Day: February 29, 2024

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Health minister satisfied with N.dollars 10.8 billion budget


WINDHOEK: The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, says the ministry will put the N.dollars 10.8 billion it received to good use.

Shangula was reacting to Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi’s 2024/25 budget tabling speech delivered in the National Assembly on Wednesday. He told Nampa that they are going to do more with the money they have been allocated with.

‘This is the first time that the Ministry of Health and Social Services gets N.dollars 10 billion since its inception and we are quite comfortable with that, not only with the amount of money we received but also how we deploy the resources that are made available to us, which is critically important,’ Shangula said.

He has since urged members of the public to be grateful for whatever amounts each sector received.

‘Let us understand that there is only so much money that can be distributed. Not everyone will be catered for, just like in our own homes. We must understand this at a macro level and appreciate what we received,’ Shang
ula stressed.

He further maintained that the 2024/25 budget is one of the best to have ever been tabled in the National Assembly.

‘I wish to congratulate the Minister of Finance for a well-crafted budget. It touched on all aspects of our human endeavour and it is a positive budget in the sense that almost all sectors got an increase in the appropriation,’ he added.

He noted that much emphasis has been put on capital development to ensure that the investment in some sectors drives the economy forward, so that more money will be available to the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), to redistribute to other sectors.

‘It is a well-balanced budget,’ Shangula told this news agency.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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NWR announces 60 per cent discount on accommodation for March


WINDHOEK: Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) has announced an Independence special offering a 60 per cent discount on all its accommodation locations for the month of March.

The special is aimed at encouraging Namibians to explore the beauty of their own country by providing significant discounts on accommodation at all Namibia Wildlife Resorts locations, NWR spokesperson Nelson Ashipala said in a press release on Wednesday.

He noted that the programme addresses Namibians’ concerns about the high cost of recreational travel within the country.

‘Starting 01 March, all lodges under NWR’s management will be discounted by 60 per cent, making it easier for locals to experience the diverse landscapes and unique wildlife that Namibia has to offer,’ Ashipala said.

He further said while the special is open to all travellers, NWR hopes to see a strong uptake particularly from locals.

As part of the special, popular lodges such as Khorixas Camp in Damara Land will be available for as little as N.dollars 220 per night,
inclusive of breakfast.

However, Ashipala clarified that seasonal camps such as the Miles along the coastline are not part of the discounted offer.

The Independence Special will run throughout the month of March.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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NamPol destroy drugs worth N.dollars 206 million


WINDHOEK: The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) on Thursday destroyed a consignment of cocaine valued at N.dollars 206 million.

The drugs, according to the Head of NamPol’s Forensic Science Institute, Nelius Becker, were part of a drug trafficking case dating back to June 2018, involving two men, Grant Noble and Dinath Azhar, who have since been convicted and sentenced to prison terms of 12 years. It has since been established that the drugs weighed 412kg and were imported from Brazil through the Port of Walvis Bay.

‘We get the drugs depending on how long the case takes to finalise because we want to take liability of wherever the drugs are being stored. We need to destroy them as quickly as possible because we do not want the drugs to react or disappear in the streets. In the coming weeks, we will be disposing of cannabis,’ Becker said.

He further stressed that although there has not been a lot of cases involving habit-forming drugs such as heroine, there has been an increase in the number of drug traffickin
g cases.

‘We all know what the scourge of drugs is in this country. We should all stand together and fight, to rid the country of this. Unfortunately it appears that some of the harbours in South Africa might not be conducive for these drugs to go through because of the measures put in place, so they move to other venues like the Walvis Bay harbour as a through road to get the drugs somewhere else. It is important that we are vigilant about this,’ Becker added.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency