Month: December 2023

Gobabis, Namibia – Gobabis Mayor Melba Tjozongoro emphasized the need for enhanced funding for community-based organizations combating HIV/AIDS. Her statement came during the commemoration of World AIDS Day, marked annually on December 1st. This year’s theme was ‘Let communities lead’.

According to Namibian Press Agency (NAMPA), In her speech, delivered on her behalf at the event, Mayor Tjozongoro highlighted the significant contributions of organizations like Lironga Eparu and Ombetja Yehinga in the past. She pointed out that these groups became largely dormant due to the discontinuation of financial support from the government and other agencies. Tjozongoro also noted that the global outbreak of the coronavirus further strained resources, diverting them away from the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Calling for action, the mayor urged the government and stakeholders to financially support the planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of community-based organizations’ programs. She stressed the importance of government and donor agencies in fully and reliably funding community leadership roles to achieve desired outcomes in the HIV/AIDS battle.

Additionally, Omaheke Governor Pijoo Nganate, also speaking at the event, emphasized the crucial role of communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He advocated for community leadership in designing and delivering integrated sexual reproductive health and rights and HIV programs.

Governor Nganate appealed to communities and individuals to use all available preventative measures to control the spread of HIV. He underscored the importance of World AIDS Day in raising awareness about the severity of HIV and AIDS, providing information on effective interventions and measures for prevention, and supporting those living with the virus in communities.

Gobabis, Namibia – Melba Tjozongoro, representing the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), was re-elected as Mayor of Gobabis on Friday. She retained her position unopposed in the eastern town. Nona Gogases will continue to serve as deputy mayor, having also been re-elected without opposition. Additionally, Alivira Theron, Silvester Binga, and Isaak de Beers were re-elected as members of the management community.

According to Namibian Press Agency (NAMPA), In nearby towns, incumbents also held onto their positions. At Witvlei, Matilde Eises and Sheya !Gaogoses maintained their roles as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the management committee, respectively. In Leonardville, Petra Salomi Witbooi was re-elected Chairperson with Bernard Gariseb as her deputy.

During her acceptance speech, Tjozongoro addressed the financial challenges facing Gobabis, particularly the municipality’s debt to Nampower and the potential for load-shedding. To mitigate these issues, the town encouraged residents to transition to prepaid water and electricity systems.

Tjozongoro reported significant progress in the implementation of prepaid water meters, with 45 pensioners in Gobabis and 25 households in the newly formalized Freedom Square and Promiseland residential areas benefiting from the rollout. The informal settlements of Epako and Nossobville also saw improvements, with the addition of communal water standpipes, bringing the total to 30 in these areas. The mayor expressed her desire to eliminate informal settlements in Gobabis.

She also highlighted the successful construction of around 73 houses by the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia’s savings group, with 16 more houses under construction on land provided by the municipality in the current fiscal year.

Addressing the town’s water conservation needs, Mayor Tjozongoro urged Gobabis residents to use water sparingly. She noted the uncertainty of future water availability, citing poor rainfall in the Omaheke region in recent years.

The head coach of the Debmarine Desert Jewels, Julene Meyer, says her team will give it their all going forward after losing against Zambia at the African Netball Cup on Thursday.

The 13th edition of the prestigious continental tournament is underway in Gaborone, Botswana with some of the best netball nations in the continent fighting for silverware.

In their second match at the championship, Namibia’s senior netball team lost 42-52 against Zambia at the University of Botswana in Gaborone where the championship is being played.

On their second day of action at the championship the Namibian team started trailing in the game from the word go, losing the first quarter 10-13.

The second quarter saw Zambia improving their lead to five points with the score standing at 21-26 at halftime.

The Namibian team tried their best, but the Zambian team remained dominant. The Zambians were precise with their passing and took advantage of Namibia’s mistakes, leading to a 10-point lead of 28-38 by the end of the third qu
arter.

The fourth quarter saw both teams controlling possession despite Zambia forcing Namibia into making errors. But it was too little, too late for the Desert Jewels as that quarter saw both teams scoring 10 points to end the match with a 42-52 final score.

In an interview after the match, Meyer said everything that could go wrong, went wrong during the match.

‘We did not have a great game as all our tactics did not work out as planned, but we are going to dust ourselves off and come back stronger,’ she said.

Meyer added that despite losing the match against Zambia she was happy with her players’ performance.

Namibia’s next match at the competition takes place at 15h00 on Friday against Kenya.

The 2023 Africa Netball Cup sees South Africa, the defending champions, fighting it out against host Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, and Eswatini for top honours.

Source: Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA)

Namibia Football Association (NFA) president, Robert Shimooshili, has denied rumours that the association is looking to replace the current coach of the senior national football team with a foreign coach.

The Brave Warriors, as the national senior football team is affectionately known, is currently being coached by Collin Benjamin, who signed a five-year contract in July 2022 after the previous coach’s contract ended in 2019.

Bobby Samaria was appointed as the caretaker coach from 2019 until 2022.

An audio clip featuring an unidentified Eastern European voice claiming to have been contacted by the NFA Executive Council for the head coach job, went viral on Thursday.

According to the voice note, the council meeting scheduled for 09 December 2023 will determine whether the individual and his technical team will travel to Windhoek, purportedly to discuss the offer of replacing Benjamin as the head coach of the Brave Warriors.

However, in an interview with Nampa on Thursday, NFA president Shimooshili denied
any knowledge of this and stated that hiring a foreign coach is not necessary when there are capable Namibian coaches available.

‘Please pass on my good luck wishes to the person on the voice clip. However, I want to clarify that we have no plans to replace our current national team coach, so I’m not sure who he spoke to about coaching,’ he said.

Shimooshili stressed that the association’s focus at the moment is on building a strong squad for the upcoming African Nations Cup (Afcon), and that there is no plan to replace the current coach.

Source: Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA)

Cornelia Iiyambula was on Thursday re-elected as Okahao mayor and pledged to maintain effective service delivery for the town’s residents.

Iiyambula, supported by fellow Swapo Councillor Julia Katoole as her deputy, leads a team including Johannes Kaushi Uushini, Aina Kagasheka Amalovu, and Andreas Embula Nekwaya, all Swapo Councillors, who were re-elected as members of the management committee. Uushini retains his position as the committee’s chairperson.

Magdalena Ileimo Iitula and Petrus Shaanika Shaanika, both IPC members, serve as ordinary council members.

Iiyambula said she is dedicated to their mission of fostering local economic growth and committed to transparency and accessibility.

‘I commit to continue fostering an environment of openness where transparency and accessibility prevail,’ she said.

She also stressed staying informed about developments, best practices, and innovative solutions to address community challenges.

Iiyambula further pledged accountability for decisions taken and urged O
kahao residents to actively engage in development activities and provide insights and ideas for the town to prosper.

Source: Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA)

Onayena Constituency Councillor Kamati Mateus has urged potential investors to contribute to the development of Onayena settlement with the aim of transforming it into a town.

Mateus in an interview with Nampa said currently, there is more reliance on Ondangwa for the provision of services.

He said Onayena received settlement status in 1997 but has not progressed towards achieving town status, hence his attempts at attracting investors in order to speed up the settlement’s transformation.

‘Since I joined the office in 2020, I have been looking for ideas and investors to develop our settlement,’ said Mateus.

He also raised concern about the number of schools and the youth unemployment problem in the area.

‘We have over 40 000 people and a total of 16 schools in our area, with only three secondary schools catering for 32 villages in the constituency. We have many unemployed youth,’ he said.

Mateus said that there are quite a number of business opportunities in Onayena and those interested in investing ca
n amongst others look into opening clothing stores and private medical practices, and offering veterinary services and banking facilities.

‘We have a lot of farmers here, so it is a great opportunity to develop the town with this sector. An investor can possibly come on board and invest in our farmers,’ Mateus said.

The councillor asserted that the transformation of Onayena into a town would yield numerous job opportunities, contributing to both local youth empowerment and broader socio-economic development.

‘We found some investors that are willing to develop our area and I want to encourage the people of Onayena Constituency to cooperate with them,’ said Mateus.

He also highlighted the historical significance of Onayena in Namibia’s liberation struggle.

‘Onayena is a vital area on the Namibian map as well as abroad because the first evangelical settlers came to this area,’ he said.

Mateus elaborated on the political importance of Onayena, saying several politicians, including the late Andimba Toivo ya
Toivo, commenced their political careers in the area.

Kuku Ester Niilonga ya Haipinge, sister of the late Dr Nickey Iiyambo, also expressed her strong desire for Onayena’s development into a town, citing the area’s rich history and numerous prominent figures.

‘Onayena was supposed to be the main town in the Oshikoto Region where all the regional offices operate from,’ said Haipinge.

Expressing her hopes for progress, she said the community is eager to enjoy the fruits of the liberation struggle after 33 years.

Source: Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA)