Day: December 11, 2023

WINDHOEK: The Governor of the Khomas Region, Laura McLeod-Katjirua, has urged males in Namibia to take part in initiatives aimed at addressing behavioural issues and gender-based violence (GBV).

In her statement to mark this year’s International Human Rights Day on Sunday, McLeod-Katjirua encouraged the men to attend events like the men’s conferences recently held at Keetmanshoop and Ondangwa.

Over 1 000 men attended each of the two events organised by among others the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice, to discuss issues of suicide, mental health, and gender-related laws.

McLeod-Katjirua said the gathering created a safe space for men to share their experiences and discuss issues that affect them.

‘It is with this backdrop that I would like to encourage men to continue attending events of this nature that are aimed at addressing behavioural change and challenging the GBV landscape,’ McLeod-Katjirua said.

She said men and boys in Namibia also e
xperience GBV. ‘In our society, men are not exempt. They also experience gender-based violence, especially psychological violence, which is human rights violence.’

During the event held at the Old Location Cemetery in Windhoek, the governor noted that International Human Rights Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about human rights issues, promote human dignity and gender equality, and advance justice.

‘The commemoration of Human Rights Day calls for global action to increase awareness, galvanise advocacy efforts, and share knowledge and innovations to help end all forms of violence against women and girls,’ she said.

Human Rights Day on 10 December coincides with Namibia Women’s Day, which honours brave heroines who challenged forced removal by the South African colonial administration from Old Location to Katutura in 1959.

‘This day should prompt us to understand that Namibian women have a greater role to play in all spheres of life, be it political, educational, or socio-economic activities,
‘ McLeod-Katjirua said.

This year’s Human Rights Day was observed under the theme ‘Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All’.

‘This theme further calls on us to respect the dignity and freedom of all by ensuring that we do not tolerate any form of human rights violation and violation against children,’ said the governor.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: President Hage Geingob said progress has been made in gender equality, with Namibia recognised as a country that has done well in female representation in Parliament and leadership positions.

However, he said more should be done to eliminate the challenges that women continue to face in various aspects of life, including gender-based violence, unequal access to opportunities, and societal biases.

‘The Namibian Government remains committed to empowering women and the girl child, while also addressing the needs of the boy child, to end deeply rooted forms of discrimination that affect most of our vulnerable people,’ the president said in his statement to mark International Human Rights Day and Namibian Women’s Day on Sunday.

The Head of State joined Namibians and the international community in observing International Human Rights Day as well as Namibian Women’s Day on 10 December, which Namibia adopted to commemorate the contributions and achievements of women during the liberation struggle and in
modern Namibia.

‘This year’s event serves as a reminder of the bravery, resilience, strength, and leadership of Namibian women across sectors and generations.

‘We pay homage to the inspiring actions of fearless Namibian women who, in 1959, resisted the forced removal of people from the Old Location to Katutura by the South African apartheid regime.

‘On Namibian Women’s Day, we look back with profound memories on the remarkable journey of women, whose actions not only shaped a more just and inclusive Namibia but also inspired the current and future generations of Namibian women to reach new heights,’ the president said.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency

ONYAANYA: The Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Anna Ngipondoka said schools should demolish dilapidated buildings at their schools before they cause harm to learners and staff.

Nghipondoka said this in an interview with Nampa on Friday after observing Ihongo Combined School in Onyaanya circuit in the Oshikoto Region, which was established in 1925 by Finnish missionaries, having two building blocks with six classrooms that are dilapidated completely.

‘I urge the regional office’s department of planning to consider this seriously before it causes any harm to our teaching staff and learners,’ Nghipondoka said.

Nghipondoka also raised concern about teachers and learners failing to adapt to the new curriculum.

‘Our teachers must leave the old curriculum of memorising and shift to the new curriculum to improve the results of our Grade 11 learners,’ she said.

She said learners who rely on memorising word by word will not get anything from the new curriculum.

Nghipondoka also motivated learners to assess
their performance and come back stronger and smarter next year.

‘You must ask yourself why did I not pass well, is it because I do not listen very well when the teacher is teaching or I do not hear the teachers when they are teaching,’ said Ngipondoka.

She further added that teachers should also think of the percentages they have accomplished and assess where they need improvement.

‘The end of the year is always a time of reflection, where did I do well and where did I do wrong and how do I improve because life is forever all about improvement, you must go and reflect on where you did not do well,’ she said.

She encouraged teachers to help the younger learners by reflecting on their behalf for them.

‘Our teachers must point fingers at themselves but not at learners because we are carrying accountability of our learners,’ Nghipondoka said.

She mentioned several reflections that are supposed to take place at the school level to improve learners’ performance.

‘Imagine a learner is failing Oshindonga in cl
ass, is it us teachers or learners? It is us unless the learners have learning difficulties, but then I must do referrals to the hospital or social worker for people to go and help the learners,’ said Nghipondoka.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency

TSUMEB: The Namibian SOS Children’s Village and the Finnish Embassy launched the Youth Employability Project (YEP), that will hand over N.dollars 10 000 start-up capital to 20 young people in the country to boost entrepreneurship.

SOS Family Strengthening Programme Coordinator, Thomas Ankoshi said in an interview with Nampa on Monday that through funding from the Embassy of Finland, the project is supporting disadvantaged young people to become self-reliant and contributing members of society.

‘YEP also made provision for post-secondary education tuition payments and stipends to those seeking on-the-job training to prepare them for the labour market, increase their employment prospects to become self-reliant,’ said Ankoshi.

He added that YEP aims to contribute towards a reduction in the youth unemployment rate by providing young people with a variety of employability opportunities, through career excursions and development and providing the start-up capital to 20 unemployed young people.

‘The project targ
ets young people that are in tertiary education and those completing vocational training to train them on basic entrepreneurship skills as well as job preparation training such as CV writing and interview techniques to mention a few,’ Ankoshi said.

He said SOS Children’s Village Namibia aims to sustainably excel in providing quality childcare and protection encompassing diverse alternative care, family preservation, and transformative youth empowerment that prioritises the well-being and development of every child and young person under its programmes.

‘We are grateful for this opportunity to partner with Finland Embassy and other stakeholders in advancing the entrepreneurship activities,’ Ankoshi said.

He added that it is a collective duty to ensure each young person’s ability is not limited by their circumstances and also encouraged young people to actively participate in activities that contribute towards their self-reliance.

Namibia’s SOS Children’s Village currently has branches in Windhoek, Tsumeb a
nd Ondangwa with over 330 vulnerable children and young people who have lost parental care.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The president of the Namibia Football Association, Robert Shimooshili, has stated that his vice president Murs Markus is not making any decisions about Black Africa in his capacity as an NFA council member.

Instead, Markus is utilising his role as the chairperson of the Southern Stream First Division in making those decisions.

Katutura-based Black Africa Sport Club has been unable to fulfil its fixtures since the beginning of the 2023/24 Southern Stream First Division in November this year due to protests by disgruntled fans of the club.

The protests were caused by the club having two administrations who are fielding two teams, both claiming to represent Black Africa, which led to some Black Africa fans taking to the field to stage a sit-in to prevent a match from taking place until their concerns were addressed.

Shimooshili in an interview with Nampa said that the Black Africa issue is outside of the jurisdiction of the NFA and therefore cannot be interfered with by the NFA Executive Council.

‘The FA is not allowed to address the issue of Black Africa as it concerns the Southern Stream First Division, which is our member. The stream leaders have the authority to resolve its members’ matters, without interference from anybody,’ he said.

He added that Black Africa’s leadership should also sort out their misunderstandings as this is a team with a rich history.

Shimooshili also stated that Markus must step down from his position of the Southern Stream and focus on his position as the NFA vice president.

‘Murs (Markus) needs to relinquish that position, but it will take time as it’s a process. I just relinquished my position as the chairperson of the Namibia Premier Football League and Blue Waters to avoid conflict of interest. I therefore hope he will also do so as soon as possible so that decisions that are taken in that stream are not viewed as those of the NFA,’ Shimooshili said.

He further said that what currently needs to happen is that all individuals, including himself, must attend to Black
Africa’s issues as a matter of urgency, as this matter does not reflect well for Namibian football.

‘This is not the peace and harmony we spoke about. Blue Waters, Citizens and Eleven Arrows also had divisions, but those matters were resolved. The NFA will soon issue a statement to distance themselves from decisions taken in the Southern Stream First Division because we don’t want to do things outside the statutes that will affect us,’ said Shimooshili.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency

KEETMANSHOOP: !Nami#Nus Constituency Councillor, Susan Ndjaleka has urged women and girls in her constituency to fully participate in the development of the oil, gas and green hydrogen industries that are set to take off in the constituency.

She said women and girls should receive fair recognition in all economic programmes and projects that will be implemented in these industries.

Ndjaleka who was speaking at the commemoration of International Human Rights Day and Namibia Women’s Day at Lderitz on Sunday added that women need to position themselves not to be spectators but real actors in the small and medium enterprises value chain.

She said women cannot contribute to peace without empowerment hence women need to advance gender justice.

‘It is not about political statements anymore, it is about going the extra mile and time and again we see those women themselves, wounded and abused, are the same ones going the extra mile. Without a just peace there is no peace at all, and without gender justice, fairnes
s and integrity there is no peace at all,’ said Ndjaleka.

The councillor further said women need to approach each other as being neither inferior nor superior, adding that they should give others the freedom to express their authentic selves without the fear of being negatively judged, and to interact without prejudice or bias, accepting each other regardless of race, religion, gender, class, sexual orientation, age or disability.

At the same event the constituency office through its community trust gave 20 informal traders N.dollars 2 000 vouchers each to boost their business.

About 100 women attended the event held under the theme ‘Dignity, freedom and justice for all’ that took place at the Angra Pequena Senior Secondary School at the coastal town.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency