Samsung halts sales

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Samsung halts sales Exchange of Note 7 on safety fears The recall has turned into a PR disaster for the company, which prides itself on innovation and quality, and the situation only worsened when reports emerged a week ago of replacement phones also catching fire. Samsung told customers worldwide yesterday to stop using their Galaxy Note 7 smartphones as it struggled to contain a snowballing safety crisis that threatens to derail the powerhouse global brand.

The South Korean conglomerate also called a halt to worldwide sales and exchanges of the troubled handset, as the federal US consumer regulator issued an alarming warning of the possible dangers the device posed to its owners, their families and homes.

The news slammed Samsung''s share price, which plunged as much as seven percent in afternoon trade.

Tuesday''s announcement came a little over a month after the world''s largest smartphone maker announced a recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets following complaints that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging.

The unprecedented move has turned into a PR disaster for the company, which prides itself on innovation and quality, and the situation only worsened when reports emerged a week ago of replacement phones also catching fire.

“If it''s once, it could be taken as a mistake but for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model so there''s going to be a considerable loss of consumer faith,” said Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities.

“The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability ... so in this case brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around again,” Roh said.

Samsung''s statement on Tuesday was the first formal acknowledgement of continued safety concerns with the replacement Note 7s and came a day after it acknowledged it was easing production of the flagship smartphone.

“Because consumers'' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while an investigation is taking place,” the statement said.

A number of major distributors - US telecom firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile - had unilaterally suspended sales and exchanges of the model on Sunday.

Samsung also advised all customers with an original or replacement Galaxy Note 7 to “power down and stop using the device” immediately - a warning echoed by the head of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Elliot Kaye.

“No one should have to be concerned their phone will endanger them, their family or their property,” Kaye said in a press release.

Samsung''s decision to halt sales and exchanges was “the right move” Kaye said, adding that his commission was actively investigating reports of phones overheating and burning in multiple US states.

The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a guidance update, urging all passengers to power off, and not use, charge, or stow in checked baggage, all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices - originals or replacements.

Analysts have suggested that Samsung, battling ever-fiercer competition in the saturated smartphone market, may have rushed production of the Note 7 with bitter rival Apple''s recently released iPhone 7 in mind.

The top-of-the-line Note 7 was crucial to Samsung''s growth plans this year, with the company struggling to boost sales, squeezed by Apple in the high-end sector and Chinese rivals in the low-end market, as profit has stagnated.

Linda Sui, wireless smartphone strategies director at Strategy Analytics, estimated that Samsung could lose “US$10 billion or more” over the recall.

“And the impact on brand image and consumer confidence will be even worse,” Sui said, adding that Samsung might be forced to consider junking the Note 7 completely.

The crisis has shone a spotlight on Samsung''s management at a time when it is navigating a tricky generational power transfer within its founding Lee family.

And Samsung is also under pressure from one of its shareholders, the activist US hedge fund Elliott Management run by billionaire Paul Singer.

In a detailed proposal unveiled last week, Elliott laid out a strategy for streamlining Samsung, splitting the company in two, dual-listing the resulting operating company on a US exchange and paying shareholders a special dividend of 30 trillion won (US$27 billion).

Elliott argued that Samsung, currently a maze of listed and unlisted companies with a notoriously opaque ownership and management structure, had suffered from a long-term undervaluation in the equity market.



NAMPA/AFP

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Rand plummets as Gordhan summonsed

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Rand plummets as Gordhan summonsed Defence lawyers preparing retort Prosecutors remain adamant that a surveillance unit reportedly set up by SA’s current finance minister went against normal, legal practice. NAMPA/REUTERS



South African prosecutors issued Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with a formal summons on Tuesday in relation to the establishment of a tax department investigation unit a decade ago, sending the rand reeling.

The currency fell as much as 3% when prosecutor Shaun Abrahams made his first announcement at a news conference in the capital, Pretoria.

The currency then extended its falls, trading at 14.2950 against the dollar at 08:33 GMT, a 3.5% decline.

Gordhan, who is highly respected by financial markets, has painted the allegations about his role in establishing the special tax unit as “political mischief” but said prosecution officials delivered a summons to his house on Tuesday morning.

He was not at home at the time, he told reporters, adding that his lawyers would be issuing a statement shortly.

Abrahams denied any mischief in the handling of the case, saying the surveillance unit was set up in a “very strange manner” and had not been cleared by the national intelligence services.

Brexit talks shouldn’t aim for punishment: EU’s Moscovici

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Brexit talks shouldn’t aim for punishment: EU’s Moscovici The European Union''s economy commissioner struck a conciliatory tone on the prospect of Britain''s negotiations to leave the bloc, suggesting both sides should take time to prepare for talks and try to avoid acrimony.

“Brexit must not be a punishment” for anybody, Pierre Moscovici, the EU''s economic & financial affairs commissioner, told reporters in Luxembourg as he arrived for a meeting with eurozone finance ministers on Monday.

“It must not be a punishment for Great Britain, or British citizens. It must not be a punishment for the citizens of the rest of the EU.”

Moscovici spoke after returning from Washington, where the International Monetary Fund noted “a fraying consensus about the benefits of cross-border economic integration” in a week when a clearer timetable for Britain''s notification to leave the EU and the prospect of a more abrupt exit prompted the pound to drop to its lowest level since 1985.

While talks in Luxembourg are focusing on Greece, the UK remains a distraction.

Brexit “is an element of context which worries all of us,” Moscovici said. “Now we know when it will be launched, meaning March 2017 is the date Madame May announced herself. So we should prepare, both on the British side and on the European side.”

While he cautioned that negotiations are months away, Moscovici still insisted that their tone should be cordial.

“We must have a clean, a correct negotiation,” he said. “We must have a discussion which is solid, based on principles, principles of the internal market for example,” Moscovici said, noting that “even if the UK is no more in some years to come a member of the European Union, it will remain a very important European country.”

Talks “have to be fair between partners that still respect each other, knowing that our recent past, our present and our future are - whatever happens - interlinked,” he said.



BLOOMBERG

Lonmin ‘can withstand current platinum prices’

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Lonmin ‘can withstand current platinum prices’ Lonmin, the world''s third-largest platinum producer, is producing cash and is able to withstand prices for the metal, which have fallen 20% since the start of last year.

“Our mantra is to be cash-positive including capex at these current prices,” chief executive officer Ben Magara said in an interview at a mining conference in Johannesburg. “After the removal of high-cost production, the costs are in the right direction.”

Lonmin has cut its workforce by almost 20%, or more than 5 400 people, as it attempts to reduce unprofitable production following the December US$407 million (N$5.7 billion) rights issue, sold at a 94% discount. Along with the world''s two biggest platinum miners, Lonmin was hit hard by a five-month strike over pay in South Africa two years ago.

It previously raised US$457 million from shareholders in 2009 and a further US$817 million in 2012 after police opened fire on striking miners near one of its shafts in Marikana.

After the December rights issue, Lonmin had US$69 million of cash once it had paid debts, Magara said. “We moved that number to US$114 million by May. That number continues to get better.”

The company is prioritising capital on mature, stable, long-life shafts that produce 85 to 90% of its output.

“Lonmin has 22 months of developed ground and developed inventory waiting for mining,” he said. “That gives us the optionality if the market turns. We could recruit more people, bring in contractors.”





BLOOMBERG

Bridge needed between rich and poor

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Bridge needed between rich and poor First Lady bemoans Namibia''s dual economy The nation''s poor do not need hand-outs, First Lady Monica Geingos says, but rather help to carve out their own sustainable living. A bridge should be built to close the gap between the two economies in Namibia, First Lady Monica Geingos said when she received a donation of building supplies on Monday.

These two economies, she explained, consist of the well-off minority and the majority living in poverty.

Betcrete Namibia Manufacturing Company donated various types of window and doorframes to the One Economy Foundation of the First Lady, who is also the patron of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN).

Geingos said inequality exists at the bottom of the economy – among the majority of the population – adding that those in need should be helped in a constructive and sustainable way instead of being given hand-outs.

She said if not addressed, inequality can cause serious conflict.

The One Economy Foundation received a donation of building supplies worth N$97 792 from the Betcrete Namibia Manufacturing Company, which specialises in polymer concrete and building supplies for low-cost housing.

The donation includes 110 toilet window frames; 88 kitchen and living-room window frames; 81 bedroom window frames; and 44 doorframes.

The items will be given to low and ultra-low income earners in Swakopmund through the SDFN, which aims to make land and housing accessible to all Namibians through the national Harambee Prosperity Plan.

The federation also services land with equipment it hires and builds houses for low-income groups in informal settlements countrywide.

NAMPA

DBN reports healthy growth for past year

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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DBN reports healthy growth for past year The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has announced its annual results for the 2015/2016 financial year, which show that it managed to grow loans and advances to N$3.8 billion.

Assets grew to N$4.59 billion.

The 2015/2016 results deviate from the norm in covering a 15-month period, with the standard 12-month reporting period to be resumed next year.

Loans and advances stood at N$2.3 billion in 2014, with the growth this year attributed mainly to an increased scope and larger amounts approved per project.

The DBN''s assets stood at N$2.92 billion in 2014, making the last year''s figure 57.2% more than that.

“During the period, the bank, in consultation with the shareholder (government), revised its lending and investment focus and ceased providing direct finance for small and medium enterprises, to focus on provision of finance for infrastructure and to enterprises with an annual turnover of above N$10 million, as well as business projects valued at greater than N$10 million,” the bank said in a statement issued yesterday.

Commenting on this shift in strategic focus, DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi said it was prompted mainly by the mandate of the recently established SME Bank, to provide finance to smaller enterprises, as well as other specialist funds which have broadened the “finance ecosystem of commercial lending activities” aimed at SMEs.

Racism, privilege stoke SA protests

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Racism, privilege stoke SA protests Student fight also about inequality Summary: University tuition fees have become a flashpoint for protests in South Africa, which has struggled to provide education, jobs and housing for many poor black people since the end of apartheid in 1994. Weeks of protests at South African universities have targeted tuition fees - but students say they are also about racism and inequality in a society still plagued by the legacy of apartheid.

The demonstrations have tapped into deep problems in the country, where many black people are unable to get decent education, jobs or housing despite white minority rule ending more than 20 years ago.

At a meeting at the prestigious Wits University in Johannesburg last week, Mcebo Dlamini, one of the student leaders, was greeted with thunderous applause when he tackled the touchstone subject of race.

“We are eager to restore the dignity of black children,” he told the audience of about 1 000, which included only a handful of white people.

“We want a free and decolonised education. We are not equal in this university,” he said.

Over the last three weeks, campuses across South Africa have been gripped by the protests against tuition fees, which could rise by up to eight percent next year.

The protesters have demanded free education, saying that poorer black students are being denied access to universities and good careers.

With several universities forced to close for weeks, the demonstrations have often developed into violent running battles as students hurl rocks, and police fire rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.

“Free education is a way to achieve equality, to repair what people had to go through in the past,” Tauriq, a student protester, told AFP.

“It is about challenging the norms of society, challenging what people consider as normal. If you are not black, you cannot associate with this problem.

“They (white people) don''t understand what it feels like to be in a mall and stand in a corner, and people assume you are going to steal.”

Tauriq''s mother, who is single, has four children and earns US$450 a month.

Without a grant that covers his tuition fees, he would not be able to attend university - but many others don''t have the same support.

The African National Congress (ANC) government has vowed to provide further financial help for all students from poor backgrounds, and said its aim is to provide free university education in the long term.

But it has also warned that public funds are desperately needed elsewhere, and has condemned students who have forced campuses to shut down or been involved in violence.

The protests “should be expected in a society where everything was designed in a way to support and legitimise white supremacy,” Mcebisi Ndletyana, a political science professor at the University of Johannesburg, told AFP.

An internet poll conducted by Wits University suggested most students wanted classes to resume, while a small number of mainly white students have launched a “Keep Wits Open” campaign.

“We agree with the movement but are unhappy with intimidation and the bullying from some of the protesters to stop students entering campus and being chased out of lectures,” said its leader Stuart Young in a video message.

“We are speaking not for the privileged but for students who are trying to graduate this year.”

On Monday, Wits again tried to resume lectures but vicious clashes erupted amid clouds of teargas and a hail of rocks on the steps of the colonnaded Great Hall auditorium.

The government has set up a commission to investigate funding of higher education, but South Africa''s campuses look set for further turmoil before it delivers recommendations sometime next year.



NAMPA/AFP

Remembering Khwezi

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Remembering Khwezi Zuma rape accuser hailed a heroine In 2005 Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, known to the public as Khwezi, said President Jacob Zuma raped her. To the public she was known as President Jacob Zuma''s rape accuser. She was nameless and faceless and the public''s glimpse of her was the picture of her entering court, her face covered with a doek, under heavy protection - on 13 February 2006.

Activists called her Khwezi in an attempt to give her a name and a voice.

Ten years later, South Africans finally know her real name in death: Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo.

Those close to her say she died after finally finding the strength to stop “living anonymously” and, after returning to South Africa, to “pick up the pieces of her shattered life”.

Kay Sexwale, a family friend said, “Fezekile was tortured in many ways but she was now ready to live outside the ''Zuma rape survivor tag''.

“The rape changed her whole life. She not only lost trust of someone she considered a father, but she was trying to pick up her life - to say ''My name is not Jacob Zuma''s accuser, but my name is Fezekile''.”



Demonised

She had a personal relationship with Zuma. He was friends with her father and shared a cell with him on Robben Island. She knew Zuma as a father figure.

She accused him of raping her in his Forest Town, Johannesburg, home – at the height of his political fight to lead the ANC. His supporters demonised her. They labelled her a liar and part of a plot by political opponents to stop then-deputy president Zuma from ascending to the Union Buildings. Zuma was acquitted of the charges in May 2006.

But those who knew her don''t only want to celebrate the “beautiful rose that has fallen”.

Anger and guilt consumes them.

Bhekisisa Mncube knew her from their student days at the University of Natal. He describes her as an ordinary girl full of life and laughter. But remembering her bubbly personality is bitter sweet.

“I feel a sense of guilt that in the free South Africa at some stage she was stateless and died living incognito in her mother land,” Mncube told News 24.



Reporting rape ''a tough thing to do''

Their anger is directed at those they say chose political expediency and told the then-31-year-old woman to flee her country, which she did, fearing for her life.

After the trial, she applied for asylum in the Netherlands with her mother.

Sexwale is still haunted by the “angry and fierce looking men, holding knobkieries outside the court “protesting against Fez, as they affectionately called her.

“We know for anyone to report rape is a tough thing to do. For anyone to report rape against someone as powerful and still persevere...

“She is the strongest woman I know. And people say she is lying. Don''t you think she would at some point have said ''I lied'' so that she can stop hiding? That was not an option because she was not lying.”

She became an accidental activist – using her “tragedies” to raise awareness. Others have used her experiences to speak out against the country''s startling rape culture. Others highlight how rape survivors find themselves on trial. Their sexual history, and not the perpetrators'', is interrogated.

Detractors silenced by death

In August, four women held a silent protest while Zuma gave a speech at the IEC''s results centre in Pretoria following the local government elections.

They held up placards that read “10 years later”, “Remember Khwezi”, “I am one in 3” and “Khanga”, in reference to the trial.

“She was open about her HIV status. She talked a lot about sex and sexuality. She used to teach and raise awareness,” Mncube said.

Those that led the chorus against her, especially within the ANC, appear silenced by her death.

At the time, Julius Malema, who was still ANC Youth League leader and a Zuma supporter, claimed she enjoyed the sex with Zuma because she stayed the night and then asked for taxi money in the morning.

On August 23, Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans'' Association president Kebby Maphatsoe apologised and paid former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils R500 000 in damages. Kasrils sued Maphatsoe after he accused him of instigating the laying of the rape charges.



A lesson to the nation

The ANC Women''s League described Kuzwayo as a brave woman who stood up and told her side of the story. One of the lessons learnt was that women should unite and support victims.

“She highlighted that we are not free as women yet. We still have so many challenges. She definitely stood her ground, even though at the end she lost her case. But the important thing is that she was brave and fearless,” ANCWL secretary general Meokgo Matuba said.

Sexwale said unless the ANCWL was ready to apologise for attacking Kuzwayo at the time of Zuma''s rape trial, it should rather stay silent.

“I am not casting aspersions on individuals, but if the ANCWL is not ready to issue a formal apology, they must just keep quiet,” Sexwale said.

Kuzwayo''s friends said it was sad that South Africa and the world never get to know who she was – the aspirant writer who loved children and was starting a teaching career.

Kuzwayo gave the nation a lesson about the effects our words and actions can have on those without power, Sexwale said.

“We should listen without prejudice. We should know words hurt.”

NEWS24

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A demonstration nation?'

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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A demonstration nation?' It has become a culture in Namibia to see that when two parties do not reach consensus over an issue, or when one party feels neglected by another, a demonstration of discontent takes place. Of course it''s legal for parties in disputes to resort to peaceful demonstration to have their needs met, we even have laws guiding us procedurally on how to conduct demonstrations, but questions remain: Are we becoming a country where disputes are only solved by strikes? Are the solutions resulting from strikes and demonstrations the best ones, or not? A nationwide teachers'' strike is imminent and scheduled to start tomorrow. This however, depends on the decision of the court, because government launched an urgent court application last week for the temporary suspension of the planned strike, ostensibly to allow time for strike rules to be revised to avoid disrupting national examinations. This is despite government''s observation of the voting process of the strike ballot, where the overwhelming majority of teachers voted in favour of strike action. Recently students from two of the University of Namibia northern satellite campuses, Oshakati and Hifikepunye Pohamba campuses respectively, resorted to peaceful demonstrations, of course on two different issues, but the fact remains that Unam management is expected to respond to the demands stipulated in their petitions, or risk students taking matters into their own hands. Let us not forget that when we switch on our television decoders to watch South African news channels or surf the internet, we see that South African students at certain universities are determined to have their needs met, even if it means facing law enforcement. We are curious to find out what will happen to the situation in our sister country, but we surely do not relish the sight of rebellious Namibian students. In addition, the unions representing security guards and the Security Association of Namibia have similarly reached a deadlock over remuneration rates and we hope they find an amicably negotiated solution. Let us allow the political gospel of peace, stability and prosperity to prevail, let us not Harambee together at events and neglect the negotiation tables.

Shot of the day

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Shot of the day HARD WORK: A worker dries rice in a processing plant during harvest season in Leshan County of Changchun, northeast China''s Jilin Province on 11 October 2016. Photo: NAMPA/XINHUA

Angolan San must get out

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Angolan San must get out ''Ancestral land not theirs'' The leader of the !Kung Traditional Authority accuses San people who originally fled from Angola of spreading allegations of wrongful allocations of land in the N‡aJaqna Conservancy. The chief of the !Kung Traditional Authority in the N‡aJaqna Conservancy, Glony Arnold, is accusing !Xun and Khwe San residents of Omatako, which she refers to as the ''Xhuru of Angola'' of not only disrespecting her chieftainship but also of wanting to oust mainly Oshiwambo-speaking Namibians from the area.

Arnold last week vehemently denied claims that she and Agarob ''Alla'' Sauseb, former secretary to her father, the late chief John Arnold, and other councillors are illegally selling off communal land to non-San and allowing the new settlers to fence off large tracts of land in the conservancy area.

Members of various San communities in the conservancy have accused the leaders of the traditional authority of unlawfully and corruptly selling off communal land for as little as a bottle of whiskey, and up to N$20 000.

The communities further said that they are being pushed off the land in the process and cannot access natural resources on which they are dependent.

Arnold took aim at the ''Xhurus'', the small community whose picture appeared in NMH newspapers with an article in which the claims of illegal land transactions, largely with Oshiwambo speakers, were made.

“Most people making these allegations are the San from Angola, and not the [!Kung] San. They say the Owambos must go back to Owamboland; then they must go back to Angola,” Arnold fumed.

The Omatako San community are Vasekela San from Angola and Baragwena indigenous to the Kavango and former western Caprivi areas, and are essentially refugees who were pushed out of Angola in the late 1960s when Soviet and Chinese-backed insurgents fought the former Portuguese colonial regime in that country.

Many of them were subsequently abducted and forced into military service by the South African Defence Force (SADF) and in the mid-1970s were resettled in the Omatako where the !Kung were indigenous to the area.

During an earlier interview with NMH, the community at Omatako said they want to elect their own chief and traditional councillors, since the late John Arnold, and three years later his daughter, Glony, were imposed upon them.

Glony accused one of the !Kung councillors, Sarah Zungu, of instigating the ''Xhurus'' because she had wanted to become chief of the traditional authority herself.

She added: “They are from Angola.

They must go back to Angola. That is all I am saying.

They must go back to Angola and choose their own chief, Sarah Zungu, and their own councillors there. We !Kung do not have a problem with other nations.”

Glony added that if the Oshiwambo-speaking settlers in the N‡aJaqna Conservancy are expected to leave, then all others, including OvaHerero, Okavango and Damara people, should also leave the area.

She also took issue with the suggestion that her promotion in the Namibian army – from lance corporal to captain – after her inauguration as the !Kung chief was to earn favour for her newfound authority over the communal land.

“You cannot stay with the rank of lance corporal while you are a chief,” she protested, adding that the promotion was as a gesture of respect.

Sausab also fiercely denied all allegations of alleged illicit land deals levelled against him and insisted that the right procedures in land allocations are followed and that plots of only up to 20 hectares are allocated.

He denied ever having received any money from land allocations, saying if he had he would not have struggled with the upkeep of his six children.

He also accused the so-called ''Xhurus'' of spreading lies.

“This is not their ancestral land; they are people whose parents were introduced to this area from Angola. Here we have a chief who is accepted under the !Kung,” Sauseb said.

Sausab further denied that the San communities in the conservancy do not have access to fenced-off land, saying they can always cross the fences to collect firewood, devil''s claw and veldkos (wild fruits).

The San communities in the area have said that the new settlers do not allow them to cross the fences because fenced-off land is treated like the private property of the newcomers.



Accusations

Arnold further accused the N?aJaqna Conservancy, of which Zungu is the chairperson, of embezzlement and not working in the best interest of the San communities. She called on the minister of environment and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, and the minister of urban and rural development, Sophia Shaningwa, to investigate the affairs of the conservancy office.

“Money disappears at the conservancy; I want the ministers to get involved,” she said, threatening that a complaint to the environment ministry could cause the closure of the conservancy office, with which the traditional authority has been at loggerheads since the late chief John Arnold''s term.

CATHERINE SASMAN

National Council, Nust ink research deal

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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National Council, Nust ink research deal The National Council and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) have signed an agreement to cooperate in research.

The purpose of this agreement is to deepen the understanding of scientific, technological, historical, social, economic and political issues and to strengthen the bond between the two institutions.

The chairperson of the National Council, Margaret Mensah-Williams, said the deal would be beneficial to parliamentarians.

“Unlike other parliaments, members of our parliament do not have access to the expertise available to the executive and solely rely on the parliamentary staff,” she said.

According to her, the agreement would better equip the National Council''s members, committees and staff to carry out their oversight and support functions.

Nust vice-chancellor Tjama Tjivikua said the university would provide services to strengthen the capacity of the National Council''s research and information unit by customising specific training programmes and collaboration in research with emphasis on achieving evidence-based policy impact.

He added that the overall goal was thus to transfer research knowledge that could inform the national decision-making process.

“This agreement tells us that the government of Namibia (in the form of its National Council) recognises that in order to achieve this area of research excellence and innovation need to be identified, encouraged and promoted. It is with more realisation that the notion of creating ''knowledge systems'' within the higher education sphere has converged towards strategically linking research with innovation activities,” said Tjivikua.

JEMIMA BEUKES

Zambians sentenced for dealing in ivory

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Zambians sentenced for dealing in ivory Two Zambians were jailed for dealing in elephant tusks in the Zambezi Region.

The two men appeared before Katima Mulilo Magistrate Karl Muyeghu on Friday on similar but separate charges.

Joe Mwangala Walubita, 37, was sentenced to three years, of which one was conditionally suspended.

Walubita, a taxi driver, was arrested on 19 August 2016 in the Musanga area, where he was found with eight elephant tusks valued at N$68 591.

The taxi he used to transport the tusks has been forfeited to the State.

During the trial Walubita, who conducted his own defence, maintained he was not a poacher but was merely transporting the tusks.

However, Magistrate Muyeghu said Walubita played a role in the crime as he possessed and transported the tusks for the poachers in return for payment.

“The offence is serious and prevalent. It is regulated by statute.

It cannot be ignored that dangers about the loss of elephants are detailed out on the media and hence, one has to be alive to the increasing loss of animals,” Muyeghu said during sentencing.

In a separate case, 37-year-old Kufuna Kambembe appeared before the same court, also for dealing in elephant tusks.

Muyeghu sentenced Kambembe, who hails from Sesheke in Zambia, to two years'' imprisonment after being found in possession of 14 pieces of ivory valued at N$27 962.

Kambembe was arrested on 27 August 2016 at the Wenela border post when he tried to transport the ivory across the border in a wheelbarrow.

Kambembe said he was paid N$68 (about 50 000 Zambian kwacha) by a stranger who asked him to transport the packages without revealing their content.

Magistrate Muyeghu said the trade in illicit wildlife products is feeding into the black market, which in return contributes to organised crime, and is something that citizens must be deterred from.

“The accused needs to be deterred from committing a similar offence.

“Numerous studies have been done into the effect of poaching of elephant families. In order to maintain biodiversity and the social culture of elephants, poachers need to be deterred and it can be done by the type of sentence imposed,” said Muyeghu.

NAMPA

Teko trio still waiting for ruling

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Teko trio still waiting for ruling The Supreme Court is yet to pronounce itself on an urgent application appealing the dismissal of another application by the High Court in which the ''Teko trio'' sought the recusal of a judge from their trial.

Accused of committing fraud involving more than N$120 million at the Ministry of Finance in 2009, Namibians Teckla Lameck, 48, and Jerobeam Mokaxwa, 30, and Chinese national Yang Fan, 39, appeared in court on Monday.

High Court Judge Naomi Shivute postponed their case until 23 November to allow the Supreme Court to pronounce itself on an appeal by the group against the dismissal of their application for the recusal of Acting High Court Judge Maphios Cheda.

Acting Judge Cheda dismissed the trio''s application for his recusal in a judgment on 14 November 2014.

Not happy with this ruling, the trio''s privately instructed defence lawyer Sisa Namandje approached the Supreme Court with an urgent application appealing against the dismissal of his clients'' application for Judge Cheda to be recused from the trial.

A ruling on this appeal application is still pending.

Lameck, a former Public Service Commission (PSC) member; Mokaxwa - Lameck''s business partner in the Teko Trading company; and Yang denied all 18 charges of fraud at the beginning of their trial in April 2014.

The two Namibians are free on bail of N$50 000 each, while Yang is free on bail of N$1 million.

Their bail was extended until their next court appearance on 23 November.

The three accused were arrested on 8 and 9 July 2009 by officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in connection with the alleged scam through which the Ministry of Finance bought security-scanning equipment from a Chinese company.

About 20 out of more than 80 State witnesses have testified so far. State Advocate Shakwa Nyambe is appearing for the prosecution.



NAMPA

Acquitted Caprivi treason accused back in court

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Acquitted Caprivi treason accused back in court Forty-two of the recently acquitted treason accused are back in court after the State decided to file an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against the acquittal.

The State believes it has reasonable prospects of success on appeal, considering the various rulings by former High Court Judge Elton Hoff, who is now on the Supreme Court bench.

There were 121 accused who originally went on trial for the secessionist uprising in the then Caprivi Region in 1999. There have been acquittals, where certain accused were found not guilty, as well as convictions.

The August 1999 attacks, orchestrated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), rocked Namibia and resulted in a state of emergency being declared in the then Caprivi Region.

The 121 accused were charged with high treason, murder, sedition and many other offences, eventually facing over 270 counts of criminal conduct.

Of the 121 men who went on trial before Hoff at the end of October 2003, 44 were eventually discharged by the High Court after the prosecution closed its case.

In September 2015, 35 accused were found not guilty on the main charge of high treason and related counts while only 30 accused were found guilty and subsequently sentenced.

State Advocate Lourens Ignatius Campher explained in his grounds of appeal that the presiding judge at the end of treason trial changed the law in Namibia concerning the future admittance of evidence and especially on constitutionality issues such as the right to legal aid before a confession is made.

He said the decision by the High Court to acquit the 42 men on high treason, murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of arms and ammunition, will especially bind the lower court.

“It is thus argued that this issue, with its far-reaching consequences should be tested and ruled upon by our Supreme Court,” Campher argued.

The State''s application for leave to appeal to Supreme Court will be heard today in the High Court in Windhoek.

Campher maintained that Hoff, already at the end of the case, granted the State leave to appeal against 12 of the confessions that were ruled inadmissible on constitutionality issues.

According to him, Hoff indicated in his ruling that ruling as inadmissible the so-called “deployment list” is something which possibly can be argued on appeal.

“Once the State is granted leave to appeal their chances of success on appeal in the Supreme Court on the dismissal of vital evidence, such as the so-called deployment lists, and evidence ruled inadmissible on constitutional grounds, such as confession by various accused persons, Section 119 proceedings and bail application, is strong,” Campher maintained.

The State lawyer was in the early stages of the treason trial the prosecutor in the case but had resigned before the trial started and joined the private sector.

He said after he again joined the Office of the Prosecutor General he found that there were numerous civil claims against the government by the accused persons who were acquitted.

The civil claims involved disclosure of numerous documents.

Nearly all of the 30 accused persons that were convicted and sentenced in the case made numerous applications for leave to appeal.

The state intended to defend the convictions and sentences and as such opposed the accused persons leave to appeal.



FRED GOEIEMAN

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Proposal made for taxi drivers

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Proposal made for taxi drivers Proposal submitted to Labour Commissioner A union representing taxi drivers wants a recognition agreement as bargaining agent with employers'' associations in the transport industry. The Namibia Transport and Taxi Union (NTTU) has submitted a draft proposal to the Labour Commissioner for a recognition agreement between itself and employers'' associations in the transport industry in an effort to address the working conditions of taxi drivers.

The proposal follows several meetings with the Ministry of Works and Transport as well as the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation.

During these meetings the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta), Namibian Transport Reform Association (NTRA), and Namibia Public Passenger and the Transport Association (NPPTA) were urged to discuss the concerns raised by the sector and clearly stipulate the roles of employers and employees.

This step followed after taxi drivers organised a demonstration through Windhoek and threatened a nationwide strike should their concerns not be addressed.

The president of NTTU, Werner January, yesterday told Namibian Sun that the proposal was submitted to the Labour Commissioner on Monday and was also hand-delivered to the three employers'' associations. However, according to January, NTRA refused to receive of the document.

According to the proposal NTTU seeks to enter into a recognition agreement with the employers'' associations in the transport sector as an exclusive bargaining agent.

Among the biggest issues to be discussed according to the proposal is the formalisation of the industry as the employees currently have no type of social protection.

It says employees in the industry feel unappreciated and therefore they have adapted a “certain type of attitude”.

The union is asking for better conditions of employment in terms of the Labour Act, saying that a basic salary should be introduced and pay slips must be given to all employees.

It was proposed that a basic salary of N$4 000 should be introduced for taxi drivers driving a sedan vehicle, while local and long-distance drivers of minibuses must be paid N$5 500 plus 20c/km.

It is proposed that Iveco bus drivers be paid N$8 700 plus 30c/km, sedan shuttle drivers should receive N$5 500 and 30c/km while minibus shuttle drivers should receive N$7 500 and 40c/km. Iveco shuttle drivers should receive N$10 300 plus 50c/km.

January said it is important for taxi drivers to move from a commission basis to a fixed salary as they currently do not receive payslips and that is a requirement for entering into contracts.

Furthermore the proposal says that taxi drivers should be provided with social benefits such as pension, disability cover, accident cover, social security, life cover and hospital cover.

It was also pointed out in the proposal that all the basic working conditions according to the labour act should be complied with when it comes to leave days, working at night and working hours.

It is said that overtime, lunch hour and working on Sundays and public holidays should be agreed to between the employee and the employers'' association.

January also said that the proposal stipulates that as long as drivers comply with the conditions of employment according to their contract they should not be held accountable for traffic fines.

The proposal says fines should be issued to the employer as they should have a proper contract of employment stipulating and giving guidance to an employee of what is required of them. However, if an employee acts contrary to what their contract stipulates the employer has the right to discipline them.

January added that fines can be issued to the taxi driver if he was reckless or speeding.

“The employer must realise that they too have a responsibility to the society and have to make sure that things are done in a legally correct manner.”

Once the agreement is finalised it is aimed that it should form part of the Rapid Result Strategy for the Road Public Passenger Transport Industry in Namibia.



ELLANIE SMIT

B1 road claims more victims

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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B1 road claims more victims FATAL: The driver of this bakkie died in an accident between Windhoek and Brakwater at 06:47 yesterday morning. The police could not give details about the incident but the MVA Fund said there were between 15 and 17 people involved in the accident. The Fund said four people were injured, one of them in the bakkie with the deceased. The other three were travelling in a 60-seat bus that was involved in the accident. It is alleged that the driver’s body was trapped in the bakkie and had to be removed with the Jaws of Life.

Photo: ???

Authorities slipped up

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Authorities slipped up Report highlights weak water governance A report on water governance slams poor planning and execution as the reasons for the current water crisis. A critical overview of Namibia''s current and historical record on water governance takes aim at a number of failures to act by authorities despite clear indications that water is running out.

Titled ''Water Governance in Namibia: A Tale of Delayed Implementation, Policy Shortfalls and Miscommunication'', the report highlights a number of issues that have limited the country''s ability to address its critical water problems and relentless demand.

The report states that in 2008, total water demand from urban, rural, mining, livestock, tourism and other sectors was calculated to be 334.1 million cubic metres per year.

In 2015, annual demand had risen to 426.7 million cubic metres. In 2020, demand is expected to shoot up to 583.4 million cubic metres.

Despite this, institutional weaknesses, including poor communication, lack of governance, and failure to implement plans and policies, have led to a sluggish response to increasing water demand coupled with recurring drought and other challenges.

Yet, while the report highlights many issues linked to the public water sector, it emphasises that the government alone should not be responsible for addressing the magnitude of water management issues.

“All citizens need to rethink their attitude and activities with regard to their use of this precious resource.”

The analysis, produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), includes a number of recommendations which should be implemented as a matter of urgency, including “a far more open, sober and frank dialogue” about water resource management between all stakeholders, including the public.

According to the report, the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Plan for Namibia estimates that roughly 97% of rainfall in Namibia is lost through evaporation.

Merely two percent ends up as run-off surface water and only one percent recharges groundwater aquifers.

Yet, despite these numbers, “it can be argued that in Namibia the water sector has not been given the attention from a governance perspective that it rightly deserves,” the report states.

The authors argue that although at a “cursory glance the theme of water supply and sanitation in the country''s post-independence development had, and continues to have a fairly important role”, a closer look at the current water sector reveals a number of deficiencies.

The most obvious example is the current central area water crisis “brought about primarily by the failure of the state to address the situation as a matter of national urgency”.

“Similar to other sectors in Namibia, water and sanitation is hampered by poor implementation of overall sound if ambitious policies,” the report reads.

Moreover, mistrust and a lack of communication between public institutions, the private sector and the general public “severely limits problem-solving approaches.”

Other issues listed include severe underinvestment, limited capacity and technical skills, poor coordination among stakeholders and weak regulation and enforcement.

Another issue is the number of institutions involved in regulating and managing the water sector.

“As it stands the various institutions responsible for the water and sanitation sector are all struggling to meet their assigned responsibilities,” the report states.

It says while the government has placed emphasis on policies and reports, capacity building and training was neglected despite concerns about the lack of capacity to manage water resources.

Despite a critical shortage of skills and capacity in the sector, “there are few visible concerted efforts apparent that seek to mitigate and reverse the situation.”

Researchers found that NamWater''s staff complement declined by nearly half, from 1 160 to 601 between 2001 and 2008. In its 2015 annual report, NamWater stated that although it had approved a permanent workforce of 660, only 584 positions had been filled.

Most vacancies are located in the Water Supply and Engineering & Scientific Services departments, positions critical to Namibia''s water governance.

Another challenge is a lack of coordination and communication, which is described as weak in the report. The criticism concerns not only communication between various public institutions, but also addresses the “oftentimes patchy and poor” communication directed to the public and business fraternity.

Recommendations include finalising regulations for the Water Resources Management Act, establishing key governing institutions including the Water Advisory Council, implementing the IWRM plan and fast-tracking water infrastructure projects.

Both government and the public sector should place more emphasis on water demand management practices to ensure that environmental sustainability is pursued.

JANA-MARI SMITH

Never too late to renegotiate

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Never too late to renegotiate JEMIMA BEUKES

Ombudsman John Walters says negotiators on behalf of the government and labour unions should have tried harder to avert the looming teachers’ strike in the spirit of give and take.

He appealed to both parties that it is not too late to go back to the negotiation table in the interest of the Namibian child.

Walters said children’s constitutional right to education weighs heavier than the teachers’ right to strike, which is not an absolute right.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, the Ombudsman also criticised the fact that children and parents have not been consulted about the imminent legal strike, which could cause them “irreparable damage”.

“I believe that parents, more than anybody else, must at least be consulted, at least be brought into the entire process of striking,” he said.

“Children should be given the opportunity to express their views and their views should be given due weight in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

According to him, parents should have been consulted before and during the negotiations on salary increases for teachers.

“This does not mean teachers must be expected to work in extremely difficult conditions, overcrowded classrooms, shortage of basic classroom resources, a lack of proper sanitation facilities at school and a lack of proper housing for themselves,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yvonne Dausab, the new chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission, has said that the government is not entitled by law to replace striking workers, unless existing workers are willing to work during the strike.

“If we can prove that there will be irreversible damage one hopes that the court will reasonably allow the government to find some way of manning those stations, because once the strike starts the damage to the child will be irreparable,” she said.

The law lecturer said the biggest losers in this dispute will be the vulnerable learners in government schools.

Guarding millions, paid peanuts

October 11, 2016, 3:00 pm

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Guarding millions, paid peanuts Deadlock in security guard wage talks Negotiations on improving the pay and working conditions of security guards have ground to a halt. JANA-MARI SMITH



A stalemate has been declared in wage negotiations between workers’ unions and security industry bosses, with guards saying they are fed up with low pay and bad working conditions.

In a joint press statement yesterday trade unions working on behalf of the roughly 17 000 security guards around the country warned that if the labour conciliation process does not resolve the issue “the nation should prepare for the worst as security guards are tired of working for peanuts.”

Recently, John Kwedhi, general secretary of the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers Union (Natau), told Namibian Sun that many security officials continue to work in “really terrible conditions”.

Kwedhi said basic working conditions, including a lack of toilet facilities and illegal deductions from salaries, continue to plague the mostly unregulated industry.

“These are harsh conditions,” he said.

According to the unions, the deadlock was reached on Monday after the Security Association of Namibia (SAN), representing security company owners, and the unions refused to budge from their respective minimum hourly and monthly wage proposals.

The unions’ final demand dropped from an initial N$15 per hour minimum rate to N$12.50 per hour across the board, resulting in a final monthly minimum salary of N$3 300.

SAN’s final offer was a minimum entry-level rate of N$7.50 per hour. Their offer included an offer of N$8.75 per hour for security guards working for a year or more, resulting in a monthly rate of N$2 310.

The three unions taking the battle to the Labour Commission include Natau, the Namibia Independence Security Union (NISU) and the Namibia Security Guards and Watchman Union (NASGWU), with support from the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna).

The unions yesterday warned that failure to resolve the dispute would have widespread negative consequences for Namibia, as high-value properties “may be left without protection”.

Tucna president Paulus Hango yesterday said that Namibia is recognised as one of the most unequal countries in the world. “Wage differentials rather than unemployment are regarded as driving inequality,” he said.

He said it is the duty of trade unions to work harder to raise minimum wages, as studies have shown that higher minimum wages can help quash poverty and inequality. Moreover, increased pay can provide a stimulus to the economy with potentially favourable effects benefiting the whole country.

Hango said in Namibia many hard workers still cannot afford basic necessities. “They are struggling to pay rent and take care of their families.”

Previously, SAN members argued that the wage demands were unrealistic and irresponsible, as they could lead to job losses. The association argued that clients of security companies would rather hire fewer guards than pay much higher rates.

Nevertheless, Hango yesterday cited a series of recent studies on the impact of raising minimum wages, all of which dismissed claims that increasing wages would cause unemployment and close businesses.

Instead, the studies found that the most significant impact of increasing minimum wages was on reductions in labour turnover, “which yield significant cost savings to employers”.

Requests for comments from SAN representatives were not answered by the time of going to print yesterday.