(HERALD ZW) UK invasion plot: Nujoma speaks out
December 4, 2013
Mabasa Sasa in ETUNDA VILLAGE, Namibia
Namibia’s founding President Cde Sam Nujoma chats to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Namibia Ms Chipo Zindoga at his residence in Etunda Village, Namibia
Any attack on Zimbabwe is an attack on the entire SADC region and will warrant a military response from the bloc, Namibia’s founding president, Dr Sam Nujoma, has said. The Father of the Namibian Nation spoke in the wake of revelations that Britain, under former premier Tony Blair, approached South Africa seeking co-operation in a military invasion of Zimbabwe during Thabo Mbeki’s presidency. South Africa rejected the overtures.
Diplomatic sources also told this paper that Britain had approached at least two other southern African countries to provide land and airspace for a possible invasion of Zimbabwe at the turn of the millennium.
This was when Zimbabwe had embarked on its revolutionary Fast-track Land Reform Programme.
It is understood that one of the countries (named) actually agreed but backtracked when Zimbabwe sent an envoy to ask the leadership of that nation why it wanted to assist in an invasion of a fellow Sadc member state.
The source said, “At least three countries were approached. One of them rejected the idea flatly, one listened to the proposal and then rejected it, and another went along and only stopped when Harare made it clear it was aware of the plot. That is where it crumbled, but this tells Zimbabwe to remain vigilant as such threats can never be consigned to history.”
In an interview in his home village of Etunda in Northern Namibia earlier this week, Dr Nujoma — who was president from Namibia’s independence in 1990 until 2005 — said while he had not been approached to assist in an invasion of Zimbabwe, it should be made clear to the whole world that such an action would never be tolerated by the region.
He said, “Namibia will never betray an African country to allow an imperialist country to use our territory as a base for aggression against any member of the African Union.
“If anyone attacks any Sadc member we will be there. These imperialists understand nothing, but the language of force. We are ready for them.
“Why all of a sudden is Renamo causing problems in Mozambique? Sadc should raise an army and wipe out the rebels who try and destabilise the region, like we did in the DRC.”
This was in reference to renewed rebel activity by Mozambique’s Renamo after having first instigated a civil war that ran from 1975 to 1992 and cost more than one million lives and affected its neighbour to the west, Zimbabwe.
Dr Nujoma said Africa must be prepared to confront the European Union and NATO in battle if need be.
“Member-states of the African Union must contribute to the Standing Force to defend the continent of Africa. What happened in Libya and now in Egypt should not be allowed anywhere else. No African country should be used to harbor foreign troops on its territory, including the American AFRICOM.
“We know they are stationed in Stuttgart, Germany and they have been there since the Second World War. Now they want to come to Africa. Africa should be prepared to fight them…
“It should be clearly stated that any attack on Zimbabwe is an attack on Sadc. I can be commander myself, we are already fighters and we don’t need guns or training from anyone.”
Dr Nujoma added: “We congratulate Zanu-PF and President Mugabe for fighting the machinations of the British and neo-colonialists in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a shining example on the African continent…
“We say no to the return of imperialists in our lifetime and we follow in the footsteps of Robert Gabriel Mugabe,” he said.
Dr Nujoma urged the youth of Africa to follow in the example of the liberation movement generation that sacrificed much to achieve political independence.
Among sitting heads of state and government in the region, only Presidents Mugabe, Jose Eduardo dos Santos (Angola), Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia), and Jacob Zuma (South Africa) had a direct experience of the liberation struggle.
“The youth of Africa must follow in the footsteps of their forefathers. We must start fighting to liberate our economies.”
He said Africa had won many battles against the West before and it would draw from these experiences to continue resisting oppression as it strives towards economic independence.
Dr Nujoma said empowering African people was the next logical stage in the struggle for true independence, and this battle would be premised on improving education and building capacity in the citizenry to run economies and nations in the best interests of indigenes.
There was no reason why, he noted, Africa could not industrialise within the next 10 years and become self-sufficient.
“All resources of Africa must be used in the interests of the African people. Let us produce for ourselves… We are not poor, they (Europe) are the ones who are poor.”
Dr Nujoma said Europe was vulnerable at the moment and Africa must take advantage of this to surge forward economically and in asserting sovereignty over its resources.
He said he could not understand why Europe and America were busying themselves with developments in Africa and yet they were facing immense problems of their own back home.
“In Greece, in Italy, in Portugal and all over Europe, their people are dying of hunger. They are poor, they are suffering. Why should they bother us?
“Europe and America must concentrate on supporting their own people who are dying from hunger over there.”
A fortnight ago, Cde Mbeki said Blair’s regime put pressure on Tshwane to abet an invasion of Zimbabwe.
The British wanted to depose President Mugabe unconstitutionally and impose MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in his stead.
Interestingly, around the time of these invasion plots, Tsvangirai told a rally in Harare that he was prepared to remove President Mugabe from office “violently”.
Before Cde Mbeki’s revelation, a senior officer in Blair’s uniformed service had also said the military option had been strongly considered.
Lord (General) Charles Guthrie, Chief of the General Staff of the British Army from 1997 to 2001, said Blair had asked him to look at an invasion of Zimbabwe. Lord Guthrie said his response was, “Hold hard, you’ll make it worse.”
Labelled Blair’s favourite general, Lord Guthrie is credited with conniving with the then Prime Minister to send troops to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
In his memoirs (“A Journey: My Political Life”), Blair said, “People often used to say to me: If you got rid of the gangsters in Sierra Leone, Milosevic, the Taliban and Saddam, why can’t you get rid of Mugabe? The answer is: I would have loved to; but it wasn’t practical (since in his case, and for reasons I never quite understood, the surrounding African nations maintained a lingering support for him and would have opposed any action strenuously).”
A number of factors are said to have weighed against an invasion of Zimbabwe.
Firstly, the Zimbabwean military is battle-hardened, having been involved in frontline action almost every year from the start of the liberation struggle in 1996 up until the deployment in the DRC war that ended in 2003. The British Military Advisory and Training Team was in Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2000 and knew of the Zimbabwe Defence Force’s capacity.
Secondly, there were some 100 000 British white citizens in Zimbabwe at the time and London knew they would be affected by any invasion.
Thirdly, Britain was at the time over-stretched in Afghanistan and then afterwards in Iraq.
Another factor was that at the time the United States – Britain’s largest ally – appeared unconvinced about the efficacy of an invasion, especially after the experience of Somalia in the early 1990s when Zimbabwean troops essentially rescued American troops from a quagmire they had sunk themselves in.
Labels: LIBERATION, NAMIBIA, SAM NUJOMA, SWAPO, TONY BLAIR
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KK's sacrifices for Namibia immeasurable - Kawana
By Kabanda Chulu in Windhoek, Namibia
Thu 07 Nov. 2013, 14:01 CAT
By Kabanda Chulu in Windhoek, Namibia
NO MONETARY value can compensate for what the people of Zambia did for southern Africa and Namibia in particular, says Namibian presidential affairs minister Albert Kawana.
Reacting to some Namibians who have criticised their government for giving a N$13 million (K7 million) luxury house to former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda and renaming a street after him, Kawana, who is also Attorney General, said drawing comparisons between the donation and what the retired statesman did for Namibia during the liberation struggle would be a shame.
"The sacrifices that Zambians under Kaunda made during Namibia's liberation struggle are immeasurable. Zambia opened the door to us under the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Many Zambians were killed, properties were destroyed," said Kawana in a statement to the Namibian Press Agency.
"Zambia had helped many liberation movements, including us, with bases to operate from. Zambian people that now live in the areas we were operating from are exposed to landmines. This house, no matter the value, cannot be compared to the many Zambian lives lost as a result of helping Namibians during the exile years."
He said the donation of the house was a token of appreciation to the people of Zambia.
"This is to say thank you, thank you a million. No monetary value can compensate for what the people of Zambia did for southern Africa and especially Namibia. Some of us are very emotional about these things," said Kawana.
"It is shameful for Namibians to criticise the decision to donate the house to Kaunda and the people of Zambia."
Following the handover of the house on Sunday, there have been heated debates across Namibia with some people criticising the decision, saying a cheaper house could have been found.
Others are saying Dr Kaunda was not the only Zambian who suffered for supporting Namibia's independence struggle and therefore the government should have donated money to the government of Zambia to build clinics, bridges, roads and so on, and not reward a "dictator who has more money than any of the Namibian ministers and can afford to buy his own property."
And according to the Namibian Sun newspaper, opposition Congress of Democrats president Ben Ulenga, who was one of the recipients of Zambia's hospitality during the struggle, said the development was a state-to-state gesture.
"This is not from a private person to a private person but state to state. N$13 million is nothing between states," said Ulenga.
"The house is not going anywhere. It will never be carried away from the country. It will remain Namibian property. When I was in Zambia, I heard that a certain house belonged to (former Namibian president) Sam Nujoma. Maybe the Zambian state or Kaunda gave it to him."
He said the house was not given to Kaunda as a person, but as a symbol of an era.
"During that time (exile), Kaunda was not acting in his personal capacity but was acting as statesman at a certain time in history. This is why the donation should not be measured out of personal relationship but of a state relationship," said Ulenga.
"It is a very appropriate gesture and it should not become a private residence, but rather a symbol of the history the two countries share. Let Kaunda's house be a place where Namibians and Zambians meet."
Dr Kaunda's new Windhoek residence was previously used to accommodate judges and expatriate senior public prosecutors.
It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large lounge and a dining room on the upper level, with a self-contained lower level that also has a lounge, bedroom and a bathroom. There is also a swimming pool.
Labels: ALBERT KAWANA, KENNETH KAUNDA, LIBERATION, NAMIBIA
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(NEWZIMBABWE, AFP) Severe drought threatens 400,000 Namibians
07/08/2013 00:00:00
by AFP
A SEVERE drought that sparked a state of emergency in Namibia has left 400,000 people facing hunger, the government said.
The government has been criticised for failing to do enough to provide relief to people during the worst dry spell to hit the country in decades.
But the chairperson of the Disaster Risk Management Committee defended the government's performance as he announced the new figure late on Tuesday.
"We are trying to do the best we can to make sure that the food goes to the intended people. So far so good," he said.
Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, and only two percent of land receives sufficient rainfall to grow crops.
The country has seen several droughts in the recent decades.
The number of people at risk from hunger has risen from 300,000 in May, when President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a state of emergency.
In May, the government started handing out maize meal bags to rural areas in a central part of the country and authorities are appealing for international support.
Unicef says more than 778,000 people including 109,000 children under the age of five are at risk of malnutrition.
The organisation says it needs about $22m to support those people.
The dry spell has destroyed grazing land and raised concerns about the country's spectacular wildlife, which attracts vital tourist income.
Labels: DROUGHT, NAMIBIA
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(NEW ERA NM) Save tax windfall to reach your goal
27 Jun 2013 - Story by Staff Reporter
Article Views (non-unique): 321
AS the general public looks forward to their slightly bigger salaries at the end of this month, many Namibians are delighted about the income tax relief that takes effect this week.
The relief will ultimately provide additional funds and increase disposable income for many households. Less tax ultimately means that salaries will be slightly more. In view of this, Standard Bank Namibia’s Head of Marketing, Thaddius Maswahu, encouraged Namibians to use this opportunity to increase their savings and put that extra money into a savings or investment account.
He added that given the fact that the bank has recently adjusted its investment rates to make it more attractive for customers to save their extra income more wisely, now is a good time to save. “Whether you are planning to buy a car next year, or want to pay school fees in a lump sum at the beginning of the year or look forward to that holiday, start saving now to help you achieve your goal tomorrow. It is a good idea to set aside money every month with a goal in mind,” said Maswahu.
Echoing similar sentiments Standard Bank Namibia’s Manager of Liabilities Erna Kaura said a good way to start saving is to open an Investment Account into which you can transfer funds every month. “For your short-term savings that will cover that rainy day or unexpected expenses, put your money into a 32-day notice deposit account,” recommends Kaura. “This offers you not only good returns, but also the ability to access your money quickly when you need it.”
Kaura said in order to support medium–term goals like buying a car or putting a deposit down on a first residential property, money can be put into a fixed deposit or a Bonus Plus account. “While the Bonus Plus Account at Standard Bank Namibia is a goal oriented savings account that requires monthly investments over a fixed period, a fixed deposit gives you a good interest rate and you have to give notice when you want to take your money out and that makes it ideal for medium-term savings,” says Kaura. Long-term savings mainly involve putting money aside for studies or investing in children’s education.
Labels: NAMIBIA, WINDFALL TAX
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(NEW ERA NM) AFRIKA: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN Structured poverty, landlessness, tribalism, xenophobia, civil and tribal wars, fraud and corruption equal genocide and destabilisation
17 Jun 2013
By Udo W. Froese
IT is not the fault of the people that they are of a different background, colour, or creed. Moreover, it is definitely not their fault that they are poor. The owners of the economy, the so-called captains of industry, the unscrupulous plunder barons, the architects of colonial-apartheid and elitism have gone to great lengths to viciously screw and violently abuse the general public to keep what they took from this continent. This is the indefensible, brutal insanity, also known as the status quo.
Africa’s population has deliberately and intentionally been structured into poverty and landlessness through orchestrated tribalism, xenophobia, civil and tribal wars, a fraudulent banking system and corruption. This is the real genocide and destabilisation. The great majority of the Namibian population, and Africa’s population, has no say in matters of ownership and participation in the economy. This has caused a major constitutional crisis, which is most difficult to balance and control.
Naturally, the media justifies it through consistent propaganda, propping up the status quo. In fact, there is simply no care for human lives. But, they market themselves as the white knights in shining armour, protecting the poor, always knowing what is best for them. This is patronising at best. This form of racism also causes continuous friction and upcoming pockets of unrest. The elected political leadership and the governmental administrators find themselves between a rock and a hard place.
On the one hand, a hostile local and foreign economy remains closed and exclusive. It shows its false mask of delusional ‘patriotism’, creating compromising investment and employment, abusing protective tokenism through Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE). At the same time the investors threaten with legal action, disinvestment and economic hardship, if not protected by the state, receiving all sorts of favours in whatever form. They often attempt to hold the ruling class at ransom.
On the other side, it has led to certain political leaders being over-compromised. In return, such politicians would be lobbied and pushed into strategic leadership positions not to necessarily serve their constituencies, but rather their new ‘managers/investors’. It would thus be predictable and arbitrary, when certain politicians would resort to a Leninist shuffle to the left, which all agent provocateurs do to win support.
But their lifestyles actually give them away, as it would be typically rightwing and ostentatiously materialistic. The West looks after the interests of the West. When it conquered the African continent, it was not done for the sake of protecting and enriching the indigenous people. The contrary was the case. Even the demarcation of Africa’s borders at the colonial summit in Berlin, Germany, in 1884-5, divided African nations into two and more colonies. The Ovambo people in the north of Namibia and the south of Angola are a case in point.
In their war against colonial occupation, struggle movements have not addressed the division of their people. In fact, Western culture and standards have conquered African codes, customs and lifestyles, despite lengthy bloody wars against the former occupiers. Throughout the world and more particularly in the West, corporatisation has taken over governments. The owners of the corporate world are known to stop at nothing. They focus on the jewels in the economic crown and are hell-bent to get them. The end justifies the means. This too is not African culture.
As the Swapo Party has not accepted such complicity in corruption and remained a peoples’ movement, it is to be expected that the media and civil society, more particularly its owners, would lash out at any given opportunity and time to discredit and undermine its leadership, in order to ‘discipline’ it. This is a daily challenge, as the ruling party has accepted power and all the responsibilities that come with it.
So far, the Swapo Party seems to have done a good job, and regional observers and many tourists are full of praise for Namibia, its functionality, peacefulness and cleanliness. This is a feather in the cap of the ruling party, its government and the people of Namibia.
• Udo Froese is a non-institutionalised, independent political and socio-economic analyst and published columnist, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Follow my Titter: @theotherafrika
Visit my Blog: theotherafrika.wordpress.com
Labels: LAND REFORM, NAMIBIA, POVERTY, UDO FROESE
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(NEWZIMBABWE, CONFIDENTE NM) Namibian leader 'snubs' Tsvangirai
02/05/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
MDC-T leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has suffered a setback in his bid to lobby SADC leaders to lean on his Zanu PF rival, President Robert Mugabe, to force him to agree a string of reforms ahead of elections.
Reports from Namibia say President Hifikepunye Pohamba – a regional ally of Mugabe – refused to meet Tsvangirai.
The MDC-T leader should have arrived in Namibia on Wednesday after stops in South Africa where he met President Jacob Zuma, Tanzania where he met with President Jakaya Kikwete and Angola which put forward its foreign minister.
But Namibia’s Confidente newspaper reported on Thursday that Pohamba and Prime Minister Hage Geingob “showed no interest in meeting with Tsvangirai” who is believed to have stayed away.
A source told the newspaper: “It appears that Pohamba and Geingob are not so keen to engage with Tsvangirai on this matter because of their relationship with Mugabe and his party so they will not meet with him.”
Tsvangirai is travelling with his spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka who was not available for comment on Thursday, but Alex Magaisa, the Prime Minister’s political adviser responsible for transitional affairs, confirmed earlier this week that “a stop in Namibia by the Prime Minister is on his itinerary”.
Namibia’s Presidential Affairs Minister Albert Kawana said he knew of no scheduled meeting between Tsvangirai and Pohamba.
Facing attacks at home from Zanu PF and the Welshman Ncube-led MDC, Tsvangirai is crisscrossing the region trying to convince SADC leaders to convene an extraordinary summit to discuss Zimbabwe and possibly force the parties to agree some election rules.
Tsvangirai, in a coalition with Mugabe and Ncube since 2009, fears the Zanu PF leader is preparing to call elections in June before agreement can be reached on a raft of reforms his party insists on including the issuing of licences to “truly independent” radio stations.
South Africa’s Zuma, who took over the mediation on behalf of SADC from his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, told Tsvangirai during their meeting that he would be travelling to Zimbabwe soon for talks with the main parties.
Tsvangirai is expected back in Harare on Sunday.
Labels: HAGE GEINGOB, HIFIKEPUNYE POHAMBA, LIBERATION, MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, NAMIBIA, SWAPO
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(SWAPO) Ngurare wants economic freedom fighters
By Staff Reporter
SWAPO Party Youth League Secretary, Cde Elijah Ngurare, has called on ruling parties in Southern Africa to urgently work out strategies to fight unemployment and poverty which continue to haunt many people in the region, decades after political independence.
He says that the solution now lies with fearless economic fighters who should be trained to fearlessly wage that war and set the people free from the bondage of soaring unemployment and biting poverty Addressing a rally organized by the African National Congress Youth League, ANCYL, in Limpopo, South Africa, this week, Dr Ngurare said that the ruling parties in southern Africa had nobody but themselves to blame for having failed to win the war for economic freedom and independence.
Dr Ngurare said that people in the Southern African Development Community, SADC, could proudly say that they had achieved political freedom and independence, which had been won through the militancy, bravery and fearlessness of the youth of yester years.
But economically, he added, the people were still not free, decades after the ruling parties in southern Africa had been at the helm of political power. He said that the ANC in South Africa, SWAPO Party in Namibia, ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe, MPLA in Angola, Chama ChaMapinduzi, CCM, in Tanzania and Frelimo in Mozambique should draw up strategies to bring about economic independence.
"Who should the electorates in these countries blame for the failure of realizing economic independence?" he asked. "Shall the blame got to the youth or to the elders who are ruling? "It therefore requires that we train economic freedom fighters with vigor, determination and the energy and stamina commensurate to the liberation struggle in order to win this war just as we won the political freedom war."
The rally was attended by ANC Deputy President, Cde Kgalema Motlante, who is also the Deputy President of South Africa, ANCYL President Julius Malema and other leading figures in the ANC and its youth wing.
Dr Ngurare described Malema as an example of the economic freedom fighters the region should train, saying that Malema and millions of South Africans should be the weapons in the arsenal of the ANC to wage the economic war. He appealed to the ANC government leadership to focus on real issues such as economic independence, and not to destroy the political careers of those they did not like, adding that Malema was not the one who created unemployment, poverty and hunger in South Africa.
This was a rare moment when a senior ANC leader has comfortably shared a platform with Malema since the latter's expulsion from the ANC. The ANC will hold an elective congress later this year. Malema has appealed his expulsion, which has yet to be heard.
"Comrade Motlante," said Dr Ngurare, "I wish, through you, to appeal to you and the leadership of the ANC, to understand that the youth are not your enemies and must not be your enemies. They are the revolutionary offspring of the ideals of the Party. "There is no need for elders to be allergic to the youth but rather allow them space to be active, vigilant and militant in line with the Constitution and relevant documents of the Party.
"I come from Namibia under SWAPO Party. The majority of our elders are youth friendly, only a few ones who are not. But we are happy that the generational mix is an irreversible and irrevocably reality. "We shall ensure that the ideals of the revolution in the realm of economic freedom is neither betrayed nor compromised, neither by the elders nor by the youth. We should join hands to triumphantly succeed.
"We must at all times never betray the historic mission for which our ruling parties were founded, namely to be in solidarity with the downtrodden, aspire for freedom for the oppressed and for social justice for the disadvantaged by delivering, without fail, to the expectations and hopes of the people."
Dr Ngurare and Lt-General, (rtd) Martin Shali, were in Angola last week, where they attended the 24th Anniversary of the 1988 Battle of Quito Quanavale in Luanda. The anniversary was graced with impressive lectures by battle-tested veterans of FAPLA, (Angola's National Defence Force,) who waged the war for Angola's independence, and who also took part in the Battle of Quito Quanavale, which paved the way for Namibia's independence and the release of Nelson Mandela.
"They said this was possible at the prime years of their lives, and they said it themselves that they were able to execute this historic battle because of their energy and stamina of youth," said Dr Ngurare.
Labels: ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS, NAMIBIA, SWAPO
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Maintain dumps well, Windhoek mayor urges LCC
By Kondwani Munyeka and Lovely Kayombo
Sat 21 Apr. 2012, 13:28 CAT
WINDHOEK mayor Elaine Trepper has challenged Lusaka City Council to take up a key role in ensuring that dumps are well maintained. During the presentation of a preliminary report on the work of the LCC, Trepper advised the local authority to find shelter for vendors for a clean Lusaka.
"My appeal to Lusaka City Council is that they should provide skip containers outside Soweto market because the place looks like a dumping site on its own...there is need to encourage the people to trade in markets because it is not good to turn pavements into markets. The mindset of people needs to change and the council should introduce measures of punishment," Trepper said.
The findings on the preliminary report indicate that the council has a high number of vacant positions and many senior staff in acting positions which makes it difficult for the council to operate effectively.
The report also indicated that there was a shortage of critical skills in the engineering department, poor staff conditions of service and lengthy procurement process of materials, among others.
But LCC public relations manager Chanda Makanta said in an interview that the increase in vacant positions at the local authority was a result of the council's inability to offer attractive remuneration packages to its employees.
"It is not that there are no qualified people to fill the vacancies but it is because the council does not offer attractive remuneration. That is why they shun to come and work here," she said.
Makanta also said the lengthy procurement process at the council was a result of lack of resources.
"The long procurement process is as a result of lack of adequate resources. The council may not have the money to procure things there and then because resources trickle in bit by bit and with the meagre revenue, we are trying to deliver a better service to the people," said Makanta.
Labels: GARBAGE COLLECTION, LCC, NAMIBIA
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Zimbabwe, Namibia in trade talks
Posted by By Our reporter at 10 November, at 06 : 54 AM
The Namibian and Zimbabwean governments are meeting in Walvis Bay to discuss matters of trade between the two Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member states.
Ministers of trade from both countries are present, and alongside business delegations from the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and the Zimbabwean National Chamber of Commerce are holding talks on how best to bolster the trade agreements that exist between the two countries.
Representatives attending the meetings are from the manufacturing, construction, food and retail sectors as well as a representative from the Namibia Manufacturers Association (NMA).
The visit creates an ideal environment for the exploration of opportunities and business-to-business exchanges between the two business communities.
Zimbabwe and Namibia signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 1992 that provides for the exclusion of customs duty for goods with 25 percent local content.
However, trade between the two countries is still very limited in contrast to the cordial relations the two governments have, which is also reflective of intra-regional trade in the rest of the Sadc region.
Sadc trade is still heavily skewed in favour of developed economies despite a push for regional countries to trade amongst themselves.
South Africa being the economic powerhouse derives major trade benefits from the countries in the hinterland – despite a push by Sadc principals to encourage trade beyond South Africa.
Labels: NAMIBIA, REGIONAL INTEGRATION, TRADE, ZIMBABWE
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Namibia, Zim in print, broadcast talks
Friday, 04 November 2011 00:00
Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE and Namibia's information officials met in Harare yesterday and discussed co-operation in broadcasting and the print media. In broadcasting, they looked at the digitilisation programme, prospects of Zimbabwe benefiting from the undersea cable that Namibia is developing as well as content development.
In print media, they reviewed co-operation in NamZim, a joint venture through which the Southern Times is published. Officials from Trans Media, Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Media Commission, Zimpapers and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation attended the meeting with their Namibian counterparts.
Officially opening the meeting, Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu said the meeting was a follow-up on issues raised at the last meeting held in Namibia in 2009 when he visited that country together with officials from his ministry.
These included development and harmonisation of policies and capacity development with a view to protecting the interests of the two countries.
He noted that the two countries shared a similar history as they were both born out of arduous liberation struggles.
In those struggles the people of Namibia and Zimbabwe stood shoulder to shoulder to free their countries and today they were doing the same in various fields.
Namibia's Minister of Information and Communication Technology Mr Joel Kaapanda also recalled that the two countries had stood together against all odds and continued to support each other.
They went to the Democratic Republic of Congo together and fought to liberate the whole country, paving way for democratic negotiations that brought peace and stability.
"Of course we were blamed and ostracised that we had acted as hegemonistic states that wanted to occupy that country. We did not occupy it but brought peace.
"Nobody wants to acknowledge this.
"DRC is what it is today because of the contribution of Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola."
He said his visit was meant to cement relations between the two countries, to concretise political relations into economic and technical co-operation.
He said the two ministries had a role to play in attaining Millennium Development Goals. The two countries had discussed critical issues that put them on a serious development path.
He wanted to see the two countries exchange skills, develop relevant content, develop their capacities and move together in the process of digitilisation.
He was keen to see Zimbabwe benefiting from the undersea cable. Namibia was already co-operating with Botswana and wanted other hinterlands like Zimbabwe and Zambia to benefit from the excess capacity that Namibia has.
An official who attended a closed session said they also discussed liberalisation of airwaves and community broadcasting.
The official said they looked at the possibility of training programmes and exchange of skills between the two countries. Minister Kaapanda arrived in the country on Wednesday and has held several meetings with Government officials.
Labels: MEDIA, NAMIBIA, OPTIC FIBRE, WEBSTER SHAMU, ZIMBABWE
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West’s illegal sanctions harming agriculture — Namibian minister
Thursday, 03 November 2011 00:00
Herald Reporter
VISITING Namibian Minister of Information and Communication Technology Joel Kaapanda yesterday
slammed the Western- imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe saying they were harming agricultural productivity. He said
white-owned banks were reluctant to finance black farmers because of the economic embargo.
Mr Kaapanda said this after a tour of Pagejo RaRuby Farm along the Harare-Nyamapanda Highway owned by Cde Ray Kaukonde. S
anctions, he said, had plunged the country into the current liquidity challenges and dented all efforts to re-build the economy.
"Farmers need funding to secure spare parts for machinery, buy inputs, repair infrastructure, pay labour and to get all operations going," said Minister Kaapanda.
"With the current scenario Zimbabwean farmers are producing under very difficult conditions as they literally do not have the support their counterparts in other parts of the globe are receiving."
Minister Kaapanda, however, commended Zimbabweans for their resilience, diligence and commitment to produce even under very difficult circumstances.
"People of Zimbabwe have courage and determination. They continue to score successes in many areas particularly farming as demonstrated by my brother Kaukonde here. You have demonstrated tenacity and diligence to produce under very unfriendly conditions. As Namibians we have stood by you through thick and thin, giving you all the necessary moral support and will do so forever," he said.
Earlier in the day, Minister Kaapanda and his delegation toured the National Heroes Acre where he was briefed on the liberation war of Zimbabwe and the relevance of the shrine to the people. He was, however, quick to admit that Zimbabwe's war of liberation had motivated his country to wage their own bitter war to dislodge the occupying force.
Minister Kaapanda arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday and was met at the Harare International Airport by Media, Information and Publicity Minister Cde Webster Shamu.
During his visit, Minister Kaapanda is expected to pay courtesy calls on Minister of Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development Cde Nicholas Goche and Minister of Information Communication Technology Mr Nelson Chamisa.
He will also tour several media houses before visiting the Victoria Falls before departing for his country on Sunday. "I am here to reciprocate a visit by my brother Minister Shamu to my country two years ago. Our two countries share cordial relations and we hope to continue building our bilateral ties," he said.
Labels: NAMIBIA, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Nama-Herero skulls receive heroic welcome
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 00:00
WINDHOEK. - Thousands of Namibia's ethnic Hereros and Namas gave an heroic welcome yesterday to 20 skulls of their ancestors returned from Germany, where colonial authorities had taken them a century ago.
About 4 000 people stood on the tarmac at the capital Windhoek's international airport, where the plane carrying them home landed at sunrise to ululating women and men shouting battle cries amid banners reading "welcome to our ancestors, our heroes".
At the far end of the runway, two caskets covered with the Namibian flag were taken out of the plane by officers of the Namibia Defence Force, flanked by an honour guard and accompanied by a trumpet salute.
As the caskets were loaded into a military vehicle, a small group of Herero men drew closer, calling to their ancestors and welcoming them home.
"Our people cry tears as our grandmothers and grandfathers are back on their home soil," said Herero chief Kuiama Riruako.
Riruako was part of the 60-member Namibian delegation that flew to Germany at the end of September to receive the skulls at the Charite University hospital in Berlin.
Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula and several cabinet ministers welcomed the return of the skulls.
"These mortal remains are testimony to horrors of colonialism and Germany's cruelty against our people," Angula said. "The Namibian nation accepts these mortal remains as a symbolic closure of a tragic chapter."
Lutheran Bishop Zephaniah Kameeta who was part of the delegation said during the sermon at a church service before departing for Germany, "Our journey to Germany to repatriate our ancestors is a divine mission. They were forcefully removed in an undignified way."
Namibia's former ambassador to Germany, Peter Katjavivi, said the "repatriation of the skulls is an essential component of regaining our past, and consequentially our dignity."
For Festus Muundjua, a respected Herero historian, the skulls' return is "part of the decolonisation process of Namibia."
"We can only forgive and reconcile if we sit down and talk to each other, but the German side is not prepared to talk," he said.
Ida Hoffman, a Nama-speaker and former parliamentarian, said the return of eventually all the skulls does not close this sad chapter.
"There must be reparation as a matter of justice," she said. However, Germany has ruled out reparation.
For many, the journey to Germany will have deep personal significance. One of the Nama chiefs, David Frederick, hopes to find out if the skull of his great-grandfather, chief Cornelius Frederick is there, Hoffman said.
"Like the Nama-chief, many of us are looking for information about ancestral family members," Hoffmann told AFP.
The skulls are among an estimated 300 taken to Germany after a slaughter of indigenous Namibians during an anti-colonial uprising in what was then called South West Africa, which Berlin ruled from 1884 to 1915.
Incensed by German settlers stealing their land, cattle and women, the Herero people launched a revolt in January 1904 with warriors butchering 123 German civilians over several days. The Nama tribe joined the uprising in 1905. The colonial rulers responded ruthlessly and General Lothar von Trotha signed a notorious extermination order against the Hereros.
Rounded up in prison camps, captured Namas and Hereros died from malnutrition and severe weather.
Dozens were beheaded after their death and their skulls sent to German researchers in Berlin for "scientific" experiments.
Up to 80 000 Hereros lived in Namibia when the uprising began. Afterwards, only 15 000 were left. - AFP/ timeslive.co.za.
Labels: GENOCIDE, GERMANY, NAMA, NAMIBIA
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KK falls ill in Namibia
By Amos Malupenga
Mon 15 Aug. 2011, 12:00 CAT
DR KENNETH Kaunda is unwell and has been admitted to a hospital in Windhoek, Namibia, his son Dr Waza revealed yesterday. And the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers on Friday stopped Dr Waza from leaving Lusaka for Windhoek to see his father in hospital on the ground that those were instructions from Dr Kaunda’s family.
In an interview in Lusaka, Dr Waza said Dr Kaunda has been in hospital for the last six days and wondered why the Zambian government was not informing the public.
“Through you, I wish to inform the people of Zambia that Dr Kenneth Kaunda who is Zambia’s first president has been in hospital for close to a week now in Windhoek, Namibia,” Dr Waza said.
“His condition is now described as stable and they say he will be discharged anytime soon. I have been informed that Dr Kaunda had a viral infection although I do not have all the details.”
Dr Waza, who is a medical doctor, said his father’s condition was initially very bad.
“A few days ago, I got a report that Dr Kaunda was not able to talk and spent most of the time sleeping because of the medication he was taking. I was told that he was under sedation,” Dr Waza said. “In view of his age (87), I was very worried and decided to make arrangements to travel to Windhoek on Friday to see the old man. But when I arrived at the Lusaka International Airport, officials from Air Namibia refused to check me in, saying they had instructions from the Zambian security wing not to check me in. Later on, officers from the DEC arrived and said I would not be allowed to leave the country because those were instructions from my family. I was very shocked because DEC has nothing to do with my family matters. I was very upset and blasted them, I made a lot of noise and I must apologise to other passengers who felt inconvenienced. But people should understand that I can’t be stopped from seeing my father who is on a drip.”
Dr Waza, who is a member of the opposition Patriotic Front, said he was forced to return home from where he phoned State House to find out why DEC officers behaved in such a manner.
“I spoke to one of the presidential aides who told me that those were not their instructions,” Dr Waza said.
“But he told me that they had also heard that those were instructions from the family. I was told that my brother Kambarage and sister Catherine are the ones who issued the instructions. I am surprised because these two have not contacted me to tell me about this. In any case, I am the one who has closely lived with Dr Kaunda for the last ten years and understand his health very well because Kambarage and Catherine do not live in Zambia. And how does DEC come in this matter?”
Dr Waza said it was strange that Dr Kaunda was in hospital for close to one week and the Zambian government was silent about it.
“Dr Kaunda left Zambia about two weeks ago very fit and he is meant to remain in Namibia for a long time because he is working on his memoirs. Both the government of Namibia and Zambia are aware about this programme and are facilitating it. He left with my mother, all his security officers and all his domestic workers,” Dr Waza said.
“But the question is, why is the Zambian government not announcing to the public that Dr Kaunda is unwell and admitted to hospital in Windhoek since they facilitated his trip to Namibia and he is in the care of the government? Let’s serious be here. President Levy Mwanawasa died abroad and there was no inquest conducted so we don’t really know what happened or what killed him. Just last month, Dr Frederick Chiluba died and, again, no inquest was conducted. We are talking about the deaths of a sitting president and a former president. The conduct of an inquest is a standard procedure but it was not done. Why? You saw that even when Michael Jackson died, they conducted an inquest. And now they are stopping me from visiting my father. Why should I be stopped from visiting my father in hospital? Anyway, I am leaving today (yesterday). Let them stop me again! I am only happy that the old man is feeling better.”
And at exactly 12:55 hours yesterday, Dr Waza phoned saying he had been checked in and was waiting to board the plane to Namibia.
Meanwhile, Dr Kaunda’s granddaughter, Musata Kaunda, said she spoke to him yesterday afternoon and he was feeling much better.
“He’s recovering well though he’s still in hospital. I don’t know when he’ll be discharged,” said Musata.
Labels: KENNETH KAUNDA, NAMIBIA
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COMMENT - So gaining government revenue from the mining industry is 'plainly bad business'. As I guess is collecting dividend payments on the shares that you own. And now Rupiah Banda is crying over road accident victims - killed on potholed roads. I guess they could have used the money after all. Let's get serious.
Namibia seeks mineral windfall tax: minister
Tue May 17, 2011 4:45pm GMT
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
By Servaas van den Bosch
WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Namibia is looking to introduce a minerals windfall tax to enable the state to benefit more from the country's vast mineral resources, Mines and Energy minister Isak Katali said on Tuesday.
The move is the latest by Namibia, home to some of the world's largest uranium reserves, to increase its share of the money made by mining companies. Investors were already worried by its recent decision to grant any future rights to strategic minerals, including uranium, to a state company.
"It is my view that as the custodian of the mineral resources, the state should also benefit in good times beyond normal taxes and royalties," Katali said in his opening speech at the annual general meeting of the Namibian Chamber of Mines.
"In bad times, it is the same government that the industry will look to for measures aimed at protecting and supporting the industry to weather the storm until good times are back again. I am talking about windfall taxes to enable government to achieve this objective."
He then asked the chamber to provide him with proposals for a tax system that would boost state revenue.
Mike Leech, the chamber's president and also the managing director of Rio Tinto's Rossing mine, said he was surprised by the minister's announcement.
"This was just thrown in by the minister, although it has been talked about in the past. We need to sit down and think about this," he told Reuters.
Namibia produces 10 percent of the world's uranium, but with new mines coming on stream, output is expected to quadruple within the next few years.
Two operating uranium miners in Namibia include the Rossing mine and Paladin Energy's Langer Heinrich mine.
Future potential producers include Areva's Trekkopje mine and Extract Resources' Rossing South project.
Earlier this year, a South African minister key in economic policy-making said that Africa's biggest economy was also thinking about overhauling its minerals tax regime to cash in on high commodity prices.
Zambia's President Rupiah Banda, on the contrary, ruled out windfall taxes for mining companies, which have been enjoying record copper prices, saying in March that changing the rules for foreign investors was plainly bad business.
Spot uranium on Tuesday stood at $56.50 per pound, down from a record around $136 in June 2007.
Labels: NAMIBIA, URANIUM, WINDFALL TAX
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Windhoek Sadc Summit: MDCs’ Waterloo
Monday, 16 May 2011 22:30
Momentous occasion after signing of the GPA. . . From left, King Mswati III, DPM Arthur Mutambara, President Mugabe, PM Morgan Tsvangirai and former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
WHAT on earth is behind the incredible fuss in some media and diplomatic circles whose false claim, that Zanu-PF has allegedly cornered itself beyond recovery by reaffirming the well-established and arguably unassailable position that the next harmonised general election must be held this year, is approaching unprecedented levels of noise as the diary of events tantalisingly gets ever closer to the much anticipated extraordinary Sadc summit on the political and security situation in Madagascar and Zimbabwe scheduled for this Friday in Windhoek, Namibia?
The answer to this question is blowing in the wind and there's a lot of that wind in the Namibian desert where, thank God, there's no shortage of the true anti-colonial and anti-regime change spirit of the African revolution.
Whatever is alleged in the thoughtless media of regime change seekers, the one truth which Sadc leaders at their Windhoek summit will not find difficult to unearth is that the fuss against the 2011 election is driven by shocking ignorance of the GPA whose full implementation was guaranteed in 2008 by Sadc and the African Union.
That ignorance, which has become the bane of the donor sponsored private media in Zimbabwe, has combined with contempt for the rule of law by illegal regime change seekers and made particularly worse by the electoral cowardice which has taken hold of the two MDC formations whose ministers in the so-called inclusive Government are now desperate to remain in office indefinitely by hook or crook for them to conclude corrupt deals to enrich themselves at the expense of the public.
The position that elections must be held in 2011 is not a unilateral Zanu-PF position but merely a recognition and respect by Zanu-PF of the binding GPA position in the interest of the rule of law.
This matter is so simple that it does not need any mumbo jumbo from anyone and thus can only be changed by amending the GPA and not by playing silly and dangerous political games.
It is as unbelievable as it is sickening that, with the support of increasingly intolerant EU and US diplomats that are desperately seeking regime change in Zimbabwe, some media illiterates and political misfits of our society - including foreign officials who should know better and whose time has come to shut up on Zimbabwe - have been lying through their dirty teeth with incredulous claims that Zanu-PF has taken a suicidal position by allegedly declaring unilaterally that elections must be held in 2011.
But will Sadc get its act together beyond Livingstone's ghost and come to final terms with the political and security situation in our country guided by the GPA signed on September 15, 2008 and not guided by the patently thoughtless and increasingly inflammatory media noise sponsored by regime change donors whose antics have become a clear and present threat to peace and stability not only in Zimbabwe but also in the region?
While hopes are very high that this time round Sadc will do the right thing, there are nevertheless some serious doubts even from incurable optimists who are not inspired by how things have unfolded in the recent past.
This is mainly because Sadc has over the last 29 months since the formation of the inclusive Government on February 13, 2009 risked transgressing from being part of the solution to the Zimbabwean question as a guarantor of the GPA, signed by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations on September 15, 2008 and under which the government was formed, to becoming part of the problem in a potentially very dangerous manner.
Here is how this risk has come about.
Instead of guaranteeing the GPA by directly engaging and supporting Zimbabwe's Government as the only legitimate representative of the State to fully implement the GPA as agreed, Sadc has, through its South African facilitation team, astonishingly and rather inexplicably seemed to ignore the State and its Government by facilitating fresh and even more acrimonious negotiations between the same political parties that negotiated, agreed and signed the GPA on the basis of which the GNU was formed in the first place.
This awkward and unprecedented development has hitherto gone unnoticed and thus unexamined when its implications on peace and stability in Zimbabwe and the region itself are gravely serious in a very big way with the risk of setting a dangerous precedence for the region.
There are two unavoidable points about this situation and they stand out like the sun and the moon during the day and night respectively and they will be crying out for attention at the Windhoek extraordinary summit.
The first unavoidable point is that, in general terms, if Sadc is to retain its credibility, respect and impartiality built over a long and rather troubled time, the Windhoek summit will have to review not only the political and security situation in Zimbabwe, but also its own terms of engagement with that situation in order to critically examine whether the regional body is doing the right thing in the right way, and for the right reasons in the country.
This is essential because in matters of strategic policy, it is important to review not only the objectives of the policy but also the methodology for their attainment.
Is everything going well with the facilitation?
Is it okay that an agreement that was negotiated, agreed and signed continues to be negotiated in a manner that has turned the negotiators into a de facto parallel government?
Why is Sadc dealing with political parties and negotiating with them in a member state that has a legitimate government, which should be its point of contact and engagement?
Is Sadc not aware of the inherent danger and precedence arising from the fact that its facilitation process has created an unacceptable situation in which issues that should be handled by the Government of Zimbabwe through the Cabinet, Council of Ministers and Parliament are now being subjected to negotiations in hotels and other dingy places as if Zimbabwe does not have a Government?
Honestly, can that promote peace and stability in any country?
And, there's a second unavoidable point for the extraordinary Windhoek summit, which is consequent upon the first point, and it is that Sadc's much heralded roadmap to Zimbabwe's elections signed by the GPA negotiators in Harare on April 22 and validated on May 6 in Cape Town.
The much-talked about but little understood Sadc election roadmap for Zimbabwe based on negotiations that should have ended on September 15, 2008 - which will be the main focus of the Windhoek summit - is timeless, impractical and ultimately useless not least because it violates not only the GPA, which has a clear election timeframe that sets 2011 as the election year but also the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Sadc treaty itself which does not allow outsiders to run or decide the national affairs of member states under the cover of facilitation.
By definition, the timing of elections in a constitutional democracy is based on a timeframe.
There's nothing called a "process based" or "process driven" election because elections like that happen only when the cows come home and that could be permanently indefinite.
But, it is the transformation of Sadc's role as the guarantor of the GPA into fresh GPA negotiations under facilitation by South African officials like Lindiwe Zulu that has opened a can of viral worms that are now threatening to ruin not only the GPA but also Sadc itself.
Given this background, Sadc's roadmap to Zimbabwe's elections signed on April 22 is so misplaced that any serious review of its premises in accordance with the GPA would necessarily lead to its abandonment in the interest of peace and stability in Zimbabwe and the wider region.
Article VI of the GPA provides a time framed election roadmap whose clear import is that, contrary to the media propaganda that Zanu-PF is unilaterally insisting on the holding of general elections in Zimbabwe in 2011 in alleged direct conflict with Sadc, the fact is that the 2011 election timeframe is enshrined in the GPA itself which is now at risk of being violated by the same Sadc that should be guaranteeing its implementation.
As such, Zanu-PF's position on the 2011 election is in fact the GPA position.
The two MDC formations are now reneging on their GPA obligations because they are afraid of facing the electorate at a time when their ministers in Government, including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, have proven to be incompetent, corrupt and self-indulgent.
Those who are abusing the GPA to call for elections in 2012 or 2013, which would create an extended election campaign period of between 12 and 18 months, miss the simple point that such a prolonged election period beyond six months would only succeed in prolonging political uncertainty which will pervert economic recovery and increase the risk of political instability.
This is why there's an argument that either we have an election within six months this year and attain stability without political uncertainty in accordance with the GPA, or we attain stability and remove political uncertainty now by holding the election in 60 months.
In the circumstances, it would be most unfortunate if Sadc's summit in Windhoek does not get to the bottom of this matter by using the GPA as the only point of reference, and by insisting on its full implementation not by political parties but by the Government of Zimbabwe which is the only legitimate and lawful body for engagement with Sadc.
Labels: MDC, NAMIBIA, SADC
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Namibia to launch anti sanctions campaign
By: TH-TZG
Posted: Monday, March 7, 2011 10:15 am
NAMIBIA, in solidarity with Zimbabwe, is going to launch an Anti-Sanctions Campaign.
In his solidarity message at the launch of the National Anti-Sanctions Petition Campaign in Harare last Wednesday,
Namibian Minister of Regional and Local Development Jerry Ekandjo said the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were hurting ordinary people and should be lifted forthwith.
"Sanctions have embedded on the generality of the people of Zimbabwe.
"We condemn them and we add our voice to the unconditional lifting of the sanctions.
"We are going to launch an Anti-Sanctions Campaign in Namibia in solidarity with our comrades in Zimbabwe the same way we are calling for the release of the Cuban Five," he said.
The "Cuban Five" are patriots from the Caribbean island who for years have been held in detention in the US on trumped up charges and against international opinion.
Minister Ekandjo said Zimbabwe was being punished for repossessing its stolen land.
He said Western imperialists had regrouped and regional independence was again under threat.
"Western imperialists are in full force and they want to destroy all liberation movements and Africa must not forget that," he said.
Minister Ekandjo said Africa should take a firm position against Western countries that disregard the sovereignty of other states.
He said the West depended on Africa's resources for survival and Africa was capable of imposing sanctions on them.
Labels: NAMIBIA, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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Unions put a gun to Swapo's head
JOHN GROBLER - Nov 01 2010 12:16
With only weeks to go before regional and local elections, Namibia's ruling Swapo Party is coming under tremendous pressure from the civil servants who plan to march on the government unless the entire management of the state pension fund is dismissed and millions of Namibian dollars in unpaid empowerment loans are recovered.
This came on top of a stream of bad news -- unemployment is at a record high of 51,2% and Swapo has suffered a setback in the supreme court, which ruled that the high court had erred in rejecting an opposition party application to have last year's national and presidential elections set aside.
Judge President Petrus Damaseb and his colleague, Collins Parker, have now asked the opposing legal teams for suggestions on how to "adjudicate" the election case, a source close to the matter said.
Critics slammed this as a "face-saving manoeuvre" by Damaseb to avoid having to rule that last year's election results should be nullified.
Swapo's highly unpopular plan to impose regional governors -- they will now to be appointed by the president rather than elected -- has also drawn criticism from its own supporters, who see it as evidence of an increasingly autocratic trend in the party's leadership.
Threats by supporters
Dissatisfaction with Swapo's habit of imposing hand-picked representatives on its rank and file has also led to threats by supporters to start their own ratepayers' associations to contest upcoming elections.
At issue is a litany of mismanagement in many smaller municipalities by Swapo representatives, whose avarice and self-serving habits have seen services all but collapse.
The drawn-out scandal at the Government Institutions Pension Fund has, however, become the focal point of the elections after the umbrella National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) rejected a forensic audit commissioned by the government as a case of too little, too late.
In a stormy meeting with civil servants NUNW's secretary general, Evilastus Kaarondo, was careful not to paint Swapo as complicit in the looting, but the political connections are hard to miss.
During former president Sam Nujoma's last term in office, between 1999 and 2004, about R660-million was dished out to companies linked to a small group of individuals, including Nujoma's brother-in-law, Aaron Mushimba, son-in-law David Imbili and other close political associates.
Collapse
By 2005 it was clear that most of the loans had never been repaid, as the owners simply collapsed their companies and walked away -- without any effort to recover the money.
Galvanised by media reports, the state in 2005 instituted an audit and set about recovering what it could. In most cases those responsible got off scot-free with the bling they had bought with the civil servants' pensions.
The pension fund and Prime Minister Nahas Angula admitted that "mistakes were made" and succeeded in keeping a lid on the probe.
But just how egregious the mismanagement was became clear as copies of the original audit report were leaked, showing that many black employment equity businessmen used the fund as an ATM, creating new companies to obtain new loans.
For civil servants struggling to make ends meet, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. They want to see action taken against those who abused positions of power to enrich themselves.
Demands by the union
The union made it clear that, unless immediate action was taken, they intended marching on the government until their demands were met -- those who embezzled their pensions had to repay it immediately, they demanded at the meeting.
In an earlier interview, Angula admitted that the government did not want to take action on the pension fund in 2005 for fear that this could be seen as a witch-hunt against Nujoma. Many of the loans were reportedly issued under pressure from Nujoma's office.
For Swapo, this posed an insoluble political conundrum -- openly to criticise the "Founding Father" amounts to political heresy, especially when the party habitually runs self-laudatory praise based on its past record.
The unions' emergence as an opposition force is significant. Until now, they have been a docile political doormat for the ruling party.
Labels: LABOUR, NAMIBIA, SWAPO, TRADE UNIONS
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Rupiah accused of role in disappearance of Namibian freedom fighters in 70s
By Chansa Kabwela
Fri 25 June 2010, 04:02 CAT
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has been accused of having played a crucial role in the disappearance of several Namibian freedom fighters between 1976 and 1978 when he served as Zambia’s foreign minister.
According to the statement by Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) executive director Phil ya Nangoloh, President Banda should help the organization to establish the fate or whereabouts of the freedom fighters who disappeared without a trace on Zambian soil.
Nangoloh stated that the Zambian security forces, presumably acting on instructions of then South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) president Sam Nujoma, rounded the freedom fighters after they were accused of being radicals or rebels.
“At the time of their disappearances, President Rupiah Banda was Zambia’s foreign minister and, as such, he played a crucial role in such disappearances as well as in the hostile acts against the PLAN fighters in Zambia,” Nangoloh stated on Tuesday.
“They include the following:
Aikota, Abel (Ondangwa—Oshikoto Region),
Haimbodi, John (Edudja—Ohangwena Region),
Hakaye, Barry (Oniipa—Oshikoto Region),
Halleluja, (Ohangwena Region),
Hamupembe, Jackson (Etomba—Ohangwena Region),
Haupindi Gabriel (Onheleiwa—Ohangwena Region),
Ilya, Leonard Shilongo (Eengolo—Omusati Region),
Ipumbu, Israel Mashuna “Shimbungu” (Ogongo—Omusati Region),
Kadhila, John (Okaku—Oshikoto Region),
Kaukungwa, Tuyeni (Walvis Bay—Erongo Region),
Komeya and Ananias (Omusati egion).”
Others are
Markus, Longinus Omusati region,
Mundjego, Elifas Oshipanda—Oshikoto region,
Mwiiyale Jerry Omusati region,
Nakaambo Gottlieb Onayena—Oshikoto region
Namashana Ontokolo-Oshikulufitu—Omusati region and
Ndinoshiho Jason Omundjalala—Omusati region.
The other freedom fighters are
Nghiyolwa Jonas Okaku-Ongenga—Ohangwena region,
Shafombabi Timo Walvis Bay Ongenga—Ohangwena region,
Shanghala Nestor Ontokolo—Omusati region,
Shikolomwenyo Omakango—Oshikoto region,
Shikudule Andreas Okalongo-Oneheke—Omusati region,
Shimwaafweni Junias Walvis Bay—Erongo region,
Paapopi Valombola Ohamuti—Omusati region and
Toromba Joel Vikurupa Aminius—Omaheke region.
Nangoloh stated that the disappeared persons were part of hundreds of Namibians who fled apartheid South African oppression in Namibia between 1974 and 1975 and joined SWAPO then as a liberation movement based in Zambia.
He stated that they disappeared under mysterious circumstances after they vehemently opposed the Détente Scenario, also known as An Approach to Peaceful Change in Southern Africa among then South African prime minister John Vorster, SWAPO and the Zambian government.
“The détente affair also led to SWAPO’s armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), being expelled from their bases in south western Zambia,” stated Nangoloh.
The statement was issued ahead of President Banda’s three-day visit to that country.
President Banda is expected to return to Zambia today.
The NSHR is a national private, independent, non-profit making and non-partisan human rights monitoring and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1989 by concerned citizens and it envisages a world free of human rights violations and aims to stop such acts in Namibia and the rest of the world.
Labels: FREEDOM FIGHTERS, NAMIBIA, PLAN (NAMIBIA), RUPIAH BANDA, SWAPO
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COMMENT - The germans are just afraid that land reform will spread to Namibia.
Germans fume over farm seizures
by Deutsche Presse Agentur
17/06/2010 00:00:00
THE German embassy in Zimbabwe has objected to settlers occupying three farms owned by a German national in the country, warning in a letter released on Thursday that the actions violate bilateral and international agreements.
"Once again, the German embassy notes with great concern that property rights of German nationals and their investments in Zimbabwe are being put under threat, in clear violation of international law," the letter read.
It went on to say that Germany's contribution to a trust fund set up for Zimbabwe may be in jeopardy, as news of land invasions affecting its citizens would make German parliamentary approval of the funds "highly unlikely."
Zimbabwean authorities must "take the necessary steps to ensure an immediate end of all threats to the ... German investments," it added.
Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi confirmed that he had received the letter, but declined to comment.
"(The letter) was addressed to me and not to the media," he said. "Protocol issues are not discussed through the media."
Over the last decade, most of the farms owned by whites in Zimbabwe have been occupied and seized under President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme. - dpa
Labels: GERMANY, LAND REFORM, NAMIBIA
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Organic farming body sets out goals
- by Irene !Hoaës
14 June 2010
WINDHOEK – The Namibia Organic Association (NOA) was launched at the just ended 2010 Tourism Expo last week. “We want to provide leadership in organic farming and encourage farmers to incorporate organic practices in their farming methods,” the chairperson of the association, Manjo Smith, said.
The vision of NOA is to contribute to a healthy environment, to attain increased incomes and improve livelihoods through the adoption of organic agriculture in Namibia.
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, organically approved pesticide application and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests, excluding or strictly limiting the use of synthetic fertilisers and synthetic pesticides or plant growth regulators.
NOA’s mission is to provide leadership in the coordination and promotion of organic agricultural development, networking and marketing.
To accomplish its mission, NOA will promote Namibian organic products, locally and internationally, by specifically connecting small-scale and communal farmers with markets; build capacity in organic training, education, extension, research; promote organic production systems and wild harvesting, increase awareness and attract support for organic agriculture in Namibia and be a contact point for organic matters.
Smith said the association is a membership-based organisation for both producers and consumers.
“Consumers are also members as they can influence other people or even Government,” Smith said.
The Namibia Country Pilot Partnership for Integrated Sustainable Land Management (CPP SLM SAM) financially supports NOA with funds provided by the Global Environment Facility and administered by the United Nations Development Programme.
The CPP SLM SAM is hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, which is also the lead implementing agency of the partnership.
Since 1990, the market for organic products has grown at a rapid pace, to reach N$46 billion in 2007.
The demand has driven a similar increase in organically managed farmland.
Approximately 32.2 million hectares worldwide are now being farmed organically, representing approximately 0.8 percent of total world farmland
In addition, as of 2007, organic wild products are harvested on approximately 30 million hectares.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, NAMIBIA, NAMIBIA ORGANIC ASSOCIATION, ORGANICS
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