Month: February 2024

WINDHOEK: The late President Hage Geingob’s lawyer, Sisa Namandje, has said Geingob drove a historically aggressive legislative agenda that brought about massive socio-economic changes.

Paying tribute during an evening devotion in honour of the late Geingob here Tuesday, Namandje said it is often forgotten that Geingob, without wavering, ensured that the institution and policies of apartheid were dismantled from the date of Namibia’s independence.

He particularly emphasised the period between 1990 and 2002 when Geingob as prime minister and leader of government business in the national assembly ensured that hundreds of pieces of legislation were put forth for the benefit of Namibians.

‘This area of achievement by Dr Geingob is usually ignored and underrated. To me it is one of the biggest achievements by him in our quest as a nation to dismantle the shameful legacy of apartheid and colonialism,’ he said.

He noted that Geingob’s legacy will continue past the mourning period, through the constitution of whi
ch Namibians should have a desire and determination to promote the dignity, unity, and integrity of the nation internally and its relations and association with the outside world.

‘As our chief constitutional architect he ensured that there is a specific obligatory duty on us to achieve, maintain national reconciliation and all points to foster peace, unity and common loyalty to a single state,’ he noted.

Namandje further noted that the late president was tribal neutral and disliked tribalism, noting that he hated those who engaged and traded in tribal arrogance and dominance or for cheap political theatrics.

‘He wanted a nation in which his sons and daughters could relate without tribal impediments or consideration for the unity of purpose and harmonious existence… he said this until a few days before departure,’ he recalled.

Namandje said going forward, Geingob’s legacy will guide the present leaders to steer the Namibian ship safely.

Geingob, 82, died on Sunday in Windhoek.

Source: The Namibia Press
Agency

OHAILOMBO: Hundreds of community members from Ohailombo and surrounding villages in the Oshikoto Region over the weekend joined Ohailombo headwoman, Dr Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun, in cultivating her fields in a gesture of gratitude for her assistance.

The roughly 350 residents offered their help through a ceremony called ‘Oshitemo’, which was used in the past by village headmen to unite communities. The word ‘Oshitemo’ is derived from the hoe Aawambo people use for weeding.

In return, the headwoman and business personality donated 150 bags of maize meal and 72 bottles of cooking oil to the community, many of whom were from the nearby villages of Ohailombo, Ohaiyanda, Okandjeke, Omawe, and Uulumbilo.

They were led by Ohaiyanda village’s headman, Johannes Shigwedha, who stated that they want to thank Namundjebo-Tilahun for the various ways in which she assisted them last year.

‘We do not know how to thank her, so we used the traditional way to show appreciation for giving us animal feed last year that led us
not to losing our animals to last year’s drought,’ said Shigwedha.

In her remarks, Namunjebo-Tilahun said people give to those who extend a helping hand and she wanted to thank them in return, hence the donation of food items.

Amidst the crowd was the governor of the Oshikoto Region, Penda Ya Ndakolo, who also acknowledged the gesture and thanked the community for coming to help her.

Namundjebo-Tilahun also encouraged the residents to work together and help each other so they can produce enough mahangu for their own consumption.

‘If we have needs, I want us to bring them here so we can figure out some solutions because we are one,’ she said.

Namundjebo-Tilahun last week also donated items worth N.dollars 100 000 to learners at Ponhofi Secondary School in the Ohangwena Region. These included school bags, bedding, mattresses, towels, and N.dollars 20 000 in cash.

She pledged to provide a scholarship to the best performing learner at the school.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: ‘He was very efficient and very cool. He could be hard, but he was always conciliatory and friendly. I can attribute what I have known and what I know now to him. A lot of it, I learned from him.’

These are the words of Frans Kapofi, Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, who was speaking to Nampa about his remembrance of the late Namibian President Hage Geingob, who passed away in a Windhoek hospital on Sunday.

Kapofi was appointed to the defence portfolio in 2021 by Geingob.

‘He was our commander-in-chief, and he has done so much for the defence force. And we have said farewell to him. We had a big parade that he addressed at our army headquarters, but we did not know that was going to be the last parade. We are very sad about that, but we just wish our president bon voyage. May his soul rest in eternal peace,’ the minister said in an interview on Wednesday.

With regard to stability, Kapofi gave his assurance that the Namibia is stable and the country’s security is in good hands.

‘The publi
c doesn’t need to despair. We have a new commander-in-chief who has taken over. And the defence force is ready, loyal to the Namibian flag, and remains unshaken, even though they lost the commander-in-chief, so our citizens must stay calm and let us mourn in peace.’

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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