Month: December 2023

OTJIWARONGO: The Otjiwarongo local authority council on Thursday cancelled the interview process aimed at recruiting its substantive chief executive officer (CEO).

The position of CEO for the Otjiwarongo Municipality has been vacant since the departure of Moses Matyayi who joined the City of Windhoek in the same role at the end of July this year.

Otjiwarongo Mayor, Gottlieb Shivute in an interview with Nampa on Friday said the decision to cancel the interview process was influenced and taken due to ‘material omission’, a situation which was detected by the interview panel members.

‘The decision to cancel that process was taken at a special council meeting on Thursday due to some irregularities detected, and it was decided that a shortlisting committee be appointed to re-evaluate the 47 applications which were submitted for the position by candidates in July this year, where the shortlisting should be made,’ said Shivute.

Two applicants from the 47 will not be considered because one withdrew by writing to
the council and another by absconding from the psychometric assessment process, he said.

The mayor stated that the re-evaluation part of this recruitment process should be completed by the first week of January 2024, and the interviews should be conducted thereafter.

Otjiwarongo Municipality Strategic Executive for Community Development Services, Erickson Mwanyekange in the meantime is the acting CEO of the municipality.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank) and Germany’s Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank on Thursday entered into a historic agreement, signing a first concessional loan of over N.dollars 400 million.

Agribank and KfW in a joint statement said the collaboration aims to empower farmers operating in both communal and commercial areas, as well as other agricultural or food-processing micro, small and medium enterprises in Namibia.

‘Agribank will on-lend the funds for the target group of small-scale farmers as well as the MSMEs in primary agriculture and agro-processing. With access to need-based financial products, the target group is empowered to use funds to expand and develop their agriculture or food processing activities, thereby generating additional income and increasing food production and income in Namibia,’ the statement read.

The project promotes the establishment of productive and resource-conserving agriculture for sustainability reasons.

After signing the loan ag
reement, Agribank and the National Planning Commission and KfW Development Bank also signed a grant agreement of just over N.dollars 20 million in Agribank’s favour, the joint statement said.

During the signing ceremony, Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Ulrike Metzger said it is known that there is a lack of access to credit financing in rural areas, especially for young farmers, women and farmers on communal land.

She noted that this prevents necessary investments to increase productivity and secure income for rural families.

‘Commercial banks can only grant loans with land titles as collateral, which cannot be presented on communal land,’ Metzger added.

Simultaneously, Agribank CEO Raphael Karuaihe said the day marks a momentous occasion – the signing ceremony of a crucial loan agreement that symbolises a significant chapter in the bank’s commitment to sustainable and long term funding for its lending activities.

‘Our vision is to contribute not only to the financial wellbeing of
our clients but also to the broader goal of environmentally conscious and sustainable practices in the agricultural sector,’ Karuaihe noted.
Source: Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA)

RUNDU: A 48-year-old fisherman was attacked by a hippo at Marema village in the Kavango West Region on Thursday.

This was revealed by the Namibian Police Force in the region in the daily crime report issued Friday.

It is alleged that the fisherman, identified as Hausiku Japhet Haruwodi, was out fishing in his canoe when a hippo jolted the canoe.

He allegedly fell into the river, and the hippo attacked him, biting him on his arm and leg.

After the hippo left, Haruwodi was pulled out of the water by another fisherman who had been fishing nearby.

Haruwodi is receiving treatment at the Rundu State Hospital after being transferred from the Nankudu District Hospital.

In an unrelated incident, the police in the Kavango West Region are also investigating a case in which two teenagers aged 14 were allegedly raped and impregnated by two men, both known to them, at Ncuncuni village.

The teens allegedly visited a clinic around 06 to 07 December and the nurses there learned that the two girls were impregnated under
coercive circumstances.

The men have not yet been arrested, but police probes into the matters were opened.
Source: Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA)