Barcelona shell-shocked by defeat

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Barcelona shell-shocked by defeatPSG’s Di Maria shines in massive victory Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) gave La Liga’s Barcelona the shock of their life on Tuesday, as they thrashed them 4-0. NAMPA/AFP



Barcelona coach Luis Enrique admitted his side's Champions League hopes are all but over for this season after they were outclassed 4-0 by a brilliant Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in their last 16 first leg on Tuesday.

Angel Di Maria scored twice for the French champions on his 29th birthday at the Parc des Princes, while Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani - on his 30th birthday - were also on target in a stunning home performance.

The result leaves PSG on the brink of a place in the quarter-finals for the fifth season in succession, while Barcelona are staring at their earliest exit since losing to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2007.

It was the Catalans' worst night in Europe since their 7-0 aggregate mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich in the 2013 semi-finals, and no team has ever gone through after losing 4-0 in the first leg of a European tie.

"It is difficult to explain. They were superior to us from the start," admitted Luis Enrique.

"There was a 15-minute spell in the first half in which we were on top, but otherwise PSG attacked quickly on the break and created a lot of chances.

"It was a disastrous night for us. They were completely superior. There is not much more to say."

Di Maria, the former Real Madrid winger, opened the scoring with a free-kick in the 18th minute and Germany star Draxler marked his European debut for the club with the second goal five minutes before the interval.

Di Maria curled in his second and the home side's third 10 minutes after half-time before Cavani completed the rout with his 34th goal of the campaign in the 71st minute.

"PSG did what we expected them to do and produced their best version and we were at our poorest," the Barcelona coach added. "It's extremely difficult for us now but we go back to our stadium and really we need a heroic performance but why not dream?

"These players have shown down the years that they can get great results. Our chances are slim but there is a chance all the same."

History suggests their chances are less than slim and the tie is PSG's to lose now after what was a signature European performance from the French champions.

They had twice been eliminated by Barca in the four seasons prior to this, but their 3-1 home defeat to the Catalans in 2015 was their only loss in their 42 previous European outings at the Parc des Princes.

Coach Unai Emery, meanwhile, had only won one of 23 games against Barcelona in his coaching career, but his team destroyed their opponents right from the off.

Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta all endured miserable nights while the likes of Draxler, Di Maria, Adrien Rabiot and Thomas Meunier were all superb.

Centre-back Presnel Kimpembe also produced an accomplished display on his Champions League debut at the age of 21 in place of injured captain Thiago Silva.

"We could not have imagined a better evening. To win 4-0 against Barcelona on my birthday is incredible," Di Maria told beIN Sports.

"It was the perfect match. But to go through we will need to play like this again because they are also capable of scoring four goals."

Emery could be forgiven for basking in the glory of such a victory after the criticism he faced in his early months in France.

However, the Spaniard preferred to strike a note of caution ahead of the return.

"We put in a great effort against a great team but the message in the dressing room was that we still have 90 minutes to play.

"Satisfaction for a coach is very short-lived and I respect the great team that Barcelona are."

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Police free Hackett after drunken rage: reports

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Police free Hackett after drunken rage: reports NAMPA/AFP

Police released troubled Australian swimming star Grant Hackett without charge yesterday as the Olympic gold medallist's family voiced fears for his mental health.

The fallen star's father Neville called police to their home at Southport on the Gold Coast after a bout of heavy drinking led to "uncontrollable rage", the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

"Grant's got a medical problem and it manifested itself here this morning ... he was raving and ranting a bit," Neville told the newspaper.

"It's what I'd call a bit of a breakdown."

The 36-year-old in 2014 came out of six years of troubled retirement to try to make the Rio Games, hoping to become the oldest Australian swimmer to qualify for an Olympics.

But he narrowly missed out on an Olympic place and last April hit the headlines again after a meltdown on a plane.

He vowed to quit the bottle after being accused of drunkenly squeezing the nipple of a fellow business-class passenger on a flight from Adelaide, where the Olympic swimming trials were held.

Hackett admitted he had been binge-drinking and apologised to the man whose nipple he pinched.

"This is now a chronic problem ...so, from a mental health perspective, I hope something can be done," Hackett's brother Craig told reporters.

"This is not Grant Hackett, this is a completely different person. I don't know this person, my mum and dad don't know this person.

"He's there in body, but he is not there in mind, in soul, or spirit," he said.

Hackett, one of the greats of Australian swimming, retired after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, having won the 1500m freestyle in both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics. He also claimed four world titles in the 30-lap event.

Mayweather quashes McGregor fight

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Mayweather quashes McGregor fight NAMPA/AFP

Floyd Mayweather has shot down rumours of a deal to fight martial arts star Conor McGregor, insisting he is content to remain retired.

The 39-year old American took to his social media Instagram account late Tuesday, telling his fans that he wanted to set the record straight.

"There seems to be several rumours floating around media recently, however, let the record show, there hasn't been any deal made in regard to a fight between myself and any other fighters. I am happily retired and enjoying life at this time. If any changes are to come, be sure that I will be the first to let the world to know."

Mayweather's statement may be sincere or it may not be. He has been known in the past to often stretch the truth, announcing several times that the fight of the moment would be his last only to use that ploy as a bargaining tool to try and sell more tickets.

The possibility of a fight between boxer Mayweather and McGregor appeared to get a boost as Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White said he'd pay $25 million to each.

White, the president of the popular UFC mixed martial arts brand in which Ireland's McGregor stars seemed to indicate in his comments on a Fox radio broadcast that the two would meet in a boxing ring, not the UFC octagon.

Mayweather, who retired in 2015 with a perfect 49-0 record, is considered one of the greatest fighters of all-time. McGregor has never fought a professional boxing match.

McGregor became the first man to simultaneously hold UFC titles in two weight divisions when he beat Eddie Alvarez in New York on November 12.

At the end of November he was issued a California boxing licence in a development that fuelled speculation about a showdown between the two.

Efundja mOmungwelume lyapetha aalongi yondjila uusama

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Efundja mOmungwelume lyapetha aalongi yondjila uusama Aakalimo yomOmungwelume otaya popi kutya aalongi oshowo aathaneki yondjila ta yilongwa pokati koShakati-Omungwelume oyo ya etitha efundja, mo ku idhimbika omayele gaakwashigwana kombinga yomatondokelo gomeya.

Ongulohi yOmaandaha omudhingoloko nguka ogwa li gwa mono omuloka omunene ngoka gwe etitha opo omagumbo, oostola noondunda dhomanwino dhiyelulwe kefundja, naakwashigwana oya popi kutya efundja olya etithwa sho omatondokelo gomeya ga thitikwa kwaamboka ta yalongo ondjila.

Elenga ekuluntu lyoshikandjo shaMungwelume mElelo lyUukwanyama, Linda Mweetako, okwa lombwele oNamibian Sun kutya oya kala ye shi shi kutya ehala ndika oli li moshiponga shefundja omolwa omukalo ngoka ondjila ndjoka ya longwa. “Sho ya tameke niilonga yondjila omumvo gwaziko, otwe ya lombwele kombinga yefundja ihe ina ye tu pulakena. Oya thitike ondjila yomeya nepandanda ndyoka lyuuka kondjila onene. Ndika ekanitho enene kaantu yomOmungwelume,” Mweetako ta ti. Mweetako ngoka e li omunangeshefa mOmungwelume okwa popi kutya, ostola ye na yo oyuudha omeya niimaliwa ye oshowo iilandithomwa ye oya yonagulwa po. Ondjila ndjoka oya longwa koshimaliwa shoomiliyona 229 kehangano lyaChina lyedhina Zhongmei Engineering Group, niilonga mbyoka oya tamekele mo-2015.

“Ongeshefa yandje oya kalapo uule woomvula 16 naashika osho oshikando shotango tayi yi kohi yomeya. Omvula oya tameke lwopotundi 23:00, ongulohi yOmaandaha. Oongeshefa odha li dha pata nale pethimbo ndyoka sho omeya ga tameke okuya meni lyoondingosho dhetu no katuna shoka twali ta tu vulu okuninga.” Mwene gwomukunda Omungwelume, Festus Hamutoko okwa ti ye okwa kokela momukunda nguka na olyo efundja lyotango ta mono momudhingoloko gwawo. “Omungwelume ogu na omatungo ogendji ngashiingeyi, omeya agehe ta ga zi komatungo otaga tondokele mondjila yomeya ndjoka ya thitikwa. Sho ya tameke iilonga otwa ningi omutumba nooindjiniya ihe oye tu idhimbike. Otwe ya tegelela opo yetu hupithe konkalo ndjika.” Aakwashigwana oya lopota efundja ndyoka ku nakulonga opate oshowo omwiindjinia ngoka a tindi oku gandja edhina lye koshifokundaneki shika, ihe okwa popi kutya ke na sho ta vulu okuninga. “Nguka omukundu omunene no katuna sha shoka tatu vulu okuninga. otatu ka kala omutumba nokukundathana kutya otatu ningi ngiini. Otatu gandja ombili mwaashoka.”



ILENI NANDJATO

Omithigululwakalo dhimwe ota dhi ehameke uuthemba womuntu

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Omithigululwakalo dhimwe ota dhi ehameke uuthemba womuntu Omukalelipo gwoUnited Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) moNamibia, Micaela Marques de Sousa okwa popi kutya omithigululwakalo nomaitaalo gopambepo ina ga longithwa onga omaipopilo gokuya uuthemba womuntu pondje.

Okwa li a popi ngaaka pethimbo aapopitha aantu mboka ya li poshigongiilonga shopashigwana kombinga yiinima mbyoka tayi yi pondje nokushundula uuthemba womuntu. Oshigongiilonga shika osha ningilwa moKatima Mulilo mOshitopolwa shaZambezi.

Marques okwa popi kutya, Unicef oku na oshilalakanenwa shokugamenena uuthemba waanona na okwa popi kutya ehangano lyawo otali yambidhidha iiyetwapo ayihe mbyoka ya nuninwa okuninga omahwahwameko go ku gamenena no ku kaleka kokule iinima mbyoka tayi yi moshipala uuthemba waanona yaakadhona oshowo aakiintu.

De Sousa okwa popi kutya aakiintu naanona oya kala moshiponga sho ku ningilwa iinima mbyoka ta yi shundula omauthemba ga wo ngaashii oondjokana dhaanona, iikumungu yuuthiga , omadhengo gaakiintu, omiyonena dhuukashike ko-okantu, omamonitho giihuna oshowo okukakala moondjkona naantu ye vulithe pu gumwe okutumbulapo owala yimwepo.

De Sousa okwa popi kutya omaihumbato gaakiintu naanona oga talika ko ku yamwe kutya omithigululwakalo na oge li mondjila. Okwa popi kutya kwiikwatelelwa komiyalu ndhoka dha pitithwa aanona ya thika po 2 759 unene aakadhona oya li ya kondjithilwa moondjokana dhopamuthigululwakalo. Olopota yo-2015 NGO Shadow Report oya ulike kutya Namibia oku li ponomola ontine momamonitho giihuna yopamilalo, omakwatonkonga oshowo okulongekidhila aanona yaakadhona okuninga aakiintu yolela.

“Omikalo ndhika ohadhi etitha uuwehame, omamonitho lyiihuna nesithohoni mokati kaakiintu naanona yaakadhona.”

Okwa dhimbulukitha oonakukala poshigongi kutya Namibia okuli momusholondondo gwiilongo iikwawo yaAfrika mbyoka ya shaina okatokolitho ko kuhulithapo iinima yopamumuthigululwakalo mbyoka ta yi shundula uuntu womuntu.

De Sousa okwa popi kutya nonando oshilongo oshina Ompango yEgameno lyAanona nEsiloshimpwiyu yomomumvo 2015, omikalo odhindji dhopamithigululwakalo ndhoka dha nika oshiponga odhili dha patewa pondje kompango ndjika.

Okwa tsikile kutya natango iinima oyindji oya patelwa pondje kompango yokukondjitha omakwatonkonga oshowo ndjoka yokukondjitha omiyonena dhomomagumbo.

Okwa pandula epangelo lyaNamibia sho lya tula miilonga iiyetwapo ya nuninwa okuhwahwameka ompango yegameno lyaanona mokati kookomufala yopolisi, aaniilonga yezulonkalo, aapanguli noomangestrata opo ku hulithwepo omiyonena tadhi ningilwa aanona.



DORCAS MHUNGU

Husab construction completed

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Husab construction completed Photo: Jessica Botes

READY TO ROLL: With the Husab mine construction project having been completed at the end of 2016, the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (Manwu) on Monday officially handed over the mine to the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN). According to the chief executive officer of Swakop Uranium, Zheng Keping, the first yellowcake uranium was produced for export in December 2016. The mine’s plant will be fully operational within the next 20 months. From the left are Manwu president Angula Angula, Erongo governor Cleophas Mutjavikua, Zheng Keping of Swakop Uranium and MUN executive Jackie Karumbo.

Namibia fosters African development

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Namibia fosters African development NAMPA

Namibia will continue doing its part in fostering the economic transformation of Africa, economic planning minister Tom Alweendo said on Monday.

Alweendo issued a statement after making a presentation at the second German-African Business Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, last week.

The summit focused on Africa’s economic growth, business potential and future trends in African–German cooperation. The first one was held in Berlin, Germany, in 2015.

Alweendo informed participants that over the past five years, Namibia’s average economic growth was more than 5 percent.

“Now classified as an upper-middle-income economy, our focus now is to continue investing in the needed infrastructure such as energy, water, transport, information and communication technology (ICT), and skills,” Alweendo said.

He said Namibia had a strategy to become the logistics and distribution hub for the Southern African Development Community region and the continent at large. Thus, he invited potential investors to fulfil Namibia’s development agenda.

The minister said Namibia, like any African country, was committed to respond to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to learn how the continent could effectively learn from the past and build on the progress under way.

He said for too long Africa had been seen through the eyes of those who did not have Africa’s interest at heart.

“If it was not referred to as the 'Dark Continent', it was labelled as a hopeless continent. However of late, the narrative seemed to have changed: we now hear Africa is rising.”

Alweendo said through Agenda 2063, Africa could strategically exploit all possible opportunities available in the immediate and medium term.

“This new African development roadmap emphasises the importance of success through the restoration of the passion for Pan-Africanism: a sense of unity, self-reliance, integration and solidarity.”

Alweendo called for revitalised global partnerships for development that brings together government, civil society, the private sector and other sectors to mobilise all available resources.

For Africa’s industrialisation to succeed, he said, it was important to reconsider how the current international trading system was arranged, while recognising that Africa’s share of global trade was 2.4 percent and that of Sub-Saharan Africa 1.7% in 2016.

“It is our view that the current trading system needs to be improved in order to promote fairness in international trading,” Alweendo said.

More than 500 ministers and business representatives from Kenya, Namibia, Germany, Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria attended the summit.

BoN keeps repo rate at 7%

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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BoN keeps repo rate at 7%Inflation accelerates as year starts The annual inflation rate increased to 8.2% in January 2017 from 7.3% in December 2016, marking the highest level of inflation since October 2009. STAFF REPORTER



The Bank of Namibia kept the repo rate unchanged at 7% yesterday. Announcing the decision, the central bank said the rate remained appropriate to support the one-on-one link between the Namibian dollar and the South African rand while supporting economic growth.

On price movements on the economy, the annual inflation rate increased on average 6.7% in 2016 compared to 3.4% in the previous year.

According to central bank governor Ipumbu Shiimi, this was driven mainly by a rise in the inflation rates for major categories such as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, transport and fuel.

The annual inflation rate increased to 8.2% in January 2017 from 7.3% in December 2016, marking the highest level of inflation since October 2009, while the preliminary stock of international reserves stood at N$22.9 billion, amounting to three months of import cover.

According to Shiimi, domestic economic growth is estimated to have slowed in 2016 compared to 2015. The slowdown was attributed to contractions in the construction and mining sectors, particularly diamond mining and metal ores, as well as a slowdown in the public sector. The agricultural sector continued to contract due to drought.

The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet again on 11 April to deliberate on the repo rate.

Commenting on the decision of the central bank, stockbroking firm IJG said in its assessment: “Namibian inflation is now much higher than that of South Africa, and expectations are for high inflation rates to continue in both countries.

“South African inflation is expected to average 6.2% in 2017, according to the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) January MPC forecast.

“These expectations are largely driven by a weaker real effective exchange rate and the pass-through effect of higher import prices. The effect of higher food inflation due to the drought, and the pass-through effect of South African food prices on Namibia, will likely cause the double-digit increases in food prices to continue in the short term, although likely to ease around April and or May of 2017.”

Continued IJG: “Due to expectations of high SA inflation, which remain outside of the target band for most of 2017, we will monitor the March MPC statement closely for a more hawkish SARB. However, given the low level of growth, which has been revised downwards to 1.1% in January, we do not anticipate repo rate increases in response to inflationary pressures in South Africa.”

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Oroville Dam woes remain

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Oroville Dam woes remainUncertainty remains in California about dam wall With snow melting and rain forecast, experts say the real test for the Oroville Dam spillway is still to come. The stress of evacuation and an uncertain future were enough for Donald Azevedo and his family to opt to stay a few more nights in an emergency shelter rather than risk having to do it all again.

The family was among the nearly 200 000 Californians who live downstream from the country's tallest dam who were told they could return home but warned they may have to flee again if repairs made to the battered Oroville Dam spillways don't hold.

The fixes could be put to their first test later this week with the first of a series of small storms forecast for the region expected to reach the area by late yesterday evening.

“There is the prospect that we could issue another evacuation order if the situation changes and the risk increases,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Tuesday, telling residents they could return home but to remain vigilant.

“My plan is to stay here,” said Azevedo, who evacuated from Marysville with his wife, Tasha, their four Chihuahuas and more than 30 relatives. They spent two nights at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, California and he planned to wait out this week's upcoming storm before returning home. Many at the shelter said a drive that should have taken one hour took six hours on Sunday.

“I'm not trying to risk traffic, being stuck in floods. I'm safe where I'm at,” Azevedo said.

Residents living below the Oroville Dam were suddenly ordered to evacuate Sunday afternoon after authorities had assured them for nearly a week that the dam was sound despite a gaping and growing hole found in the structure's main spillway. The order came after authorities feared an earthen emergency spillway used when the lake behind the dam overflows its capacity appeared ready to fail Sunday because of erosion.

Two days after issuing the evacuation order, officials lifted it Tuesday but uncertainty remained.

Over the weekend, the swollen lake spilled down the unpaved emergency spillway for nearly 40 hours, leaving it badly eroded. The problem occurred six days after engineers discovered a growing hole in the dam's main concrete spillway.

State and federal officials ignored calls in 2005 from environmental groups to armour the earthen spillway in concrete to prevent erosion. Federal regulators concluded the earthen spillway could handle a large amount of overflow after water agencies that would have had to pay for the upgrade argued it was unnecessary.

Others fear the real test is still to come in the weeks ahead when a record amount of snowfall melts in nearby mountains.

Dozens of construction crews were working around the clock dropping 1 200 tons of material on the earthen emergency spillway per hour using heavy equipment and helicopters and the area is being continually monitored with the help of drones carrying cameras, the state water agency said.

Preliminary estimates say permanently fixing the hole in the main spillway could cost US$100 million to US$200 million, Croyle said. Experts are drawing up plans for repairs that will begin after the spring runoff season ends.

NAMPA/AP

Shot of the day

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Shot of the day MOTHER’S LOVE: A new-born spotted seal cub is seen with her mother at the Dongpaotai Scenic Area in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province on 14 February 2017. Photo: NAMPA/XINHUA

High dropout rate holds us back

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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High dropout rate holds us back Last week the Oshikoto education directorate announced that a total number of

1 768 learners dropped out of school in the region last year.

It is reported that 459 pupils dropped out in the first semester, 694 in the second term and 615 in the final term. This dropout crisis is just the tip of the iceberg if one considers the unreported cases nationwide.

The Oshikoto dropout rate is shockingly high and it is disturbing to see such phenomena unfolding.

More than ever the government has done enough to prioritise education and to ensure that children of schoolgoing age have access to classrooms, following the implementation of the universal free primary and secondary education.

Yes, the challenges facing education, especially from a quality point of view, are highly documented.

We are often reminded that education is the great equaliser and that quality education is without doubt a fundamental human right. It is one of the many tools that can help our children to build a better future and ultimately break free from poverty.

But we cannot attain our national goals with such a high dropout rate.

It really holds us back as a nation and it is very sad to see that despite high grade 1 enrolments, it is almost certain that hundreds of children will never have the experience of sitting in a matric class, due to inter-related factors such as financial pressures, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse.

Disability, family structure and living in isolated communities are furthermore contributing factors to the significant school dropout rate.

While we examine the underlying factors and school dropout rates, we really need to actively engage each other and come up with working solutions to arrest this disturbing trend.

Learners should be motivated to be in the classroom and need regular support from their teachers.

On top of that, parents must play an active role and guarantee the support of the family.



Learners alone cannot be the greatest assets.



Teachers, parents and the community at large must come to the party and help the Namibian child progress.

Walvis landless are hopeful

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Walvis landless are hopefulCommunity is positive about Farm 37 Hundreds of Walvis Bay residents who are currently renting backyard shacks and squatting elsewhere, responded with ululation at the prospect of the development of Farm 37. News that land could be made available at Farm 37 near Walvis Bay for housing was met with applause and ululation at a meeting on Monday evening in the harbour town.

Farm 37, expected to solve the land scarcity at the harbour town, is a piece of virgin land located five kilometres south of Walvis Bay. The municipality plans to relocate more than 65 000 residents currently renting backyard shacks.

The news was announced at a well-attended community meeting.

Walvis Bay Mayor Immanuel Wilfred said council will fight to get the land and construct a township to be called 'Green Valley'.

Wilfred said their application to acquire the land was turned down by the Namibia Planning Advisory Board (Nampab) last year.

The board comprises members appointed by the Minister of Urban and Rural Development and amongst other duties, is responsible for supervising all local authorities and regional councils with regard to town planning.

Wilfred said they will meet Nampab next week and resubmit their application.

“We are fighting to get this for you, we will not give up, so please pray that we get it,” he said.

Councillor Ndishoshili Nghilumbwa, who is also a board member of Nampab, said the application was turned down because the community was not consulted on the matter.

Other reasons included the fact that the area is situated close to a dusty quarry which could pose a danger to people's health, as well as a pending environmental clearance certificate.

These issues will be discussed and if a common agreement is reached, the land might be made available.

Management committee chairperson, Tobias Nambala used the meeting as an opportunity to conduct the community consultation.

The residents responded with cheers when asked if they support the project and if they are willing to be relocated.

Some residents asked what the criteria for relocation will be, to which Nghilumbwa responded that the focus is to get the land first. Criteria will then be drawn up in consultation with the community.

Others asked the politicians to fulfil their promise and make sure the project materialises.

“We do not want a situation where we will only hear about Farm 37 in five years again,” one man said.

Another resident said the planned township should have proper houses and services.

“Please do not take our people and just dump them there without proper services,” a woman said.

NAMPA

Cop nabbed for bribery

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Cop nabbed for bribery A police officer from Walvis Bay was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) this week on corruption charges, while the ACC also completed an investigation at the Namibian Correctional Services into corrupt practices by a senior officer amounting to N$120 000.

According to a statement, Detective Sergeant Immanuel Shitaleni, 34, was arrested for soliciting a bribe from a member of the public who was under criminal investigation. Shitaleni, who lives in Kuisebmond, Walvis Bay was arrested on Monday.

The member of the public approached the ACC and after a sting operation Shitaleni was arrested in an official police vehicle near the Pelican Bay Hotel in the harbour town, during which a bribe of N$5 000 was handed over in exchange for destroying the docket of the whistle blower.

Shitaleni was subsequently charged and appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

The case was remanded to 27 March. He was granted bail of N$3 500 and additional conditions were added that he should report to the police twice a week, should hand his passport to the investigating officer and should not interfere with the investigation in any way.

Furthermore, the commission also completed an investigation into alleged corrupt practices that were reported against a senior correctional officer at the Namibia Correctional Services.

The corrupt practices were reported during 2015 against a senior correctional officer, Debora Nangombe Amaambo.

According to the ACC the case relates to her alleged falsification of quotations for the procurement of stationery for the correctional services.

She would allegedly create two fictitious invoices, using the company names of known suppliers and then submit the quotation of a business entity owned by her boyfriend, Naneo Trading CC, which would then be selected for the procurement on account of being the most economical. According to the ACC the value involved in the corruption amounts to approximately N$120 000. On completion of the investigation the prosecutor-general opted to arraign Amaambo and Simon Iipinge who is the sole member of Naneo Trading CC and is employed at Namdeb in Oranjemund as an electrician, in the Windhoek Regional Court.

They were charged on seven counts of fraud and six counts of corruption - a total of 13 charges. They were arrested on 9 February. According to the ACC Amaambo appeared in in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on 9 February and Iipinge on 13 February and the matter was remanded to 31 March for legal representation. They were released on bail of N$8 000 each.



ELLANIE SMIT

Things fall apart

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Things fall apartLearners at Okahao waiting for new school It has been two years since the keys to new primary school premises in Okahao were to be handed over and still, the learners battle with the torrid infrastructure. While they are patiently waiting for the handover of a new school, teachers and learners of Okahao Primary School in the Omusati Region continue to endure the torrid teaching and learning environment in a building rented from the church.

Namibian Sun visited the school last week where greetings first came from a distance through the missing windows of the obviously dilapidated infrastructure.

On a daily basis, the teachers and learners at the school have to make the best of classrooms with damaged windows, huge holes in the floors, cracked walls as well as the confined staff room and administrative offices.

The pit latrine toilet facilities which are 100 metres away from the entrance of the school are also another challenge which sees the learners using the nearby bushes to answer nature's calls.

The toilet facilities are also risky for the younger children to use and hence, they prefer to go to the bushes and further to this, they are not maintained, which has led to human waste leaking around the area.

Community members can also make use of these facilities as the fence is cut open and this within itself poses a risk to the safety of the learners.

The school offers education from pre-primary grade to Grade 5 and accommodates 479 learners with 16 teachers on-site.

Principal of the school, Immanuel Amutenya, seated in his confined office surrounded by books and files, shared his views over the sorry state of the school and the long wait to be handed the keys to the new school. He has been waiting since 2015 and still the construction is not yet completed. Amutenya said he cannot wait for them to relocate to the new premises as the current situation is not doing them any good.

“If you can see this is not a conducive environment for one to work and learn in. It would be nice if we go to the new school,” he said.

Amutenya said he does not understand how a school which was supposed to be handed over two years ago is still standing idle while they are suffering at the church buildings they are currently renting.

The school has been at the premises since the early 1980s.

Regarding the daily challenges they face at the school, Amutenya said classes in the morning have to be delayed by about 20 to 30 minutes as the learners have to collect their books from the administration block, which also leads to learners tagging along teaching materials.

Amutenya added in that process some learners can also lose their books, which delays lessons and said that it is “really a struggle to a perfect start of a day at the school”.

“We are having a problem regarding space. As you can see how packed my office is, it is clear that we are not in a conducive working environment,” Amutenya said.

Regarding the handover of the school which is more than 500 meters away, Amutenya said since the commencement of the project, the current contractors will be the fourth on the site. He says he is hopeful that they will get the job done and finally receive the new school.

“We have been promised that the new school will be completed within three months meaning that next semester we will be moving into the new school,” he remarked.

Contacted for comment, the education ministry Johanna Absalom said the tender to complete the school was awarded to Notyimuna Trading Enterprises CC.

Absalom said that the new contractor is currently completing and rectifying the faulty works by the previous contractor which includes working on the sewage system, replacing and adjusting classroom door frames and plastering the walls.

The new school comprises of classroom blocks, an administration block, ablution facilities, a library and laboratories.

KENYA KAMBOWE

Land Bill is too simplistic

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Land Bill is too simplistic One-size-fits-all is no solution CATHERINE SASMAN

A paper suggests that more thorough consultation is required on the Land Bill instead of it being removed from the public eye.

The Institute for Public Policy Review (IPPR) has suggested a thorough policy review of the entire land reform process before public comments are invited or the Land Bill is tabled in the National Assembly.

It says failure to recognise and analyse some of the complex and subtle differences in land issues across the country has resulted in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ legal framework that appears to be working in some regions, was rejected in others, and was perceived as useless in communal areas that depend on livestock farming.

It says the absence of meaningful consultation in preparation of the land policy and Land Act “reflects political short-term expediency” rather than addressing real land administration and tenure issues and removes policymaking from the public eye.

“Making land policy and laws in Namibia is largely the prerogative of politicians. This risks a situation where political expediency rather than long-term solutions are reflected in policy and legislation,” the IPPR says.

It suggests that the land and agricultural sectors need to be integrated in a comprehensive agrarian reform programme.

THE BILL

The Land Bill tabled in November last year by minister of land reform Utoni Nujoma aims to consolidate and amend the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act of 1995 and the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002 to ensure that all land in Namibia has the same status.

It provides for a unitary land system where Namibian citizens have equal rights, opportunities and security with regard to land irrespective of where the land is situated.

The IPPR says although the Bill has all the hallmarks of legislation drafted without a comprehensive policy framework, it does introduce a number of positive changes to existing laws.

One of the proposed changes is that procedures to appeal against decisions in traditional authorities and land boards in communal areas have been clarified.

However, the IPPR says, whether aggrieved parties can access the proposed process remains to be seen.

The bill also provides more detail on customary land rights and the modalities of where customary land rights apply.

The IPPR says while it improves the accountability of traditional authorities in general, it does not go far enough to enforce accountability.

In the commercial farming sector the bill seems to weaken the powers and functions of the Land Reform Advisory Commission (LRAC), the IPPR says.

Here, the lands minister is empowered to take decisions on several important aspects of land reform without consulting the LRAC.

The two main farmers’ unions - the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) - would no longer be automatically represented on the LRAC.

Regional resettlement committees are to be established but their powers and functions are not detailed in the bill.

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Culture violates many rights

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Culture violates many rights DORCAS MHUNGU

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative to Namibia, Micaela Marques de Sousa, says neither culture, tradition nor religion should ever be used as an excuse to deny girls and women their fundamental human rights.

She made this remark while addressing delegates attending a workshop on harmful cultural practices at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region on Monday. The conference was organised by the Women’s Leadership Centre.

Marques said Unicef had a moral obligation to promote the protection and realisation of children’s rights. She said her organisation would support initiatives that raise awareness of the harm faced by women and children as a result of the violation of their rights through harmful cultural practices.

De Sousa said women and children had for long been subjected to harmful cultural practices that had devastating physical and psychological consequences and the prevalence of harmful cultural practices across Namibia is a reality.

“Practices such as child marriages, son preference, wife inheritance, wife-beating and gender-based violence, corporal punishment, polygamy, virginity testing and others have existed for too long among different communities and societies. Sadly, these attitudes, practices and behaviours are often considered and presented by perpetrators as part of the social and traditional fabric,” De Sousa said.

She said according to national census data on child marriage, 2 759 children, mainly girls, were in traditional marriages. The 2015 NGO Shadow Report also highlighted the prevalence of sexual abuse, incest, and rape to prepare girls for womanhood and other practices, De Sousa further noted.

“These harmful traditional practices result in pain, suffering, and humiliation especially for women and girls, often stemming from the socialisation process and the deeply entrenched views which groom girls to assume and accept inferior roles in life,” she told the delegates.

She reminded the delegates that Namibia, as well as most African countries, was a signatory to global conventions that seek to address harmful traditional practices. De Sousa however noted that despite the country having the Child Care and Protection Act of 2015, many of the harmful cultural practices trampled on this legislation.

The Act states that: “A person may not subject a child to social, cultural and religious practices which are detrimental to his or her well-being.”

It further says “a person may not give a child out in marriage or engagement if such child does not consent to the marriage or engagement or is below the minimum age for marriage.”

Said De Sousa: “Many of the harmful cultural practices which we have spelled out today violate this piece of our national legislature as well as other acts such as the Combating of Rape Act and the Domestic Violence Act.”

She however lauded the government’s initiative to train police officers, social workers, prosecutors and magistrates to effectively investigate, manage and prosecute cases of sexual violence against children.

High Court allows another appeal in Teek saga

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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High Court allows another appeal in Teek saga High Court Judge Thomas Masuku yesterday allowed the prosecutor-general to appeal to the Supreme Court against the acquittal of retired Judge Pio Teek on child abduction and rape charges.

The State claims that Acting Judge Ronnie Bosielo, who was seconded to Namibia to preside over the high-profile case, erred when he found that the State had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Teek was guilty.

Teek was discharged after a successful application for a Rule 174 discharge after the State had closed its case during his first trial between 2005 and 2006.

The State earlier appealed that decision in the Supreme Court and was granted a retrial, but Teek was then again acquitted after the completion of the retrial in the High Court.

The former judge was accused of abducting two young girls, plying them with alcohol, showing them pornographic movies and fondling them. He denied all charges and said he found them wandering at night unsupervised and hungry, and that he merely took them to his plot to feed them.

He presented evidence that he had planned to take the girls to their homes after feeding them, but that he fell asleep and only took them home when he woke up the next morning.

FRED GOEIEMAN

Farmworker claims ill-treatment

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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Farmworker claims ill-treatmentIlliterate woman signed eviction order A farmworker from the Mariental area has accused her former employer of stealing her goats after firing her. A woman who worked close to 30 years on a farm claims she was given 24-hours' notice by her employer to vacate the land after signing an eviction order that she did not understand.

Anna Brand (56) told Namibian Sun that she cannot read and write. When her boss, Danny Liebenberg, handed her the document to sign on 26 April 2016, she was unaware that it was an eviction order against her.

According to her, the police arrived at her home while she was at Liebenberg's house and started searching the place on suspicion that she had buried the carcass of a goat belonging to the farm owner.

According to Brand, she was employed by Liebenberg on the farm Harresville near Mariental many years ago. Brand said she was a trusted employee whose job was to clean the house.

When the police found nothing at her home, they left. Later that afternoon, Brand said her employer asked her to sign a document and instructed her that her brother-in-law was not allowed on the property.

The farmer allegedly accused Brand's brother-in-law of having a criminal record of stock theft.

After signing the document, she called her brother-in-law, Gert Kheibeb, to read the document to her.

“Danny Liebenberg dismissed me without explaining what I did. He told me to sign a document under false pretences,” she charged.

“He paid me N$5 323.60 for the 30 years I had worked for them. During that time, I had accumulated 30 goats. When I travelled to the farm to pick up my livestock with a vehicle that I hired using the payout he gave me, he said he did not have time to put together all my goats and could only give me 16.

“I refused the 16 goats and told him I had already paid for transport to collect all my livestock. I refused to take them and told him that he was treating me unfairly.”

She said she went to the labour office in Mariental to report the matter but she has not received any help. “They gave me no feedback and sent me from one office to another. With help from Kheibeb, we found Jonathan Owoseb, a labour consultant, who then called the farmer to explain the labour laws,” said Brand.

Owoseb said he advised Liebenberg to return the livestock because what he had done was against the law.

According to Owoseb Liebenberg refused, saying his lawyer had advised him not to give back the animals.

“He further told me that Brand should return the payout as he was not supposed to give it to her and only then would she receive her livestock,” Owoseb said.

Approached for comment, Liebenberg told Namibian Sun that Brand resigned of her own free will.

“If you resign, you are not supposed to receive any severance pay. I paid her, but my lawyer advised me that she should return the money, so did the police. She must just return my money because I'm not at fault, only then will I hand over the livestock to her,” Liebenberg insisted.

Brand said she did not have money to give to Liebenberg.

She has sought the assistance of Chief Petrus Kooper of the Kai-

//Khaun Traditional Authority. Kooper said he wanted Brand to get help as soon as possible.

“We want the labour office in Mariental to do their job, fairly and with honesty. This case has been dragging on for too long. Liebenberg should return what rightfully belongs to Brand. You cannot treat someone who has worked for you for many years like trash. It is wrong,” Kooper said.

Kheibeb claimed that farmworkers had been suffering at the hands of their employers for years. He said employers took advantage of illiterate workers and made them sign documents they did not understand, robbing them of their hard-earned income.

“Liebenberg has been robbing Brand for years. Sometimes he would not pay her in full. He would fetch her when it pleased him and this is when she was supposed to be on leave. But because she had no choice she worked for him. Now he is again trying to crook her by taking her livestock,” he alleged.

A legal aid representative in Windhoek, Alovu Ndamonao, advised Brand to open a case of theft with the police and to approach a lawyer for assistance.

Hardap's acting police commander, Joseph Gaeseb, confirmed that Brand had opened a case of theft at Kalkrand last year.

“The case was investigated and the file was sent to the control prosecutor's office in Mariental.

“We have not received the file back and only when we do will we know what to do further,” he said.

LIMBA MUPETAMI

'State language' fuels tribalism – Venaani

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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'State language' fuels tribalism – Venaani DTA president McHenry Venaani says the government is fuelling tribalism by resorting to name-calling when others disagree with it.

The opposition leader also warned the minister of land reform, Utoni Nujoma, not to “antagonise” others.

“I listened to him [Nujoma] on Otjiherero radio and his message was not that of a leader. He is dealing with a sensitive ministry and should not tell others that they want Bantustans when they say they want their land back,” Venaani said yesterday at a press conference called to address the issue of tribalism.

Venaani said Nujoma's argument was flawed in the sense that the genocide negotiations between the Namibian and German governments could also be construed as “negotiating Bantustan issues” because the genocide matter involved the OvaHerero and Nama people directly.

“How, on the one hand, you are saying that you are addressing the Nama and Herero matter with the Germans, which is a purely tribal historical reality, and yet when the same people say they are denied access to land through the resettlement scheme you say they want Bantustans?” questioned Venaani.

He added: “The language of leadership should be very cautious because the state language is fuelling this arrogance.”

Venaani also took issue with the official explanation for President Hage Geingob's no-show at last November's Damara cultural festival.

The presidential spokesperson, Albertus Aochamub, said Geingob did not attend the event because chief Justus //Garoëb was not a recognised traditional leader of the Damara.

“That is undermining minorities. People have a right to say they are being undermined because the head of state is arguing that you are only his children if you have [official] recognition; without recognition you are not his children,” Venaani said.

He said //Garoëb remained the de facto paramount leader of the Damara people.

“I think it is dangerous politics State House is playing in this country. Let us not think that by undermining those that are numerically smaller in numbers and appeasing those in the majority you appease the country,” Venaani said.



Venaani also cautioned all communities, traditional leaders and especially young people to refrain from fuelling tribalism, and warned particularly the youth from misusing social media to tarnish others.



“We in the DTA cherish the idea that tribes must be harmonised for Namibia to grow. We do not want to kill tribes for Namibia to become a unitary state. Tribes should remain. Blacks, whites and coloureds should remain in the country but we must have a culture of harmony,” he said.



Venaani added: “We are very worried people are being used against one another. We should calm down. This is not the moment to seize to go to war with one another. We must learn to co-exist. But the majority must also learn to be sensitive to minorities in the country.”



CATHERINE SASMAN



ANCESTRAL LAND CLAIMS



Venaani said tribal land demands were genuine because certain groups had been dispossessed, but ancestral land claims would be practically impossible to implement.



“Ancestral land claims are not the big issue. Zimbabwe went this way and contextualised it to mean that all blacks must own land. They have given all land to blacks but Zimbabwe is a disaster.



“Should we go the Zimbabwe way? We cannot. The country has a national character and what we need to do is to marry historical issues and the realities. You have farmers that have bought land, white and young farmers that are farming. We need to think how to intermarry everybody so that we have a national character,” he said.



He said his party strongly opposed a Zimbabwe-style land grab.



“We should draw a narrative that is modern, working and addressing issues to move the country forward. We should think futuristically to maintain the economy but historical facts and realities of the day should be considered to allow competitive farmers, whether white or black, to be able to have a piece of land in the country.”



The DTA suggested a “model policy” for the land issue that would resuscitate the agricultural sector and also address “critical and historical legacies”.



Some of the proposals the party wishes to make at the anticipated second land conference is that urban plots must be handed out freely, that land owned by absentee owners should be expropriated and that the resettlement programme should be reviewed.

18 horns received in Windhoek

February 15, 2017, 2:00 pm

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18 horns received in Windhoek ELLANIE SMIT

The Chinese national who smuggled 18 rhino horns through Hosea Kutako International Airport and was arrested in South Africa, had received the rhino horns in Windhoek.

Ye Zhiwei, 28, who pleaded guilty to charges of importing the rhino horns without the necessary permits in the Kempton Park Regional Court in South Africa, said in his plea explanation that he had received 15 black rhino horns and three white rhino horns at a hotel in Windhoek.

“I confirm that I imported the rhino horns from Namibia in transit to South Africa with the intention to take them to Hong Kong,” he testified.

Ye was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport after flying from Hosea Kutako International Airport on 23 November at 06:40.

He was travelling in transit from Namibia on board a South African Airways flight to Hong Kong when the South African Hawks received an anonymous tip-off and discovered the 18 rhino horns hidden in his luggage. The rhino horns were tightly wrapped in industrial cling wrap.

The rhino horns weigh 43kg and are worth around N$6.6 million.

According to Ye, during September last year, he was approached by a certain Zang Fei who asked him if he was interested in earning extra money.

Ye said he expressed interested but wanted to know what he was supposed to do to earn the money and was told that he had to pick up a parcel in Namibia and take it to Hong Kong.

Ye said that he was experiencing serious financial problems and therefore accepted the offer to earn extra income.

According to him, he was never told what he would be paid for his services.

“I was so desperate that I had no other option but to accept this.”

According to Ye, all his travel expenses to Namibia and South Africa would be reimbursed.

He said at that stage he was not aware that he would be transporting rhino horns.

According to him, it was the first time he had travelled outside China. He left Fuzou for Windhoek on 7 November and booked into a hotel in Windhoek as instructed by Zhang. Ye did not state the name of the hotel.

At the hotel Zhang handed him two suitcases wrapped in plastic and informed him that they contained rhino horns, he said.

“I enquired from him if it was legal for me to be in possession of the rhino horns and he informed me it was in fact illegal.”

Ye said Zhang was not known to him before their meeting.

According to Ye, he went to Hosea Kutako Airport on 23 November to depart for OR Tambo en route to Hong Kong.

He said upon his arrival at the airport he booked in the two suitcases and upon his arrival at OR Tambo he went to the transit lounge to wait for his connecting flight to Hong Kong. He said after a while he was approached by the police and the 18 rhino horns were discovered in his luggage.

The police will next week send a team to South Africa with identikits of persons with the surname Zhang for identification, but there are chances that the name may be false.

While DNA testing of the horns is still ongoing, it has been established that at least one set of horns was from Namibia.

Ye will be sentenced on 10 March.

A few days after the arrest of Ye, a full-scale investigation was launched into activities at Hosea Kutako International Airport.

The probe was ordered after it was discovered that the 18 rhino horns found in Ye’s possession had in fact been detected by airport scanners.

It resulted in the arrest of a police sergeant, Pendapala Abraham Iitula, 42, who was stationed at the scanners at the time that Ye was allowed to board the flight to Johannesburg with his luggage.