Day: January 22, 2024

OKATUPAPA: Disgruntled residents of Okatupapa village in the Okakarara constituency have sought the permanent removal of a group of seven male siblings suspected to be cattle rustlers, residing there.

In a letter of concern, the villagers during their recent annual community meeting, indicated that their efforts to have police officers locate and arrest the suspects had fallen on deaf ears.

‘These boys have been on a serious trajectory of misbehaviour, stealing our livestock at an alarming rate. Several theft and attempted robbery cases have been reported and recorded at the seemingly ‘toothless’ Okondjatu Police Station on numerous occasions with very little success,’ they alleged.

Furthermore, the letter stated that there are cases involving the seven men recorded at the Okondjatu police station, some of which involve them being caught red-handed with overwhelming evidence presented to the police force. Still, they are always released from custody despite several pending cases circling their thick record
s, much to the chagrin of disheartened residents.

The villagers who are now fed up have threatened to take the law into their own hands and demanded the removal of the men from the village immediately to avoid further confrontation with subsequent potential serious repercussions and ramifications.

Responding to the letter, Otjozondjupa NamPol spokesperson inspection Maureen Mbeha reminded the community that while the regional police are aware of the various cases reported about the seven individuals, no one is above the law, and that anyone who receives threats is entitled to report them.

She said there are eight cases reported in Okatupapa village involving family issues, as well as five stock theft cases, all of which are still active.

On the criticism of police work, Mbeha noted that the force is not at fault, as all offences reported at Okondjatu police station against criminals are brought to justice and eventually freed by courts.

She additionally urged Okatupapa residents to cooperate with the pol
ice to reduce crime and capture criminals in their neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the Okondjatu police station recorded 21 crimes last year, involving the theft of 43 cattle, 15 of which were returned, 17 small stock of which six were recovered, with 28 suspects detained.

Last year, the Otjozondjupa region registered 402 occurrences of alleged stock theft.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

GROOT AUB: The principal of Groot Aub Secondary School, Isak de Groot, has said he is disappointed in the high failure rate amongst Grade 11 learners in the 2023 examinations at the school.

De Groot in a recent interview with Nampa said out of 45 learners in Grade 11 last year, only three qualified for the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) levels and only six learners qualified for tertiary education.

‘We are not happy at all with the results. Our school is a farm school, the biggest problem we have is drug abuse, a child would be sitting in class high, under the influence of drugs. Our absenteeism rate is also high, as is the teenage pregnancy rate. This is a very big problem for us,’ De Groot said.

He noted that most learners are also vulnerable and live with their grandparents.

‘All these are contributing factors to the high failure rate,’ De Groot stated.

He further said the majority of learners who failed were transferred to higher grades since Grade 8 despite poor performance.

‘The majority of them also re
peated Grade 10, were transferred eventually and still failed. This is another reason why we are sitting with a high failure rate. We are, however, trying our best. We have strategies in place now. I can assure you that our current Grade 11s will not fail as much, as they were also not affected by Covid-19. Come next year, you will see how we have improved our results. Our current Grade 11 learners have been with us from Grade 9. We have been talking to them, 2024 is our year. They are ready, they know what is expected from them,’ De Groot added.

He further said discussions were had with teachers who had high failures.

‘We also do not want to demoralise them. Some of our teachers joined us for the first time and do not have experience. We also assist them. We do not want to put too much pressure on them,’ De Groot said.

Meanwhile, Khomas Education Director Paulus Nghikembua said the directorate is busy identifying strategies to improve examination results. Nghikembua told Nampa they are enforcing a monitor
ing and evaluation system that also includes general school leadership.

‘We are also busy identifying gaps and looking at ways to improve our teaching methodology. In addition, we will train our teachers to enhance their teaching abilities and skills,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

KORHOGO: Former Brave Warriors captain Ronald Ketjijere said the team’s results against South Africa on Sunday were disappointing but it’s time for the team to move on and focus on their upcoming game against Mali.

Ketjijere’s comments come after the Namibian team lost their second match 0-4 at the 2023 Ivory Coast African Cup of Nations underway here.

In an interview with Nampa on Sunday, the former Brave Warriors captain emphasized the importance of the next game, saying that a win against Mali is crucial if the team wants to advance to the round of 16.

‘We had a very poor performance in our game against South Africa. Our team had a bad day at the office and didn’t show up for the game. The early penalty we conceded also played a major role in our defeat, as we couldn’t get a grip on the game after that. However, we have a capable technical team who will work with the players to rectify the mistakes and encourage them to focus on their next game against Mali,’ he said while adding that the team will need
to go back to the drawing board and work harder to improve on their performance.

Ketjijere stated that the team has three more days to prepare for another opportunity that will present itself against Mali.

‘It’s going to be a very difficult game against Mali who are a ball-playing team, but we just have to prepare for them. We managed to beat Tunisia, therefore, going into the Mali game, will depend on who wants it the most and if we play well, confident, and according to our tactics and plan as we did against Tunisia we might get the results,’ said Ketjijere.

Namibia is currently placed third in their group, tied on three points with second-placed South Africa. Mali leads the group with four points, while Tunisia is at the bottom with a single point. Namibia’s last group game will be against Mali in San Pedro on Wednesday.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

OPUWO: The Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF) has contributed N.dollars 924 million to support the conservation area of the Skeleton Coast-Etosha bridge in North-Western Namibia, through an agreement signed at Otjondeka in the Kunene Region.

The conservation bridge connects the two national parks and includes the first ‘People’s Park,’ a new conservation category that formalises community conservation. Its landscape was selected following LLF’s first open proposal call in early 2022.

A joint statement by the LLF, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) on Monday said the agreement commits N.dollars 18.9 million per year to the region, which includes multiple protected areas, communal conservancies, and buffer zones, for at least 50 years.

The long-term funding, it said, will help to manage the Namibian conservation hotspot more efficiently, reinforcing much-needed climate resilience initiatives, enhancing local livelihoods, and safeguarding fragile animal specie
s.

The grant will be administered by LLF’s partners, the WWF and the IRDNC in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT), it read.

Furthermore, WWF and IRDNC will collaborate closely with local partners, rural communities, and conservation organisations to supervise implementation in the region.

In the statement, LLF executive director Stefanie Lang said the grant with WWF and IRDNC ensures reliable and substantial funding of N.dollars 18.9 million annually for over 50 years and with strong governance of local rights-holders.

‘We are very thankful to welcome this exceptional Namibian site into the LLF network,’ she said

Nik Sekhran, Chief Conservation Officer at WWF-US, said, ‘The agreement is an additional affirmation of Namibia’s conservation efforts and the critical role that people play in safeguarding wildlife and biodiversity throughout Namibia.’

The Skeleton Coast-Etosha conservation area will allow iconic animals like black rhinos and lions to wander freely from
coastal to inland locations, benefiting local populations, he said.

IRDNC executive director John Kasaona on his part said the legacy landscape allows them to prepare for the future, where communities could build on this relationship by deciding how they want their land maintained in the long run.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency