Category: General

Leader of the Batswana Ba Namibia in Aminuis in the Omaheke Region, Andrew Mongwaketsi Kgosiemang says his people need more land as the tribe is growing.

Speaking recently at the Tsjaka Industrial and Agricultural Show the traditional authority leader said he is ready to advise on the land issue with the country’s leaders and urged them to consider availing more land to the Batswana Ba Namibia.

“I am informed that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform wishes to revisit the resettlement programme, we are willing to share our experiences when the time is right,” he said.

Kgosiemang further said in the early 1980s the Batswana administrative authority bought the 10 farms around Tsjaka which were allocated to Batswana farmers and they, according to him, divided it into units.

“Although these farms or units were bought for Batswana, people from other tribes were also included and they are here with us. Programmes were initiated to change the then communal farmers to commercial farmers,” he said.

“Through mentor programmes, I am proud to announce that indeed some communal farmers graduated and some bought commercial farms, and they are still proud farmers,” he added.

The traditional leader said there is still confusion after more than 30 years about whether the area is communal or used for resettlement and this has become a problem as they do not benefit from many projects given to communal areas and resettled farmers.

“This confusion has cost our farmers. I am in contact with the land reform ministry and hope very soon this issue will be resolved. I am requesting [President Hage Geingob] to look into purchasing more farms, because families have grown,” he said.

The chief said land is an issue because even their children who went abroad for greener pastures are coming back to Namibia and they too will need land, thus he also advised those who can, to start buying farms and apply for resettlement farms.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

A 28-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting her 63-year-old mother at Ongudi village in the Ohangwena Region on Friday.

The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in a crime report on Sunday reported that the suspect allegedly attacked her mother with a panga, inflicting wounds on her hands, chest and mouth.

“The victim was taken to the Oshakati State Hospital for treatment,” the crime report said.

The police also reported that a 30-year-old male suspect was arrested for allegedly stabbing a 21-year-old man in the head with a kitchen knife in Windhoek’s Otjomuise residential area on Friday.

The victim has been admitted to the hospital and police investigations continue.

Meanwhile, a man died instantly after being struck in the head with an empty bottle by a 21-year-old woman at Ouholamo in the Eenhana Constituency on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as 33-year-old Matias Mwetufa.

It is alleged that the suspect was assaulting a young man when Mwetufa tried to intervene.

She then allegedly turned on him, went into a shebeen and came out with the bottle and hit the deceased over the head.

The woman has been arrested.

The deceased’s next of kin were informed, and police investigations continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has expressed dissatisfaction with the N85 billion contract for the provision of infrastructure for the Wasa Affordable Housing project in Wasa District, Abuja.

Wike expressed the displeasure when he led the Minister of State for FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud and other government officials visited the road construction site for the housing estate on Monday.

Earlier, Mr Olusegun Olusan, acting Coordinator, Satellite Town Development Department, explained that the contract for the provision of the infrastructure was awarded in 2014 at N26 billion but revised to N85 billion in 2018.

Olusan told the minister that so far, a total of N21 billion had been paid to the contractor with a balance of N64 billion, adding that the percentage of work done so far is 21.4 per cent.

On the housing scheme, the coordinator explained that government’s role was to provide the land and infrastructure, while private developers will build houses and sell to the masses at affordable rates.

He added that at the conception of the project, a two-bedroom flat was to be sold to the masses at N7 million.

But the minister was not impressed with the arrangement made by the FCT, stressing that government should not spend N85 billion to provide infrastructure, land and benefit nothing.

“We are not impressed with the arrangement made by the FCT. Government cannot just cough out N85 billion in providing infrastructure and then give land out to private developers who will build and sell.

“This kind of arrangement is not commendable at all, at all. We think that the government must also participate, having provided the land and infrastructure.

“If we are partnering with private individuals or developers, the common sense is that you provide the land, provide infrastructure and they come and develop.

“Then government for example can take 10 per cent then the developers take 90 per cent, depending on the value,” he said.

Wike said that under such arrangements, the government would be able to determine the price the houses would be sold to the masses, saying that the masses could not afford N7 million for a house.

He said that the project would be revisited for proper planning in a way that the government would benefit from the project and ensure that the masses who the houses were being built for could afford it.

On the project delay, which was nine years and counting, the minister said that FCT would not be awarding contracts for awarding sake.

“We will award contact that we know we will finish before embarking on another contract.

“Every contract is abandoned because there is no money. So, we are going to look at everything,” the minister said.

Earlier, the minister visited the ongoing road construction leading to the Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission and the Body of Benchers building.

The minister said that the contractor was invited for a meeting on Tuesday to work out ways to complete the road project.

“We have also been to Kabusa Junction, Abuja, where shanties were destroyed by development control. Like we said, we cannot allow shanties to take over the FCT.

“The development control has done well by making sure that the shanties in the area are destroyed and we are going to protect the area to ensure that the miscreants do not return to mess up the place again,” Wike said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, says there is need for immediate rehabilitation of the critical infrastructure at the Apapa and Tincan Island ports

Oyetola said this during his maiden visit to the Tincan and Apapa Ports on Monday in Lagos.

The minister also urged terminal operators to support the Federal Government in the rehabilitation of the ports.

According to Oyetola, the rehabilitation of the port is going to be a collaboration between government and the terminal operators.

“My coming out today is to see things for myself. I have seen the challenges, the need to actually do a lot of things about our port.

“Infrastructure are almost collapsing from what I have seen, so a major rehabilitation has to be carried out.

“I am looking forward to the terminal managers beginning to contribute to the rehabilitation of the port.

“Its important and if they do that, they will make more money for themselves,” he said.

The minister pointed out that he was impressed with the management of the ports so far, adding that he would support them.

As regards the quay wall, he noted that he had asked NPA for a report of what they had carried out so far, adding that they need to know the numbers to be able to sort them out to get the president’s approval.

Oyetola said he believes that the blue economy is a sector that will generate revenue for government, adding that the country needs the infrastructure to balance up.

“If we have the right infrastructure in place, it will be a way of domestication of the economy.

“We rely so much on oil. So a lot of other opportunities have been untapped for so many years. I think we must commend the president for taking this initiative, I believe we can do it.

“To address the collapse of the port, there is need to rehabilitate the port as a matter of urgency, dredging has to continue,” he said.

The minister added that as regards access road, it would be looked into it and he would engage the Minsters of Works and Transportation to see what they could do together.

“I have discussed with the Minister of Transportation in respect of the rails. With all these things in place, I think we are good to go.

“On issues at the other ports like the eastern one, it will also be addressed. We are looking at the totality of the port,” he said.

On his part, Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) commended the minister for visiting the port and for supporting the agency.

He assured the minister of the agency’s support in line with the Federal Government’s agenda.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Basking in the euphoria of his feat as the first African and Nigerian ever to play at the quarter-finals of international badminton classics, Anuoluwapo Opeyori has set his eyes on becoming a legend of the game.

Currently the highest ranked player in Africa, Opeyori in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos, disclosed that he wants to win as many medals as possible.

NAN reports that Opeyori at the just-concluded 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics, powered his way to the quater-finals of the Men’s Single category.

Opeyori was sent out of the competition by the category’s eventual winner, 22-year-old Brazilian Jonathan Matias.

The 26-year-old Opeyori, a three-time gold medalist at the National Sports Festival (NSF), 2018, 2020 and 2022, told NAN that he is proud of his achievements so far, and willing to step up his game.

“I feel elated with this feat and I am proud of myself being the first Nigerian in the quater-finals of the Lagos International Classics, it is a good one for me.

“At first, I was pessimistic about my form to go through the knockout stage; but because I need the results, it took me a bit of a fight to get through the first round.

“Also playing in front of the home fans is another thing for me.

“However, after the first match and round of qualifications, I got another level of confidence and able to get to the next stage.

“The future is there for me; it’s just for me to continue to play more competitive matches to get cumulative points required; maybe up to 12,” he said.

On the next challenge of qualifying for the Olympics, Opeyori, also a three-time African Champions, 2019, 2022 and 2023, said playing at the Paris 2024 would be a dream come true.

“The qualifiers for the Olympics started in May, and we are still acquiring more points till next year when the qualifications will end.

“For me, I will continue to play at my best and doing it right and getting the right results that will be a high point for me, and a dream to play at the Olympics.

“I want to keep dominating till I become a legend eventually. There is nothing wrong in having multiple titles; we have people like me achieving such, so it’s not out of place.

“I want winning matches to be a norm for me, whenever I am playing I should play at my best,” he said.

Opeyori added: “I would have loved to play at the next classics in Guatemala, but it won’t happen because of issues with transit visa.

“There are lots of problems with transit visa to that country because it’s not a direct flight and it’s difficult to get visa.

“As a green passport holder, it is sometimes difficult to get visas.

“However, I am looking forward to the next classics also in this September in Vietnam; that is if I am able to get their visa,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between her department and Airbnb to support the continued recovery of the tourism sector and build inclusive tourism in South Africa.

“The MoU will see the Department of Tourism work closely with Airbnb to advance tourism services that are aimed at growing tourism in South Africa and creating more jobs in the sector,” De Lille said.

The MoU seeks to grow collaboration between government and the private sector, as it is “a collective responsibility to grow and enhance tourism sector”.

“As government, if we want to significantly grow tourism and its contribution to the economy and job creation, collaboration with the private sector is vital. We are delighted to be the first African Ministry of Tourism to sign a collaborative MoU with a successful global company such as Airbnb,” she said.

The Minister explained that by leveraging Airbnb’s global reach and understanding of the market, the collaboration seeks to create a positive impact on local communities, travellers and the tourism industry as a whole.

“The primary goal of this collaboration is to develop a relationship between the Ministry, entity and Airbnb to harness and drive tourism domestically and internationally.

“As shared in the department’s Green paper, insufficient information is available about the unregulated short-term rental subsector, and this hampers informed policy decision making. Access to the Airbnb data can only assist in informing better decisions,” De Lille said.

As part of the MoU, the parties will have regular engagements to evaluate opportunities for strategic collaboration on driving inclusive tourism and ensuring fair and proportionate regulation of short-term rentals.

Velma Corcoran, Regional Lead: Middle East Africa at Airbnb, said they look forward to working with the Department of Tourism to help build a more inclusive and sustainable tourism economy in South Africa.

Corcoran said the Airbnb platform can help anyone, anywhere, to become a tourism entrepreneur, and that they hope to continue to break down systemic barriers to entry and enable more South Africans to participate in the sector.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the department to develop a clear, proportionate national framework for the regulation of short-term rentals and see huge power in public and private sector collaborations. We also know from our work with the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, that together, we can make a tangible difference and enable more people, in more places, to benefit from tourism,” said Corcoran.

The signing of the MoU is in line with the aims of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan, which is key to the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

The Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP) was adopted by Cabinet in March 2021 to facilitate the recovery of the sector to preserve jobs and livelihoods, facilitate new job opportunities, match demand and supply, and strengthen transformation.

Source: South African Government News Agency