Month: July 2023

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security (MHAISS) has dispatched a team of immigration officers to assist with immigration issues after the closure of the Noordoewer border post situated between Namibia and South Africa (Vioolsdrift).

MHAISS Public Relations Officer, Margaret Kalo told Nampa on Monday that people who wish to travel to South Africa should use the Oranjemund and Ariamsvlei border posts.

“Trucks carrying commercial products are parked at Ariamsvlei due to the closure of the Noordoewer border checkpoint,” Kalo said.

She further stated that all Namibian border posts are open, but the Vioolsdrift border post in South Africa is closed because of the flooding and heavy rainfall that impacted South Africa’s Northern Cape and south western Namibia.

She appealed to travellers going to South Africa to use alternative roads such as the Oranjemund border post, while commercial vehicle drivers are advised to use the Ariamsvlei-Nakop border post.

There is no report on when the Noordoewer border post will reopen.

Meanwhile, the Roads Authority (RA) temporarily closed the Rosh Pinah-Aussenkehr road (DR212) due to heavy rainfall received in some parts of the ||Kharas Region.

The RA’s Manager for Corporate Communication, Hileni Fillemon has confirmed to Nampa that the road is still closed and deemed unsafe for road users.

The RA is requesting the public to strictly adhere to the erected closure signs and to not attempt to use this road.

Road users were advised to use the alternative route (Aussenkehr-Noordoewer-Keetmanshoop-Aus-Rosh Pinah) until further notice.

The Roads Authority also urged the public to be extra cautious when driving in wet conditions on the national road network and said the public should follow the RA Namibia Facebook page for regular updates.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Despite the global surge for sustainable lab-grown diamonds, Namibia currently has no regulations that prevent synthetic diamond manufacturers from marketing and selling lab-produced diamonds as natural diamonds.

This was revealed by Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo during the inauguration of the Diamond Board of Namibia here on Monday. The board of 12 members will serve from 01 June 2023 to 31 May 2026.

Alweendo said the biggest challenge the global diamond industry is facing is artificially produced diamonds that look exactly like natural diamonds, but Namibia does not have regulations that specifically deal with lab-grown diamonds in the market under false pretence of natural diamonds.

He explained that synthetic diamonds are produced at lower cost and are likely to attract a segment of diamond consumers, noting that the increased demand in consumers has a negative impact on countries’ economies producing natural diamonds.

“Currently we do not have specific regulations and we will probably want to assume that we do not have people that are selling lab diamonds in Namibia, although maybe they could well be,” he said.

Alweendo said it will not be possible to prevent the production of synthetic diamonds; however there is a need for a regulation that prevents lab-diamonds being sold under false pretence.

“As we go on, obviously we might have to come up with specific regulations that prevent such practices… However in itself already if you lie about something you are selling, you already know that you are probably offending one or other law,” he said.

He noted that diamonds play a very important role in Namibia’s economy. Of the total exports from the mining industry, more than 50 per cent comes from the diamond industry, he said, adding that in 2022, of the total taxes from the mining industry, 55 per cent came from the diamond sector.

Alweendo further noted that the biggest diamond producer in the country, Namdeb, which does land-based mining, has a 50/50 joint venture with Government, including its subsidiary De Beers that does offshore mining. He said 15 per cent of the total diamond production is allocated to State-owned Namibia Desert Diamonds (Namdia) and 35 per cent is allocated to the local cutting and polishing industry.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

A 46-year-old woman was robbed and assaulted in her home at Okapika village in the Omusati Region Friday night.

The Namibian Police Force in a crime report on Monday said the incident occurred around 20h11, when the suspect allegedly broke the victim’s window with an unknown object and entered her room. He stabbed the victim in the neck and left arm.

“It is alleged that the suspect took the victim’s items of undetermined value and fled,” the report said.

The victim was taken to the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital after sustaining serious injuries and is in the intensive care unit.

Police investigations are ongoing.

In a similar event, an 18-year-old Namibian male was robbed on the Western Bypass at Brakwater outside Windhoek around 20h30 on Friday.

It is alleged that unknown suspects threatened the victim with an unknown object and robbed him of his belongings, which included two cellphones and a pair of Nike trainers.

No arrests had been made by Monday and police investigations are ongoing.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The agriculture sector has the greatest potential to reduce unemployment and underemployment in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia’s Head of Delegation to the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), Phillipus Katamelo has said.

Katamelo said this is due to the region’s growing youth population while speaking at the 53rd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which is taking place in Arusha, Tanzania, from 02 to 08 July.

“Despite increasing employment rates in non-agricultural sectors, the continent’s primary industry will remain a source of income for our citizens,” Katamelo said.

Katamelo stated that the agricultural sector can contribute to important continental and regional goals such as eradicating poverty and hunger, as well as promoting intra-African trade and investment.

“Our trade with each other is less than 15 per cent. We have set ourselves up for failure by design,” he stated.

Katamelo further added that the fact that African nations do not trade with each other, nor see it as a priority, is the reason why young people do not see the sector as profitable. He urged parliaments to address these challenges through inclusive legislation and frameworks that ensure young, able people have access to land, natural resources, infrastructure, finance, technology, and fair remuneration for workers and producers.

According to Roger Mancienne, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles, Africa has the highest percentage of unused arable land in the world, and southern Africa is a region rich in fertile soil and natural resources, with an inherent potential to generate agricultural products and food items.

“This is important in terms of agriculture and food security, as well as youth employment,” Mancienne said.

“In particular, recent years have been marked by high inflation, and since several food products in Africa are imported, the cost of living has risen for most households while the incomes of citizens have remained the same.”

Mancienne further said this has created imbalances in food availability, especially in remote areas where the cost of transportation is high and where merchants no longer find it viable to purchase products and food items.

The Plenary Assembly is a regional inter-parliamentary body that was established in 1997. Its member states are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency