
Midfielders: Brendan Goagoseb, Esko Kavela, McBright Ndjavera, Issensius Mutuku, Glen Kamutjete Wendell Rudath, Marco Somseb
Strikers: Terdius Uiseb, Ambrosius Amseb, Henrico Hoebeb, Gerland Kaengurova