Day: March 13, 2024

KEETMANSHOOP: President Nangolo Mbumba is expected to deliver the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the National Assembly (NA) on Thursday.

A statement issued by the NA on Wednesday indicated that the SONA is delivered during the committee stage of debates on the annual Appropriation Bill in the NA.

According to the statement, the address is in accordance with Article 32 (2) of the Namibian Constitution that states that, ‘In accordance with the responsibility of the executive branch of Government to the legislative branch, the President and the Cabinet shall each year during the consideration of the official budget attend Parliament. During such session the President shall address Parliament on the state of the nation and on the future policies of the Government; shall report on the policies of the previous year and shall be available to respond to questions.’

This is the first time President Mbumba delivers the State of the Nation Address, which was initially going to be the last SONA of the late
President Hage Geingob. Mbumba was sworn in as President on 04 February 2024, following Geingob’s passing on the same day.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

KATIMA MULILO: The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform on Wednesday dispatched extension officials to some parts of the Zambezi Region’s river field areas, following an outbreak of African migratory red locusts.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko, in an interview with Nampa, the locusts were detected at Lake Liambezi and old Masokotwani, destroying maize crops, with about 10 hectares destroyed last week.

He said the locusts were also detected in the Ohangwena Region, on 29 February 2024.

Farmers in the surrounding areas of the Kapani, Kanono, Linyanti, Nakabolelwa, Masikili, Ngoma, Isuswa, Loma, Mutikitila, Ibbu, Mahundu, Ngala, Kapani, Chinchimani, Singobeka, Maunga, Sangwali and Oshikunde village have been warned to be on the lookout for locusts and to report any sightings to the constituency offices.

Musheko said four teams consisting of extension officers were dispatched on Wednesday to intensify surveillance and spray the affected areas.

‘In most of the areas where the
locusts were reported, they are still in the hopping stage, which is easy to control, which is why we are in a hurry so we can start spraying because it becomes very challenging when they start flying and they can spread to other reshoots not presently affected,’ Musheko said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

GOBABIS: Executive Director (ED) in the Office of the Prime Minister, I-Ben Nashandi on Wednesday said the government is making use of technology to accelerate their assignments, including the delivery of drought relief food to affected communities.

Nashandi made the remarks at a three-day annual plan development workshop for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, taking place at Gobabis in the Omaheke Region.

The ED said the use of technology would improve the delivery of food assistance under the drought relief programme, adding that his office has observed that the logistics of extending services at times leads to delays.

‘We want to make sure that we undertake assessments because the rain this year is a bit challenging. Since last year there have been predictions that we will be having an El Niño phenomena that will have an impact on our food production and food security in particular,’ he said.

The grass condition in most parts of the country has not improved and this has necessitated his office to assess the si
tuation before the current drought relief programme ending in March lapses, he said.

Nashandi said his office has thus put concrete interventions in place to assist the most vulnerable communities.

‘Key to assisting is the timely delivery of that assistance, and that is what we are planning to do. Among other things, we are also going to review our administrative operational procedures and ensure effective coordination between offices in ministries and agencies and making sure that correct information reaches people appropriately,’ he expressed.

The ED also said his office has urged farmers to de-stock as early as possible while their livestock are in good condition, saying that it will become very challenging to sustain the animals throughout the drought.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency