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Para-Athletes scoop 10 medals on the opening day of Jesolo Grand Prix

Namibian athletes with disabilities won 10 medals on the opening day of the World Para Athletics (WPA) 2023 Jesolo Grand Prix underway in Jesolo, Italy.

The fifth round of the WPA Grand Prix is being held at the Armando Picchi Stadium as Para-athletes celebrate the 10th anniversary of the WPA Grand Prix.

On the opening day of the championship on Friday evening, Namibia’s track and field athletes walked away with 10 medals (five gold, three silver and two bronze) from the 100 metres (m) and 400m events.

The first athlete to win a medal for Team Namibia was T11 female sprinter, Lahja Ishitile, who scooped a gold medal in the 400m sprint with a time of one minute, one second and 17 tenths of a second (01:01.17). Her second gold medal was in the 100m sprint with a time of 12.95 seconds.

Meanwhile, another female sprinter, Lahja Ipinge, who competes in the T12 category, was disqualified in the 400m race, while in the 100m race, she finished fifth with a time of 13.58 seconds. World record holder and Cuban sprinter Omara Elias Durand won the T12 100m race with a time of 12.11 seconds.

In the T11 100m men’s category, Namibian athletes dominated the track after occupying all three podium places. Ananias Shikongo won gold, while Chris Kinda and Alfredo Bernado came second and third respectively.

T13 sprinter, Johannes Nambala, added two more medals to team Namibia’s tally with a gold in the 400m sprint and a silver in the 100m. French sprinter Axel Zorzi took the gold in the 100m with 11.24 seconds while the Namibian was just behind in a photo finish with a time of 11.26 seconds.

The T11 400m category, saw Kinda taking a silver medal with a time of 53.49 seconds, while Shikongo took the bronze with a time of 54.01 seconds. Eduardo Man Novas Uceda of Spain walked away with a gold medal in a time of 53.42 seconds.

Bradley Murere braved the rainy conditions in the 100m sprint. The Namibian sprinter who competes in the T46 category clocked a time of 11.36 seconds to walk away with a gold medal.

Meanwhile, T37 sprinter, Petrus Karuli, had an impressive start to his 400m race but pulled a muscle with 120m to go, which saw him settling for a silver medal. Karuli was disqualified for a false start in the 100m sprint.

Nine athletes and five guides are representing Team Namibia at the championship.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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South Korea invites Namibia for 2024 Korea-African summit

President Hage Geingob has been invited by South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol to attend the 2024 Korea-African Summit, aimed at strengthening ties on the blue economy and maritime issues.

Speaking during a courtesy visit at State House on Friday, Suk Yeol special convoy representative, Park Heong-joon said the visit also aimed to strengthen already existing cooperation and to seek Namibia’s support for South Korea to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan.

He further indicated that South Korea is interested in Namibia’s envisioned green hydrogen sector and tourism industry for investments aimed towards developing and promoting sustainable development for mutual benefit of both nations.

“South Korea and Namibia continue to cross heights since 1990, for years we have enjoyed a longstanding relationship based on rule of law and continue to wish for Namibia’s great success,” he said.

Speaking at the same occasion on behalf of President Hage Geingob, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said, Namibia’s technology ambitions can be potentially optimised through learning from South Korea’s advanced technological capabilities, especially in the socio-economic area.

“Namibia has massive natural resources but the bulk of our people are living under poverty conditions… So it is a commitment of the government to harness these resources and advance the country by drawing from lessons of other developed countries such as South Korea,” she said

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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The United States Ambassador to South Africa.

The year-on-year inflation rate increased to 6.1 per cent last month compared to the 5.6 per cent recorded in April 2022.

This is according to the Namibia Consumer Price Index (NCPI) bulletin for April 2023 released by the Namibia Statistics Agency on Thursday.

“On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate slowed to 0.4 per cent, down from 0.6 per cent registered during the preceding month,” it said.

It further said based on the price movements at the zonal level for April 2023, Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi) recorded the highest annual inflation rate of 6.3 per cent.

This was followed by Zone 3 (||Kharas, Erongo, Hardap and Omaheke), which recorded an inflation rate of 6.0 per cent, while Zone 2 (Khomas) recorded the lowest annual inflation rate of 5.9 per cent.

On a monthly basis, Zone 2 and 1 recorded the highest monthly price changes of 0.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent, and Zone 3 recorded the slightest monthly change of 0.2 per cent.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Grootfontein NaTIS suspends services temporarily

The National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) office at Grootfontein in the Otjozondjupa Region on Friday temporarily suspended its testing services for learners and driver licenses as well as vehicle roadworthy testing services.

The Grootfontein NaTIS centre through the Roads Authority (RA) in a media statement stated on Friday that the temporary suspension will take effect from 15 to 19 May 2023.

“Therefore all clients seeking urgent roadworthy tests, learners and driver’s license services are requested to visit the Tsumeb NaTIS office for assistance or other NaTIS offices convenient to them,” it read.

It however said during the suspension period, only over-the-counter services, general enquiries and transactions will be rendered to the public, from a building adjacent to the Grootfontein NaTIS centre.

All NaTIS business operations at the Grootfontein testing centre will return to normal at the main office building on 22 May 2023, it read.

The Grootfontein NaTIS apologised to clients for the inconvenience this temporary suspension may cause.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Alweendo made these remarks at the National Stakeholder Workshop on the Draft Local Content Policy (LCP) held in Windhoek.

Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, has emphasized the importance of Namibia’s policy environment, particularly its institutional and political aspects, in ensuring that the discovery of oil and gas becomes a blessing for the country.

Alweendo made these remarks at the National Stakeholder Workshop on the Draft Local Content Policy (LCP) held in Windhoek.

He said the ministry is dedicated to safeguarding the country’s resources and implementing policies that will enable all Namibians to benefit.

Alweendo stressed that inclusivity and transparency should be key guiding principles during the policy drafting process, saying merely putting policies on paper is not enough and the actual implementation should ensure ethical operations across the board.

“I am also equally aware that designing an LCP is complex and that each LCP must reflect our realities and priorities. We need an LCP that will facilitate economic diversification and deepen backward and forward linkages from various segments of the oil and gas sector value chain, thereby fast-tracking our industrialisation,” he said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Lutombi made these remarks at a media conference in Swakopmund yesterday.

The Roads Authority (RA) Chief Executive Officer, Conrad Lutombi, said the institution will not compromise on the technical standards of road infrastructure and will ensure a competent constructor works on the roads.

Lutombi made these remarks at a media conference in Swakopmund yesterday regarding the Pre-Qualification Process for the Rehabilitation of the Usakos-Karibib road, which will be funded by the German Government through the KfW Development Bank.

“This is a very important project, it carries more than 1 000 vehicles per day and we want to construct it with the standard that will live for many more years after we are no longer here,” he emphasised.

According to Lutombi, due to the high technical nature of the work required on this road, RA carried out pre-qualification proceedings in line with section 42 of the Public Procurement Act of 2015.

Furthermore, open international bidding was used in line with annexure two of the Public Procurement Act and as per the procurement requirement of KfW. The project will commence as soon as the bidding process is completed as funds are already available, he noted.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency