Day: February 7, 2024

WINDHOEK: Former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, on Wednesday paid his respects to former First Lady Monica, following the death of her husband, the late President Hage Geingob.

Kabila is the second African leader to visit the former first lady after Geingob’s passing in a Windhoek hospital on Sunday.

Signing the book of condolences at the couple’s residence, he wrote, ‘May the fond memories and laughter that characterised President Geingob’s life be a comfort and solace for the family and the Namibian nation for the years to come.’

Mourners from all walks of life are visiting the Geingob residence, including Ondonga Traditional Authority leader, Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo, Popular Democratic Movement leader, McHenry Venaani, Affirmative Reposition Movement leader, Job Amanda and other dignitaries.

‘One thing that he has done so well is nation building… Hage spent a lot of his presidency on nation building, he did it exceptionally well and I supported. That’s why most times I
am one of the few opposition leaders that attends national days because I did it to show that we have a country to protect regardless of our differences. We are children of one country and whoever leads the country does not matter, but what matter is that we must carry the country and its people with dignity and he has carried our flag very well,’ Venaani said.

Geingob died at the age of 82.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwean Parliament on Tuesday also paid tribute to Geingob.

Leading the Parliamentary tributes, Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, said Geingob was instrumental in the formation of the Southern Africa Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF).

Mudenda further remarked that President Geingob was so passionate about the establishment of SADC PF that he even offered to host it in Namibia.

‘The late President (Geingob) was instrumental in the genesis of the SADC PF way back in 1992, and that seed indeed germinated in reality on 08 September in Blantyre, Malawi, where the SADC summit unanimo
usly agreed that the SADC PF should be established as a regional parliamentary body for consultative purposes and later to be transformed into a regional Parliament of SADC,’ he said.

Mudenda added that Zimbabwe has special relationship with the Namibian Government from a parliamentary point of view and that its late president will be remembered as a pan-Africanist, a liberation hero and a visionary statesman who served his people with distinction.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa has agreed to extend South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter’s tenure beyond the end of his term at the revenue collector.

The Commissioner’s contract of employment was set to end on 30 April, where after a new Commissioner would be appointed.

‘President Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter have agreed to extend the tenure of the Commissioner beyond the end of his term to enable an orderly transition in the organisation,’ the Presidency said in a statement.

In March 2019, President Ramaphosa appointed Kieswetter, in terms of Section 6 of the South African Revenue Service Act, for a five-year term that started on 1 May 2019.

The decision was informed by the recommendation to the President from the Minister of Finance that the recommended candidate of the independent selection panel be appointed.

The process for the appointment of the SARS Commissioner is informed by the South African Revenue Servic
e Act and was guided by the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance by SARS chaired by retired Judge Robert Nugent.

Source: South African Government News Agency

WINDHOEK: Swapo Party Youth Secretary (SPYL) Ephraim Nekongo has said the late Namibian President, Dr Hage Gottfried Geingob, who died at a Windhoek hospital on Sunday, was a champion for Namibian youth.

‘The death of our former president has left us in the Swapo Party Youth League shattered. We were hoping the president would come back and continue his work. Some of these things are quite foreign to us, so they truly broke us.

‘However, it gives us courage because he was a person who groomed us. He always told us that you young people must be ready at any given time to take over from us,’ Nekongo said while remembering the late statesman in an interview with Nampa on Tuesday.

In May 2022, President Geingob appointed Nekongo to the National Assembly to take over from former Public Enterprises Minister, Leon Jooste.

The late president also elevated other young people to positions of power, including Emma Theofilus, the deputy minister of information and communication technology, as well as Marius Sheya, Ja
mes Uerikua and Neville Andre Itope, who are the regional governors of Kunene, Otjozondjupa and Erongo respectively.

‘Before and after independence, the president has been at the helm of grooming young people. When he was in Zambia, at the United Nations, and when he came back, he groomed many young people. So, the one thing that you cannot take away from the late president was working with young people. That is the legacy we will inherit from him,’ said Nekongo.

Nekongo’s sentiments were echoed by Itope, who said Geingob was committed to empowering young people, especially since taking office in 2015, when that commitment was evident on the national stage.

According to Itope, Geingob was a youth empowerment champion who offered opportunities for young people to build character, identify their purpose and shape their destinies in order to contribute to Namibia’s progress.

‘I am one of the youngest governors and this surely gives hope to many young people. The late President Geingob always believed in empo
wering young people and exposing them to positions of leadership,’ he added.

The governor highlighted that Geingob’s benevolence toward youths began early in his tenure as the head of the United Nations Institute for Namibia from 1975 to 1989, when he groomed numerous young Namibians for government positions before independence.

‘He was very instrumental in having perfect technocrats for the government in young people… You will always hear that his office was full of young people who worked with him and today many of them are making impactful contributions to the country, both in the private and public sectors,’ stated Itope, adding that the late statesman gracefully assumed the role of a father figure.

‘He was a father who always had something to teach those around him. Whenever we spent time with him, he would not only engage in serious conversations, but it was always fun to be with him because he would make jokes and we would dance until late. We will always appreciate that about him.’

Source: The
Namibia Press Agency