Month: July 2023

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Man allegedly shot twice at Okahandja

A 29-year-old man was allegedly shot twice in the back by unknown attackers at Okahandja on Saturday night while walking back home.

Namibia Police Force (NamPol) head of community affairs in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha in an interview with Nampa on Sunday said the alleged incident happened at approximately 21h00, while the victim was walking back home alone, from a Herero commemoration feast which took place at the Commando no.1, at the town.

The victim, she said was discovered by a passer-by on a footpath that runs in the bushes, where he fell down.

‘The victim is now in a stable but critical condition at the Okahandja State Hospital where he was taken by the police the same night,” Mbeha noted.

Police investigations into the matter continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Uutoni officially hands over 15 houses at Bukalo

Urban and Rural Development Minister, Erastus Uutoni officially handed over 15 houses at Bukalo village in the Zambezi Region, on Saturday.

The construction of the houses was funded by the Trust Fund for Regional Development and Equity Provisions.

In a speech availed to Nampa, Uutoni said the provision of cheap, decent housing and shelter continues to be a national development priority, which requires collective action from the government at all levels, the community, and other stakeholders such as the private sector in the form of the construction industry and financial institutions.

“On its part, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD), continues to create an enabling environment and rally national efforts towards scaling up the provision of affordable serviced land and housing through a partnership between the Government, the private sector and community-led organisations such as the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN),” he said.

Uutoni further stated that the MURD will continue to support housing programmes led by local authorities, such as the Build Together Programme, as well as community groups, such as the SDFN, that serve ultra-low-income people.

Meanwhile, Uutoni recently handed over 33 dwellings built by the National Housing Enterprise at Tsandi in the Omusati Region.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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PDM gears up for 2024 elections, at Rundu

The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) held a mega rally at Rundu on Saturday aimed to revitalize all its structures, as the party gears up for the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The mega rally which started with a roadshow, throughout town, was attended by hundreds of supporters.

Speaking during the rally, PDM president McHenry Venaani said his party commits to providing accessible drinking water to at least five villages within the next year.

“This, dear citizens is not just a solution to a problem, but a promise of hope, of survival and of a better life.

PDM will invest in upgraded water infrastructure, including safe water access points away from crocodile-infested waters,” he said.

He also said the party aims to build new boreholes, develop pumping stations and establish water treatment facilities while it collaborates with international partners and non-governmental organisations to aid in its mission to provide clean drinking water.

“We will seek wisdom from successful water management models to implement whilst focusing on an educational campaign about combating the thread of crocodile attacks and creating awareness about the safe use of water,” he promised.

According to Venaani the Directorate of Environment in the region, last year recorded nine lethal crocodile attacks each one with a tragic loss, a reminder of the urgency this issue demands.

The president meanwhile also talked about how young people in villages in the two Kavango regions are being sustained by pension grants, a situation, he said, should change.

“Old age pension grants are sustaining homesteads in villages. This has to change,” Venaani said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Nambala and Shikongo add more medals to Namibia’s tally

Namibia’s Para athletes Ananias Shikongo and Johannes Nambala on Saturday night added two more medals to Team Namibia’s tally after finishing second in their respective finals.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) 2023 World Para Athletics Championships are currently underway in Paris, France.

In the 100m final at the Charlety Stadium, T11 sprinter Shikongo and his guide Tjiuiju equalled their African Record of 11.11 seconds to finish second behind Greece’s world record holder, Athanasios Ghavelas, who also equalled his championship record of 10.93 seconds to be crowned T11 100m world champion.

Meanwhile, T13 sprinter Nambala ran a seasonal best of 48.14 seconds to finish second behind Japanese sprinter Ryota Fukunaga, who ran an Asian record of 47.79 seconds to be crowned the new T13 400m world champion.

In an interview with Nampa after the race Nambala said winning the medal is a motivation for him to work hard ahead of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

“New guys are coming into the category and they are working hard, therefore I am encouraged and motivated to keep working hard so that I can keep up with them,” he said.

Shikongo on his part said that he was happy to win a silver medal after having a tough race in the 400m.

“Things did not go my way in the 400m earlier in the week but winning a silver here is encouraging as age is not on my side and I am begging to wind down on my career. I am now going back to the training field to continue working hard as we still have the Paralympic Games coming up,” he said.

Michael Hamukwaya the secretary general of the Namibia Paralympic Committee and Team Manager at the World Athletics Championships said credit should be given to the coach who did a good job in preparing the athletes.

“Athletes picked the right time, and all that credit should be given to their coach. We know what goes on behind closed doors, and it’s not easy therefore, credit should be given to him for having his three athletes win medals for the country, and slots for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. As a movement we are proud of the work that Letu Hamhola has done with his athletes,” Hamukwaya said.

After eight days of competition, Namibia has won three medals – which are silvers from T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile in the 400m and T13 Nambala as well as T11 Shikongo.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Ishitile up for medal contention in T11 200m race

Namibia’s T11 sprinter, Lahja Ishitile (guided by Sem Shimanda) reached the final of the women’s T11 200 metres (m) after finishing third in the 200m semi-finals on Sunday morning at the World Para Athletics Championships.

The 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships are underway in Paris, France where Ishitile and Shimanda ran a seasonal best time of 25.78 seconds to finish third in heat one, behind Brazilian sprinter Jerusa Geber and her guide Gabriel Aparecido dos Santos.

Dos Santos won that heat with a time of 25.04 seconds, while Cuiqing Liu of China and her guide Shengming Chen came second with a time of 25.27 seconds.

Only the winners of the two heats and the fastest two losing times advance to the final that will be held on Monday evening. The 25.78 seconds clocked by Ishitile was the fourth fastest time from all the two heats which booked her a spot in the final that will see athletes contest for medals.

Another Namibian still expected to compete on Sunday is T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and guide Paulus Filippus who will compete in the 200m heats at 19h25 local time.

Over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals, and after nine days of competition, Namibia has won three medals which are silvers in the T11 400m by Lahja Ishitile, T11 100m by Ananias Shikongo guided by Even Tjiuiju and T13 400m Johannes Nambala.

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the IPC.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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USOSA pledges commitment to advance public secondary education

The Unity School Old Students Association (USOSA) has reiterated its commitment to work with stakeholders to advance public secondary education in the country.

The President-General of the association, Mr Michael Magaji, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday, ahead of its National Education Summit billed for July 20.

Magaji said that the summit would bring about a policy redirection towards developing the entire education sector of the country.

“We are going to design a roadmap and work plan that will chat a way for stakeholders to address the numerous challenges facing the sector.

”We as alumni of unity schools have come together to advance the course of public education at the basic and secondary levels.

” We believe that in the public education today, quality has declined for many reasons- poor funding, lack of infrastructure, high enrollment without commensurate capacity in terms of teaching and infrastructural decay.

”So what we want to do as an association is to help in reversing this decline to promote and advocate public education where tax payers money can be effectively used for the good of everyone particularly the education sector.

”So at USOSA, we are in the solution mood around education to do something about it. We will continue to partner with the owners of the schools -federal government to see how we can improve quality and introduce digital innovation,” he said.

Magaji described education as the responsibilities of all and should therefore not be left in the hands of the Federal Government alone.

”The education summit is targeted at bringing stakeholders together to design a road map that can address the challenges in the sector.

” In education, two key elements are important which are access and quality. So we are going to be working with the government on how to support them to improve access to infrastructure and infuse digital technology into learning experiences,” he added.

He, therefore, said that promoting the teaching of the curriculum in Nigerian languages would be the focus of the summit.

When asked about the proposed 12 years as minimum admission age for entry into JSS 1 of the unity colleges, Magaji said age should not be a barrier if the candidates could demonstrate an aptitude and behaviour that would enable him lead in the community of learners.

The president-general said that the association would be working with the Federal Ministry of Education to proffer strategies in transforming the sector in the next few years.

While acknowledging the efforts of some Nigerians in their inputs towards public and private services of education, Magaji said that awards would be given to them to provide inspirational model for others to follow.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria