Month: July 2024

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MPSH FC, Fine Young Stars share spoils at Unockie tournament


Northern Pride MPSH Football Club and Otjinene-based Fine Young Stars shared the title in the annual Unockie Popinaa Kasume Tournament Sunday night after a power outage led to the final’s cancellation.

The tournament began on Saturday, with 33 football and 22 netball teams playing for a prize of N.dollars 60 000 across all divisions at Windhoek’s Khomasdal Stadium and Eros Stadium.

Tournament organiser Ngatuuane Hange told Nampa on Monday the event was a success despite Sunday’s power outage, which led to the final football match being cancelled and the finalists splitting the spoils evenly.

‘It was a successful tournament which saw close to 60 teams competing. Despite all these teams, we managed to host the event with the little resources at our disposal,’ he said.

Hange highlighted that the yearly competition is organised in memory of the late netball star, who competed at the local and regional levels for almost a decade.

The football category featured some intriguing battles, with teams from all over
the country coming together for the common goal of football development.

In the semi-finals, Oshakati MPSH defeated Mariental outfit One Love by a single goal to advance to the final, whilst Fine Young Stars also overcame Mafumhe FC, 1-0.

However, due to late-night lighting challenges at the Khomasdal Stadium, the two teams split the N.dollars 30 000 prize for the finalist equally, with each receiving N.dollars 15 000.

One Love and Mafumhe each settled for N.dollars 5 000 as semi-final losers.

The tournament’s highlight was a netball duel between professional players from the top and second divisions.

On Sunday, Renamo Bucks defeated M-Desh Army by a slim margin of 29-26. The other semi-final saw Otjimanangombe exact sweet retribution on Fine Young Stars, a team that thrashed them in the semi-finals of the Omaheke Top Eight tournament two weeks ago in Gobabis, with a 31-19 scoreline.

Despite unleashing their might on Fine Young Stars, the latter failed to capitalise on their momentum, losing narrowly to
Renamo Bucks in the final in an Epukiro affair that saw Renamo Bucks take the trophy, winning N.dollars 10 000 and a trophy. Otjimanangombe received N.dollars 5 000. Fine Young Stars and M-Desh Army each received N.dollars 2 500 as semi-final losers.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

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Miller DNF at Cross Country race


WINDHOEK: Namibian mountain biker, Alex Miller, was unable to finish his race at the 2024 Paris Olympics after dropping out on lap three of the scheduled eight laps on Monday.

The multi-sport event features athletes competing in 329 events across 32 sports in Paris, France.

In his previous Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2021, Miller finished 31st in the mountain bike event. The 23-year-old Namibian struggled in his second appearance at the global championship which was held at Elancourt Hill.

Out of the 36 riders in the race, Miller and South African rider Alan Hatherly were the only African participants.

At the recent mountain biking championships, Thomas Pidcock, the world’s number-one ranked rider, secured his second Olympic gold medal impressively. The Great Britain rider completed the race in a time of one hour, 26 minutes, and 22 seconds (01:26:22) to resonate his first gold medal win three years ago at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan.

South African rider Hatherly clinched a bronze medal at this year
‘s championships, while French rider Victor Koretzky took home the silver medal after completing the 35.2-kilometre (km) race, which required riders to complete eight laps of a 4.4-kilometre course.

Koretzky and Hatherly were just nine and 11 seconds behind the winner.

Team Namibia has four athletes representing the country at this year’s Olympics. The athletes will compete in cycling (road and mountain biking), swimming, and marathon running.

The next Namibian cyclist expected to represent the country will be Vera Looser, who will compete in the women’s road race scheduled for Sunday, 04 August 2024.

At the previous championships in Tokyo 2021, Namibia earned a silver medal in the women’s 200-meter sprint. Christine Mboma ended Namibia’s 22-year medal drought at the Olympics.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

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Eenhana Expo kicks off


The 14th edition of the Eenhana Trade and Business Expo started on Monday and is being held under the theme ‘Reviving local economy through business resilience, innovation, and diversification.’

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, town council spokesperson, Ottilie Shingenge said they have a total of 192 exhibitors, two of which are international exhibitors from Zambia and Zimbabwe.

According to Shingenge, this year’s expo is bigger and better, with more fun activities expected during the week-long exhibition, including an inaugural cooking competition.

In terms of safety, Shingenge indicated that they have hired a total of 56 security officers who will provide safety to the visitors and exhibitors during the week-long event.

‘Chance-takers should be warned that the wrath of the law will not be kind to them, they will be dealt with,’ she said.

Shingenge further stated that the aim is to ensure the safety of the people throughout the expo, as they aim to create a business network for the attendees.

She
also revealed that Minister in the Presidency, Christine //Hoebes, is expected to open the expo on Wednesday.

The expo will conclude on Saturday.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

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Small business owners applaud Vaalgras turf club July derby for opportunity


Small business owners have applauded the organisers of the Vaalgras Turf Club July derby for the platform to conduct business activities at the village.

In an interview with Nampa over the weekend, Philanda Christiaan who is part of those who founded the event said the business element was introduced to the horseracing competition three years ago, with the aim to create a platform for small business people at the village to engage in economic activities.

‘We have realised that little happens for the small businesses community in this area, so we decided to tie the business activities with the horseracing, to give an opportunity to those sitting at home with different types of skills to showcase their business activities,’ she said.

According to Christiaan the number of stalls at the event increased from three stalls when the business element was introduced to 10 stalls this year.

‘We see that the effort we put into the event pays off because whatever money you put in you will always get back and more from
such activities – it is good for the community, the community is embracing it and every year the stalls are increasing. We are embracing this event and we ensure that people are aware of the activity as it happens every year. We need to do this together, us from the community for the community,’ she said.

Speaking to this news agency, Kenneth April said the event provides a good opportunity as it allows them to make some money and improve their living standard.

‘It is a very important event to the community and us business people, even if it happens only once a year and we wish it continues but also grows from strength to strength so that more and more people will participate and we can have more business,’ he said.

Mercia Katzao said: ‘I stay here in Vaalgras and it is a great opportunity that we are given here to sell our things and make some money. I hope that next year we can grow from where we are now in our business. Horseracing is a pride of Vaalgras and we appreciate those who keep it going. I hope
the youth are also pulled into this and they also learn.’

Many of the stalls sold food and beverages.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

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Agriculture Ministry to modernise traditional wells in Oshikoto


The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform is on a drive to transform and modernise traditional wells in the Oshikoto Region, among other regions.

This will ensure continued water supply and minimise cases of people falling into traditional wells and in some cases, dying, the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko said in an interview with Nampa on Monday.

The modernisation will include installing structures on the wells’ surfaces, as well as solar panels and pipes to pump water to the surface.

‘We have identified eight traditional wells in the region that need to be modernised by the end of this financial year,’ said Musheko.

The wells were identified in Evale, Oshikondeilwa, Onamishu, Akazulu, and Ohaiyanda.

‘Cases of reports of people dying in the process of looking for water in the Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions are increasing and we are concerned about these cases, which is why the ministry came up with the initiative to modernise traditional wells,’ the spokesperson said.

He further urged
contractors to expedite the drilling of boreholes as delays cause suffering for communities who struggle to access water.

Musheko said the ministry has appointed local contractors to drill boreholes in the region, but they have been slow to complete the work.

‘There are a total of 12 boreholes that have not been drilled. If these contractors do not finish drilling the boreholes by the end of this financial year, we will blacklist them,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia News Agency

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FCT-IRS generates N126.54bn from January to June


The Federal Capital Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS), has collected and remitted N126.54 billion from January to June 2024.

The acting Executive Chairman, Mr Haruna Abdullahi, made this known during the FCT-IRS mid-year news conference in Abuja on Monday.

The executive chairman was represented at the event by the Director, Tax Operations, Mrs Chinwe Anohu-Ndu.

He said that the figure was 53.5 per cent higher that the N82.46 billion collected in the first half of 2023.

He added that the N126.54 billion was also 119.7 per cent higher than the N57.59 billion collected in the half year of 2022.

This, according to him, is an indication of a year-on-year growth.

‘This stellar growth highlights our commitment and determination to overcome obstacles while striving to boost revenue generation.’

Abdullahi pointed out that the FCT-IRS achieved these impressive results within six months in spite of economic challenges.

He attributed the successes to the service’s resolve to leverage technology and build one of
the most functional e-service portals in the revenue sector.

‘We also owe this accomplishment to the high compliance rate of taxpayers in the FCT.

‘We, therefore, urged everyone to continue choosing voluntary compliance over compulsion,’ he said.

On enforcement, the executive chairman said that the revenue service has commenced an enforcement drive to tackle tax evasion and ensure the collection and accounting of all revenue accruable to the FCT.

He added that non-compliant businesses have been sealed, and appropriate legal actions taken to recover all tax liabilities and ensure timely payment of subsequent taxes.

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Abdullahi said that FCT-IRS was investing in technological advancements for seamless revenue collection in the FCT.

‘We are currently optimising and upgrading our technology to improve tax compliance, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency.

‘This will enable us to build a more resilient tax system that will enhanc
e revenue generation while making the tax paying process seamless for our taxpayers,’ he said.

He said that FCT-IRS plays a critical role in stabilising the economy during economic challenges by generating revenue for the government to fund essential public services.

‘Key expectations include maximising tax collection to increase government revenue and ensuring efficient tax administration by streamlining tax processes, reducing bureaucracy, and combating tax evasion and fraud while educating and enlightening taxpayers.

‘The service is also committed to aligning with Federal Government tax policy reforms aimed at stimulating economic growth.

‘The service is also dedicated to engaging with taxpayers, businesses, and other stakeholders to understand their challenges to continuously develop solutions that will enhance tax compliance and eliminate tax evasion,’ he added.

He commended the Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike for his exemplary leadership, support, and commitment to boosting revenue generation i
n the FCT.

The FCT-IRS boss said that the service was working tirelessly to surpass the N500 billion 2024 revenue target, by remaining focused and sustaining the momentum.

‘We encourage all taxpayers in the FCT to prioritise tax compliance, describing it as a crucial aspect of development and nation-building.

‘By fulfilling your tax obligations, you contribute directly to the growth and prosperity of the FCT and the nation at large,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria