Adams begs Zidane

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Adams begs ZidaneReal Madrid beats Granada James Rodriguez has proven that he is one of the best players that came out of Colombia over the weekend. Tony Adams believes he will be harshly judged given the resources available to him for his ill-fated short spell at Granada after his already relegated side were thrashed 4-0 by Real Madrid on Saturday.

Despite making nine changes the European champions outclassed Granada as James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata both scored doubles inside the first 35 minutes.

However, Adams believes Real boss Zinedine Zidane has a far easier job as his side close in on a first La Liga and Champions League double for 59 years.

“No disrespect to Zidane but swap teams please,” said the former Arsenal captain, who has lost all five games in charge since replacing Lucas Alvarez last month.

“I've had to work there, pull people off, change people, plug holes, put (my) experience when kids are on the floor and you really have to work as a coach when the players are at another level to Real Madrid.

“It's a learning experience for me, but I've done it before and I'd like a good team one day.”

In contrast to his success as a player, Adams has had an undistinguished managerial career in spells at Wycombe Wanderers, Portsmouth and in Azerbaijan with Gabala.

However, he hinted he was forced into the role at Granada having worked as an advisor to the club's Chinese owner Jiang Lizhang.

“When he asked me to do it, then told me to do it, I think I was the only person that could realistically make the transition with these players. I'm on a hiding to nothing.”

And Adams believes he can yet prove to be a success as a coach if given the right resources.

“I didn't enjoy that first-half that's for sure and I would like to have my own team one day but that's personal and that's not why I'm here,” he added.

“If the president asks me when we are top of the table next season to take the last seven games when we are 10 points clear I think I might enjoy that a little bit more.”

By contrast, Zidane has so far matched his stellar playing career as a coach as Real need just seven points from their last three La Liga games to guarantee a first league title in five years.

And they hold a commanding 3-0 semi-final, first leg lead over Atletico Madrid as Los Blancos look to become the first side in 27 years to retain the Champions League.

“After nine months of competition we have done very well. We still have to play a perfect game in the second leg on Wednesday and then we have three finals in La Liga.”

Zidane changed his side significantly for the fourth straight away league game.

However, once again the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo weren't missed as Real have won all four of those games, scoring 17 goals in the process.

And Zidane believes his rotation policy has ensured Madrid end the season strongly.

“Over nine months if you play every game, sometimes you are empty by the end of the season. We are the opposite, physically we are very strong and that is good news for the end of the season.”

NAMPA/AFP

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Can't we save our own rhinos?

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Can't we save our own rhinos? By Kaapanda Shivute:

Writing from a black conscious standpoint, Europe has been a place of white supervisors, explorers and other types of travellers to Africa since colonial times. All of them travelled with interests and agendas utterly unknown to Africans. A recent trip to Namibia by Prince Henry of Wales also known as Prince Harry, came as no surprise to Namibians because to us, and for many reasons known only to him, he is a saviour. A saviour of wild animals, and the saviour of the endangered black rhinos of Namibia. For us, we depend on his supervision as a rescuer - that is Prince Harry for us Namibians. Let it be.

But as a black, conscious African, I have to ask a fundamental question: What do we make of Prince Harry’s visit to Namibia? His visit perplexed many of us in these circles - if not all of us.

Of course, it is not new to us. When did we as Africans, begin to depend on white supervision in everything we do? A white Harry came all that way from Britain just to save black rhinos in the Kunene Region, simply because we cannot do it ourselves as Namibians. This is a pure white supervision exercise and basically another team of missionaries coming to Africa to explore whatever is possible for them - intended for future actions.

I saw Prince Harry coming and I warn fellow Namibians of white supervision or, if not worse, white supremacy.

Black knowledge has always been undermined by the white people. This was demonstrated during pre-colonial and colonial times in Africa when the whites came with their teachings of Christianity to teach Africans based on their own principles. This drove away and destroyed black knowledge and culture, and the black man had to give up what was for him and embrace the teachings of a foreigner (who arrived yesterday). This is what we make of Prince Harry’s visit today.

In the final interpretation we must learn that Namibians are witnessing Prince Harry’s visit as a conservation exercise for the black rhino population, but, there is a part of the society who are of critical thinking and are African-conscious, who are puzzled and are scrutinising his visit. Some are reacting with condemnation and we are doing it with reference to the most phenomenal quote of the pan-Africanist Kenyan Jomo Kenyatta when he said: “When the missionaries arrived, the African had the land and the missionaries had the Bible.

“They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened our eyes, the missionaries had the land and we had the damn Bible.1396986481

Living in two worlds

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Living in two worldsFrom Bellin to the motherland More than 27 years after their return and 40 years after they were plucked from a “situation of war”, the former GDR kids are still contemplating and their identities and where they belong. Tumultuous political and social changes serve as bookends to their formative years. First, it was the attack on the Swapo camp at Cassinga in southern Angola on 4 May 1978 that left 600 dead and many wounded.

Many of them were left destitute and orphaned in this massacre.

Later their lives would once again be abruptly and inexplicably changed when the Berlin Wall crashed down in November 1989 and a new Namibia was being born in 1990.

This was the reality for 430 Namibian pre-school war orphans and some selected children from families of Swapo functionaries that were taken from Swapo camps in Angola and Zambia to the former East Germany, the then German Democratic Republic (GDR), to a place of safety and where they spent their formative years.

This experience has left an indelible mark on their lives. More than 27 years after their return to Namibia, a country they have barely known, many of the former GDR kids, as they are still called today, struggle with conflicting identifies and questions of where they belong; in Namibia where they are still considered as “different” or in Germany, where they are different.

“I did not like to idea to go to Namibia,” said Nali Conrad, one of the first cohort of refugee children to have been taken to East Germany in late 1979 and returned in 1989. “I knew I came from Angola but knew about Namibia from Namibian teachers who told us about it. I had no idea where we were going to live.”

In the aftermath of the attack at Cassinga, hasty talks of what was to happen to the children started.

Nahas Angula, from the United States of America, had contacted the Swapo representative in East Germany, Obed Emvula, with a request to ask the central committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) then governing East Germany, to provide assistance to the children.

Emvula recalled that the response from the SED came fast and in late 1979 the first 90 Swapo refugee children were flown to East Germany.

An idyllic life

The children were first taken to the remote Jagdschloss Bellin, a hunting castle in a remote north-eastern village, where many stayed for the first seven years in East Germany.

“It was an idyllic life,” said another former GDR kid, Ndatyapelao Nangula Costa.

Costa, like Conrad, was three years old when they arrived at the castle, which served as a safe haven, a bubble from all the upheavals that took place around them.

There, they were taken care of by German minders who cooked and cleaned for them and took care of their physical and social well-being. There they had ample space inside the castle and the surrounding green, lush forests to play and grow up as normal children could.

Former teachers remember that it was often said that the children were sent to East Germany for the purpose of forming a new elite for the future independent state of Namibia.

The teachers, however, do not think this was the case.

“A good number of these children were really very sick,” remembered the former principal at the School of Friendship at Stassfurt, Heinz Berg. “They have suffered a lot and they had to be healed in the first place, which was first done at Bellin.”

Some of the educators at Bellin said it was a tough task to heal the children. It was also initially thought that the children would later be sent back to Angola but Swapo representatives had asked that they remain there.

It was at this point when the idea was developed to establish a joint programme for the education of the children.

At Bellin the children were given pre-primary education in German and they were taught there up to Grade 2.

Their link to Namibia was limited and brought to them by Namibian refugees who intermittently stayed at the castle where they were trained as teachers. Most of this experience was through song and dance. On rare occasions the children were exposed to traditional Namibian foods.

For the most part the children were brought up speaking German in a German environment. They did, however, develop their own unique mixture of German and Oshiwambo, later to be called Oshi-Deutsch, which was a secret language used among the children when they tried to escape the ears of the adult world.

Years later they would go to a nearby primary school at Zehna, about 3 kilometres from Bellin, where they completed their Grade 3 and 4.They later attended school at Loderburg for their fifth and sixth grades.

School and friendship

The lives of the children once again changed when they were taken to the former School of Friendship Stassfurt to start their secondary education.

It was here where a unique curriculum developed by the former East German Academy of Educational Sciences in collaboration with Swapo that provided the protocol for the children’s education, was implemented.

The curriculum was not without controversy. It was later described as having been littered with political socialisation and that the children had received para-military training, something that former teachers roundly denied.

“In West Germany there were reports published that the teachers were radical socialists. This was not true. We lived in a communist system but everyday life was not just political education. We did other things; it was not all about singing political songs. It was a different political system that reflected a socialist country but the accusations that we were Stalinists were wrong and hurt us,” said former mathematics and physics teacher at the School of Friendship as Stassfurt, Bernd Kaden.

Dr Jürgen Krause, a former member of the Academy said the education programme for the Namibian children was a unique project that attempted to merge two cultures into one to form something new without compromising where the children came from.

Swapo stipulated that the curriculum had to include and integrate the national character of both Namibia and African culture. According to Krause this posed a difficulty because the core curriculum for GDR schools could not be amended or altered because its goal was to educate a future German socialist youth.

A compromise for the Namibian children was reached. The Namibian children would be taught mathematics, physics and chemistry as was taught in all other GDR schools. Minor changes were made to German language classes, geology, and art. Other subjects fundamentally changed were history, geography and musical education. A new subject, English, was taught to the Namibian children.

Another aspect taught was ideological education, which Krause said was based on the idea of forming a “socialist personality” with the possibility of a socialist regime in an independent Namibia.

Swapo provided two Namibian history books to add to the children’s education.

Krause said one of big challenges were that the German educators had no knowledge of Africa.

“It was not clear if they would be able to implement what we have worked out theoretically. Another obstacle was where the curriculum would reach the children,” said Krause.

“Bear in mind that the legal basis of the project was the contract between the socialist unity party state and Swapo. We as educators simply implemented what has been decided or commissioned. We were not the body or agency that had a say in what was to be implemented,” said Berg.

Another teacher, Herbert Rudnitzki, felt that it would have been better had German teachers gone to the refugee camps to train learners and teachers alike rather to have brought them to another, foreign context.

Overall, however, both the designers of the curriculum and teachers felt that the educational project was a success in so far as it was allowed to run.

The teachers remember the Namibian children as very lively, inquisitive, eager to learn and very ambitious.

The German teachers felt that the experience with the Namibian children had a deeply enriching effect on their own lives.

Things fall apart

The educational programme for the Namibian children came to an abrupt end when the GDR fell apart and the Berlin Wall came down. At home, Namibia was gaining its independence from apartheid South Africa.

The GDR government decided to stop all and any support to the programme. All East German teachers involved in the education of Namibian and 900 Mozambican students were sent to the streets.

The curriculum of the Namibian learners was shredded by the outgoing GDR state; all of 45 kilogrammes of educational materials Krause was able to smuggle out. This remaining material is currently kept in the archives of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs in Namibia.

The sudden termination of the education programme left everyone bewildered and unsettled. For the East German teachers it meant an uncertain period of unemployment. For the Namibian children it meant that they were not able to complete their secondary education. And they were sent home to Namibia, a country they did not know.

Return to Namibia

Kader remembers that they were given three weeks’ notice of the termination and return of the Namibian children to their motherland.

The children were allowed to pack two suitcases and under cover of darkness, accompanied by some of their teachers, they were driven in busses to the airport at Frankfurt from where they flew back to Namibia.

Their transition back to Namibia, a country they barely knew or considered in their young lives, was equally troubling and chaotic.

Many to this day feel that they were abandoned by the GDR that unceremoniously pulled the plug and upon their arrival in Namibia they felt “let down” or ignored by Swapo that in the final analysis had the responsibility for their well-being.

It might very well have had a lasting impact on their integration back into Namibian society.

“This is what has disappointed me,” said Conrad. “They [Swapo] wanted us back but did not do anything to make us feel at home. The Namibian government called us back but there was no-one to receive us. On the other hand, though, we were not the only ones who came back to Namibia at that time. There were also children from Cuba and other countries who returned. Maybe we were just too much of a burden or there were too many things to do.”

Emvula, who was closely involved with the programme of the former GDR kids, acknowledged that the sudden and “premature” return was not handled very well.

“It was not the best that we had wished for. Arrangements were not in place. For example, parents or relatives were not consulted. Some were informed, others not. It was not a good situation. There was no infrastructure. It was not orderly. There was no time to make proper plans,” said Emvula.

Emvula said Swapo was “not ready to receive” the children “in a good way”.

The children were first taken to a reception area set up at St Andrews, the Roman Catholic Church in Khomasdal, where parents, relatives or other guardians came to claim them.

Many were not immediately claimed. Conrad was one of the children that was collected by her mother almost two months after her return from Germany.

There were also rumours that other children were wrongfully claimed by unscrupulous people who went to pick up the children because of N$50 and blanket given to these children.

Conrad and others were later sent to a German school in Swakopmund where the completed their secondary schooling.

There, they felt more taken care of even by the Namibian German community than by Swapo. The West German government had also jumped in by pumping millions to pay for the continued schooling and some counselling of the children.

Not feeling quite at home in Namibia and not sure of a future here, Conrad after school, decided to return to Germany where she entered an apprenticeship programme to become a nurse.

While most of the former GDR kids remained in Namibia, many returned to Germany where they felt more at home.

Conrad, like others, remains in two worlds.

“I like Namibia as much as I like Germany. I try to take the best of both. I, however, cannot say that I am a German. People ask me if I feel I am Namibian. If I had liked Namibia that much I would not have come back [to Germany]. I can, however, imagine going back to Namibia for good but I do not plan for it.”

Catherine Sasman

Safety first at Ongava

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Safety first at Ongava At Ongava Tented Camp, which is one of the four finalists in the Responsible Tourism Awards (RTA) for 2017, it is all about the safety of their guests.

Ongava Tented Camp is one of four pristine lodges in the 30 000-hectare Ongava Private Game Reserve and border of the Etosha National Park near the Andersson Gate.

The camp consists of nine comfortable luxury tents each with a private veranda.

All the en-suite tents also have a view of the waterhole that is not only frequented by lions, but also by elephants, rhinos, black-faced impala and waterbuck.

According to Ongava’s director of operations Stuart Crawford, Ongava Tented Camp is a luxury bush camp which is open to the African wild.

“It has a true safari feel to it, as it has no fences protecting it from the wilds of the Namibian bush. It is one of the few places in Namibia where you can sleep in a tent and lions and other animals in the African bush can wander by unhindered. Our safety protocols which allow guests to experience this true safari unhindered by fences and barriers, I think is what makes Ongava Tented Camp a very special place.”

Crawford says because there are no fences surrounding the camp the safety protocols for safe movement on the camp are quite stringent.

He explains that during the days and evenings - dependent on the threat level - all guests are escorted by armed, trained guides.

Also emergency horns are placed in all the rooms and any guests in the camp can use the emergency horn to raise alarm if they feel unsafe or require assistance.

Furthermore, a detailed safety briefing and room orientation is carried out upon the arrival of guests explaining the use of the emergency horn and what to do in case of an emergency, says Crawford.

“Part of the safety briefing is to explain to guests the possible dangers of staying at Ongava Tented Camp, and thus making sure that they are aware of the do's and don’ts around the camp.”

He says that due to the nature of the camp, once guests are in their rooms after dinner they are asked not to leave their rooms. If they need to summon assistance, they must use the emergency horns.

He further explains that with regards to safety measures on game drives that safety talks are carried out prior to game drives and that vehicles also carry first aid kits.

Crawford further says that Ongava Tented Camp has a set of brand new Toyota Land Cruiser game viewers to make sure that all guests are taken on safari in safe, roadworthy vehicles.

He added that all the guides are experienced and therefore they are capable of reading animal behaviour in order to keep their guests safe.

According to Crawford all management and senior staff at Ongava Tented Camp are also required to hold a first aid certificate.

“We work with E-Med Rescue 24, and have a standard policy in place that allows us to call telephonically for medical advice in the case of a medical emergency.”

He further explained that the camp has an evacuation plan in place with E-Med Rescue 24. Should guests fall ill or require an emergency evacuation, the company will either dispatch an ambulance or air ambulance to assist.

With regards to road safety Crawford said that roads at the Ongava Game Reserve are regularly maintained and are clearly marked.

Ongava Game Reserve advises and recommends that guests arrive before sunset, and avoid driving at night.

“We have a 24/7 emergency phone, on which a staff member is always available to assist guests.”

The other three finalists of the RTA are Gondwana Etosha Safari Lodge in the Oshikoto Region, Jackalberry Lodge in the Zambezi Region, and Wilderness Safari Hoanib Skeleton Coast in Kunene Region.

The winner will be announced at the official opening of the Namibia Tourism Expo on 31 May.

The winner is determined according to the criteria of Eco Awards Namibia and this year the focus is on safe travel which is also the theme of the 2017 Namibia Tourism Expo.

ELLANIE SMIT

Avgas tanker breakdown causes Air Nam rerouting

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Avgas tanker breakdown causes Air Nam rerouting Air Namibia on Friday announced that all domestic flights out of Eros Airport will depart and arrive from or at Hosea Kutako International Airport after a refuelling vehicle was removed for service by the sole fuel supplier to Eros Airport.

The statement, released by Air Namibia’s head of communications, Paul Nakawa, read that the national airline was informed by Puma Energy Namibia that their equipment was “out of order”. “The refuelling vehicle broke down this morning. The parts supplier in Windhoek is on recess until Monday, 8 May [today],” said Nakawa. He also added that operations at Air Namibia will be affected with flights being delayed by at least one hour. “We anticipate delays of up to one hour on flights which normally operate from Eros and the operating cost will increase mostly due to road transport for our passengers,” shared Nakawa.

However, sources who spoke to Namibian Sun differ, saying that the monopoly of jet fuel supply at Eros Airport is to blame. “These are the consequences for monopolising jet fuel only to Puma at Eros Airport. Jet fuel at Eros Airport is more expensive by five to seven million dollars compared to the Hosea Kutako International Airport and NAC does not allow other jet fuel suppliers to tender for Eros except Puma,” said the source.

The head of corporate communications at Puma Energy Zohra McDoolley-Aimone told Namibian Sun a refuelling vehicle at Eros Airport was removed for maintenance purposes. “Air Namibia is a valued and long-standing customer of Puma both in Namibia and at airports around southern Africa. A fuelling vehicle was removed from service for precautionary maintenance today which resulted in a temporary interruption to fuelling,” said McDoolley-Aimone. She added there was no shortage of aviation gas and that there was enough aviation fuel supply at their Walvis Bay terminal.

Shona Ngava

Omaheke San Trust fights to keep properties

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Omaheke San Trust fights to keep properties The Omaheke San Trust (OST) has reported a case of forgery with the Namibian police against illegal occupants of two properties in Gobabis that were given to the San community in the region for development purposes.

A development worker of the OST, Manfred Jacob, on 21 April claimed that the illegal occupants had falsified a document to give the impression that the OST intends to sell the properties at erven 217 and 218 on Roosevelt Street in Gobabis in an attempt to cover municipal debt of N$184 000 that has piled up over years.

Jacob said the OST has leased out the properties to Natasha Haufiku and Brigitte Konjore who in turn rented out the properties.

The Gobabis Magistrate's Court in October last year, however, ordered Haufiku and Konjore to vacate the premises. Jacob said the occupants refuse to leave and now purport to have reached an agreement with the chief, Frederick Langman of the #Kao-//'aesi Traditional Authority that the properties be sold.

According to a document entitled 'agreement of memo from the board of trustees', the “founding” board members have agreed to sell the houses because the OST is “unable to pay debts at the municipality”.

This document further states that the OST “does not exist anymore” and there are therefore no funds available to maintain the houses.

The document was signed by six board members on 23 February. However, former trustee member Willem Ryperd's signature is also on this document. But according to a death certificate issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Ryperd died in October 2002 of acute respiratory and circulatory failure.

“The illegal occupants have clearly falsified the document because they want to sell the houses to cover their debts, which they wanted to transfer onto the OST,” said Jacob.

Another 'agreement of memo' signed in March by allegedly two-thirds of the board members states that a “group of people” claiming to be “new” board members should “stay away” from the properties on Roosevelt Street and that “caretakers” Konjore and Joe Haufiku “be allowed to stay” there until such time that they are asked to vacate the premises.

Chief Langman, Jacob and other senior councillors at the end of March wrote a letter to the Omaheke governor Festus Ueitele in which they request that the governor intervenes and assists the San community to get rid of the illegal occupants.

“It is a known fact the San people are law-abiding citizens and do not want to take the law into their own hands, and thus want the regional leadership to intervene and rescue their properties,” they requested.

Catherine Sasman

Aranos books in shambles

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Aranos books in shambles CEO concedes lackadaisical attitude The CEO of the Aranos Town Council, Willem /Uirab, along with two of his officials were blasted for their inaction on queries levelled years ago by the auditor-general. The Aranos CEO Willem /Uirab, mayor Elden Kuhanga and finance officer Susan Visser, have been warned to pull up their socks and change the status quo of the Aranos Town Council whose finances are in a mess, according to the Phillip Shikongo.

A number of heated exchanges marked the public hearings on the Aranos Town Council audit reports for 2011 to 2014. The council was warned that the delayed responses and actions to rectify audit findings were unlawful and disrespectful to the Aranos community who need a clear oversight of every cent spent and made by the council.

Shikongo is the chairperson of the National Council’s Standing Committee on public accounts and economy. Shikongo concluded at the close of a two-hour hearing with an instruction to Uirab, Kuhanga and Visser to “pull up your socks in order to make sure that you change the status quo of your institution.”

Moreover, the council was warned by the auditor-general, Junias Kandjeke that the council’s lack of response to issues and questions raised in the two audit reports for the financial years ended June 2011/12, and June 2013/14, was in violation of the law.

He explained that as stipulated by the Act, local authorities are legally required to respond to the queries of the auditor-general within a set timeframe, with clear indications of how the council would rectify issues raised by the reports.

Silence on audit queries

None of these steps were taken by the town council when the public hearings on the audit reports required the council to submit proof on how issues were rectified since the reports were issued.

Moreover, a number of queries raised by /Uirab at the hearings on key findings in the report, including his question on how the audits were conducted and how the auditors reached certain conclusions, were blasted by the auditor-general.

“Again, this information is in the management letter, which was never responded to. Why are you only asking for the list now? It is a concern,” Kandjeke pointed out, in response to /Uirab’s query on the 2011/12 finding that the Build Together project beneficiary list had not been submitted to the auditors.

Kandjeke noted that a letter from the auditor-general was issued to the council in 2012, with detailed information on the issues raised by the auditor’s report, including requests for information.

/Uirab admitted that the council never acted on or responded to the letter.

Meanwhile /Uirab said the beneficiary list has been updated and assured the committee that the proof has been submitted that the beneficiaries “actually benefitted in 2011 and 2012.”

Inaction

During the hearings, /Uirab admitted that on the numerous points raised, the town council had to date not taken any action, citing a number of reasons some of which were dismissed by the committee.

These issues included the fact that although findings in 2011 and 2012 highlighted the fact that the council did not disclose inventories, the council has to date not conducted stocktaking or included a full inventory in later audit filings.

In response to several committee members and the auditor-general’s query about the lack of action, /Uirab noted that “there is no answer, no reason why stocktaking has not been carried out yet.”

A committee member told /Uirab that the town council has a duty to account for “every cent” and should be able to provide a clear reason why the audit report findings were not rectified.

/Uirab said the town council did have an asset register but could not clarify why the audit statements did not contain the town council’s inventory since 2011.

The auditor-general on Friday emphasised that the law clearly provides the legal steps on how to respond to audit reports, what the timelines are, how to inform the relevant line ministry with ways the queries raised by the reports will be answered and rectified and how to produce proof of matters addressed.

/Uirab admitted to the committee and the auditor-general that after the reports were discussed earlier this year during a town council meeting, after instructions to appear at the public hearings, the town’s management “woke up” to the issues raised in the reports.

He admitted that before that he had not studied the report in detail since his appointment in December 2015 saying the invitation to appear at the public hearings to account for issues raised in the report had caught him of “off guard”.

The committee as well as the auditor-general dismissed /Uirab’s excuses, noting that the council had been “sitting on these documents for years”, and there was sufficient time to verify information recorded in the audit reports and ask for assistance to clarify issues.

/Uirab said he did not dispute the fact that the since the audit reports were issued, the town council had neglected to communicate with the auditor-general’s office on the findings and that several issues raised by the report remained unaddressed.

JANA-MARI SMITH

Money is still tight

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Money is still tightConsumers and companies are not spending The latest report on credit extended to the private sector indicates not only a cash-strapped consumer but also one that has reached the end of its credit-worthiness. Credit and loans to the private sector contracted in March indicating the effect of lower creditworthiness of individuals and tighter lending conditions coupled with bank sector liquidity. This is according to the monthly report on private sector credit extension released by IJG Securities.

Total credit extended to the private sector increased by N$34.4 million or 0.04% in March, bringing the cumulative credit outstanding to N$87.25 billion, the report states. Since July 2011, this is the slowest monthly growth in credit extension and on a year-on-year basis, a meagre growth on 8.5% was recorded, the slowest rate over the past five years.

“On a rolling 12-month basis, N$6.85 billion worth of credit was extended, down significantly from the highs of 2015. Over the last 12 months, N$2.8 billion worth of credit was extended to corporates, N$4.1 billion to individuals, while the non-resident private sector decreased their borrowings by N$27.7 million.

Credit extension to individuals slowed markedly in March, increasing only by 0.2% month-on-month and expanding by 8.8% year-on-year.

There was a slight growth in mortgage loans, recording an expansion of 0.6% versus 0.3% in February while on an annual basis, mortgage loans continued to slow, growing only by 9%. “Overdrafts extended to individuals spiked last month, recording growth of 3.7%, compared to a contraction of 0.7% in March,” the investment firm said, but added that instalment credit continued to slow on a monthly basis recording a negative growth of 0.7% and growing almost 4%, year on year. This indicates an increase in debt to income ratios over the last two years.

Companies are not doing much better. Credit extended to corporates contracted by 0.3% month-on-month and only grew 8.4% year-on-year in March, while overdrafts continued to grow.

Companies are also not buying on short-term loans. “Instalment credit extended to corporates contracted by 0.6% month-on-month, the sixth consecutive monthly contraction, while also contracting by 0.5% year-on-year,” IJG reported.

Mortgage loans extended to corporates grew by 0.9% m/m and 6.8% y/y. Mortgage loans extended to corporates have recorded single digit growth figures for the last 7 months, a significant slowdown from the 20% plus growth rates seen pre-March 2016. In March, these loans grew by 0.9% on a monthly basis, and recording growth of 6.8% on a year-on-year basis.

Commercial banks are not doing much better either.

IJG reports that, “The overall liquidity position of commercial banks deteriorated to an average of N$1.37 billion during March, a decrease of N$738 million compared to the preceding month. The figure above illustrates the challenges faced by the banking sector. Low liquidity and the high cost of funding have squeezed interest margins for banks, leading to less aggressive credit extension strategies than in the past. We would expect the established banks to be selective when extending loans to the private sector and employ less aggressive strategies to increase the size of their loan books.”

Furthermore, funds continue to flow out of Namibia and the investment firm reports that foreign reserves decreased by N$134.3 million or 0.6% to N$22.58 billion at the end of March.

“According to the Bank of Namibia the decline in the level of reserves for the month under review stemmed from a decrease in net purchases of the rand by commercial banks. The US dollar value of reserves has declined to below the 2013 average despite large inflows in the form of the second Eurobond as well as asset swap agreements. Thus in hard currency terms, merchandise trade imbalances continue to result in a natural flow of funds out of Namibia.”

The outlook for private sector credit extension remains grim without much hope for growth. IJG reports that the recent downgrade of South Africa to junk status increased the risk of interest rate hikes just when the outlook was turning decidedly positive.

“While the rand and Namibian dollar have not depreciated as rapidly as might have been expected, and thus the inflation outlook in South Africa remains largely intact at present, the general search for yield and fund flows into emerging markets in all likelihood masked the effects of the downgrade to some extent and future currency depreciation is likely. As the South African Reserve Bank is an inflation-targeting bank, an unexpected increase in inflation due to currency weakness could trigger interest rate hikes which will have to be matched by Bank of Namibia, putting further pressure on credit extension.”



STAFF REPORTER

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Nudo calls Nujoma to order

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Nudo calls Nujoma to order The spokesperson of the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) Joseph Kauandenge, has called on President Hage Geingob to call the lands minister, Utoni Nujoma, to order, following eviction orders given to farmers in the Otjimbingwe and Ovitoto areas.

Kauandenge said that Nujoma was responsible for the eviction notices to the farmers. “Nujoma's actions with regard to farm Okongava no. 72 in Otjimbingwe area that was promised to Otjimbingwe residents so that they can expand the boundaries of their village are questionable. Now, 28 families have been given eviction letters to vacate that farm by the ministry because that same farm has been earmarked for a lithium mining operation,” said Kauandenge.

Kauandenge said that Nujoma was “unfit” for office. “Minister Nujoma with regard to two farms in Ovitoto constituency also previously earmarked for the expansion of the village, has given the land to a private company to establish a hunting farm. This should be reason enough for the president to realise that Minister Nujoma is unfit to occupy that position.”

Kauandenge said that land was a controversial issue in Namibia at the moment and therefore the issue needs intervention from President Hage Geingob. “Simply put, the president must as a matter of urgency call the minister to order and cancel these transactions forthwith in the interest of peace, harmony and co-existence in this country,” shared Kauandenge.

He said that Nujoma was “out of touch” with reality and had no clue about land issues in the country. “It is high time that the minister realises or, he should be told bluntly, that his actions are counterproductive, illogical and at best ignorant of the current prevailing situation,” said Kauandenge. He further added that Nujoma's former deputy Clinton Swaartbooi has been “vindicated” because he to stood up to Nujoma. “His statement that Minister Nujoma has no clue let alone empathy towards those who lost land, and that the ministry's resettlement programme is in total chaos has come to ring true,” said Kauandenge

Shona Ngava

Police reopen unsafe Ruacana stairs

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Police reopen unsafe Ruacana stairs After months of closing the stairway leading to the bottom of the Ruacana waterfall that became dangerous after heavy rain damaged the stairs, the police have given up and reopened the stairwell after failing to get the responsible authority to repair the damage.

In December, the police closed the 400-stair stairwell.

The Omusati police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Linekela Shikongo, told Namibian Sun that all the authorities, Nampower, the Omusati Regional Council and the Ruacana Town Council denied responsibility.

Shikongo said that after the heavy rain the police decided to suspend access, because it was unsafe.

“We failed to get the responsible authority and we have reopened the stairway. Stairs are collapsing and this is a serious safety hazard, but there is no way we can prevent people from getting to the bottom while there is no one to repair the damage,” Shikongo said.





Shikongo said that no injuries have been reported yet, but they are worried that this is the season when people begin to visit Ruacana.

He said the waterfall attracted many visitors during the holiday season, but they all complied with the police instructions. Shikongo also applauded the councillor's office for promptly informing them about the hazard.

Earlier on, Ruacana constituency councillor Andreas Shintama said the stairway was damaged by rain last year. He said his office was exploring all avenues to find out who was responsible for maintenance at the falls.

“We do not know under whose care that place is. It is a public place, but someone, somewhere must be responsible for it,” Shintama said.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda, said the area falls under the Omusati Regional Council, but Shintama disagreed.

“Plans are under way for the Omusati Regional Council to take control of the area. Currently, it is just a public place,” Shintama said.

The Ruacana waterfall is situated on the Kunene River on the border with Angola. The waterfall is 120 metres high.

ILENI NANDJATO

Cross-border beggars

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Cross-border beggarsEking out a living in another country Many Angolan mothers, desperate to feed their children, cross into Oshikango daily to beg for money at retailers in the town. The Helao Nafidi Town Council and Ohangwena police are aware of the high number of Angolan nationals who flock into Namibia on a daily basis to beg at Oshikango. They are driven there through desperation following the collapse of the Angolan economy.

Most of the beggars are women carrying their children on their backs and teenagers of school-going age. They gather at retailers and other shops with baskets and carbon boxes targeting shoppers, offering to carry their goods.

According to officials at the Oshikango border post, 'thousands' of Angolans cross the border into Namibia every morning and return back to Angola in the afternoon, for various reasons. Hundreds more cross the border illegally. Those who pass through the border obtain border passes that permit them to stay freely in Namibia.

When Namibian Sun visited Oshikango on Friday morning, beggars were spotted gathering at various grocery shops begging for money. They approach people as they leave the shops offering to carry their goods for money in return. If shoppers decline the offer, then the beggars ask them for money. Very few of the women or teenagers were willing to speak to Namibian Sun fearing the reporter was a police officer or custom official.

“We started coming to Oshikango to sell our goods from Angola, but later the market became totally saturated by fellow Angolan traders. No one bought from us and our foodstuffs especially, became spoiled. Hunger is very real my friend, so we had to resort to begging. We are family people and we have children to feed,” said one beggar, before she fled with her baby on her back.







Another said, “There is hunger and poverty in Angola. We are forced to come here in our struggle for survival. Our targets are fellow Angolans who come here to do massive shopping, but they don't have cars. We load their goods into boxes and baskets and assist them carrying their goods for them until they cross the border into Angola. Those with cars are just Namibians, they don't support us.”

All those who spoke to Namibian Sun refused to give their names or say where they are from, but they said they are from faraway places in southern Angola and every day they walk long distances to and from Oshikango. They are saying that survival remains a daily battle as Namibians do not make use of their services.

“Only few Angolan shoppers who make use of our services, Namibians are always shouting and harassing us. Some days you will go home with N$1, but there are days when you can make more than N$10. For you to survive in Angola you need a lot of money.”

Many of the women who help buyers of bulk groceries, carry heavy boxes, babies in tow, to the border for the Angolan shoppers. It is backbreaking work.

The spokesperson of Ohangwena police, Sergeant Kaume Itumba, confirmed the issue of the begging Angolans, but he said no criminal offence has been reported against them yet.

“We are aware of them and nothing we can do about them for now. Most of them, they come into the country legally. They get border passes from custom officials, apart from those who come in illegally through the fence,” Itumba said

However, workers at the Oshikango Pick n Pay in the Yetu Complex alleged that the Angolans make shopping difficult sometimes. When there are many Angolans shopping, they block the entrance of the shop struggling to reach the potential clients first.

Many of the shoppers there also felt uncomfortable with being harassed and some expressed concern that while the Angolan beggers may be innocent, they could provide a 'hiding place' for petty criminals.

“What if I am thinking this is a harmless, poor and hungry Angolan and in fact, it is a petty criminal who will rob me the moment I get to my car? This is not a good situation at all,” the shopper said.

Eliaser Nghipangelwa, the mayor for Helao Nafidi under which Oshikango township falls, said many people are begging in Oshikango and Angolans are there in large numbers. They have nothing to do with them as the law does not prohibit them from being there.

“People are begging at Oshikango and Angolans are there in high numbers. There is nothing we can do and they are fine where they choose to beg. There is no law restricting people from begging, but we are not promoting it,” Nghipangelwa said.

ILENI NANDJATO

Cash outflows cost us millions

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Cash outflows cost us millions Namibia lost close to a quarter of the N$1.45 billion trade income due to illicit financial in- and outflows from 2005 to 2014.

In 2014 alone, the country lost about N$6.2 million in illicit financial flows from the N$34.38 million it made in total trade income.

An estimated N$43.6 million in illicit money entered Namibia while N$159 million exited the country during the 10-year period, the US-based think tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI) has said in its latest report.

The think tank used a specific formula for the calculation of ‘total trade income’. The ‘total trade income’ calculation is the reported bilateral trade a country has with an advanced economy, each taken on its own, rather than comparing the trade with the world as a whole. This, the group says, provides a far better overview of illicit flows of money.

During 2014, the outflow of illicit money was about N$30 million while the illicit money entering the country was about N$1.9 million.

According to the 2004-2013 report, Namibia lost N$17 million in 2012 to occupy position 56 out of 151 countries.

In the 2001-2010 report, it showed that Namibia lost on average US$420 million (roughly N$5.6 billion) per year to illegal activities.

A World Bank study on illicit financial flows in Malawi and Namibia conducted in 2011 estimated that revenue lost to corruption and tax evasion accounted for between 5 and 10% of the GDP.

Experts are of the opinion that these figures will expedite over the next few years as developing countries have become a target for money laundering and illicit financial flows.

Namibia uncovered a massive money-laundering case year last year involving at least N$3.5 billion in tax evasion and fraud. Several suspects have been arrested including a well-known Chinese businessman Jack Huang.

The arrests were part of a two-year investigation into more than 30 Chinese companies accused of concealing illegal earnings.

According to the GFI report, illicit financial flows (IFFs) from developing and emerging economies kept pace at nearly US$1 trillion in 2014. The report pegs illicit financial outflows at 4.2 to 6.6% of developing country total trade in 2014, the last year for which comprehensive data is available.

Titled ‘Illicit Financial Flows to and from Developing Countries: 2005-2014,’ the report is the first global study at GFI to equally emphasise illicit outflows and inflows. Each is found to have remained persistently high over the period between 2005 and 2014. Combined, these outflows and inflows are estimated to account for between 14.1 and 24.0% of developing country trade, on average.

An average of 87% of illicit financial outflows over the 2005-2014 periods, were due to the fraudulent invoicing of trade.

Illicit financial outflows from sub-Saharan Africa ranged from 5.3% to 9.9% of total trade in 2014, a ratio higher than any other geographic region studied.

Total illicit financial flows (outflows plus inflows) grew at an average rate of between 8.5% and 10.1% a year over the 10-year period.

In 2014, outflows are estimated to have ranged between US$620 billion and US$970 billion, while inflows ranged between US$1.4 trillion and US$2.5 trillion.

"Fraudulent manipulation of the price, quantity, or quality of a good or service on an invoice allows criminals, corrupt government officials, and commercial tax evaders to shift vast amounts of money across international borders quickly, easily, and nearly always undetected," the report said.

The estimates presented in the report underscore the severity of the problem illicit financial lows present to the developing world. Illicit flows in and out of the developing world amounted to at least 13.8% of total trade (or US$2 trillion) in 2014.

ELLANIE SMIT

Kamanya proud of box night

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Kamanya proud of box nightKakololo delivers in fashion The Salute Boxing Academy has its sights set on taking boxing to another level. Salute Boxing Academy's Kiriata Kamanya promises more great boxing nights from his academy after successfully staging a bonanza last Wednesday.

The promoter says he is proud of the talent displayed last week and hopes for more from his boxers.

“We are very happy that we staged our first bonanza in great fashion and we therefore hope to host more events this year.

“The academy is growing from strength to strength and that is evident by the events that took place last week,” Kamanya said.

The event saw featherweight boxer Nathanael 'Natty' Kakololo deliver a devastating knockout to his opponent Dominicus Weyulu in the second round of their national Featherweight title bout.

Kakololo had the upper hand of the fight and proved too strong for his Namibian Featherweight opponent, sending him several times down to the canvas.

The win for Kakololo means he now has a record of 10 fights in which he won eight, with one draw and a defeat to his name.

His opponent's record has now worsen to only two wins , one draw, and four loses out of seven professional fights.

“The guys have been working very hard in the gym and that is why they managed to put up such a great show.

“We want our nation to witness some of the best boxing in months to come and we are therefore planning on boosting our boxers training,” Kamanya said.

One of the things Kamanya touched on was seeing the son of former boxing world champion Harry Simon making an incredible debut.

Harry Simon junior showed that boxing runs in his veins after knocking out his opponent Sam Shama in the third round of the bout.

Kamanya could not disclose when the academy will hold its next bonanza, but promised the nation that they will not have to wait very long.

Jesse Jackson Kauraisa

New dawn for Kunene athletes

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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New dawn for Kunene athletes Life expectations have changed for five young men who represented the marginalised communities of Kunene during the Athletics Namibia (AN) National Track and Field Championships in Windhoek recently.

Besides it being the first time for the young men to take part in formal athletics, it was also their first time to see the country's capital.

Paseuatjo Mbendura, Kuariouje Herunga, Mahindi Tjipuike, Isaak Ndiaombe and Turitjimue Zatjinda are from the Ovatwe, Ovahimba and Ovatjimba communities in the Kunene Region.

In a telephonic interview with Nampa, Ndiaombe, who came fifth in the 5 000 metres, said he has realised that he has a brighter future than just running after cattle.

“I now realised that I can make a living through running,” Ndiaombe said excitedly. Mbendura said it was important to take part and get familiar with the recipe of formal running and steal techniques from those who are in the industry already.

Zatjinda, who sounded very optimistic about his career as an athlete, said he is looking forward to the next engagement with the group's coach in Opuwo. “I want to do my region proud as I now feel that I am human enough to compete against national athletes who are well trained, compared to me who only trained for a fortnight,” he said confidently.

Kaura Kaura, a former athlete, said he and some of his acquaintances spotted the potential of the five young men who have never run formally before.

“The guys are ordinary cattle herders from the marginalised communities who have never had a chance to take part in athletics,” Kaura told this agency recently.

He said they decided to follow the call of President Hage Geingob that “no one should feel left out” and thought of identifying potential athletes from marginalised communities in Namibia and expose their untapped talent. “We are happy with their performance throughout the entire event, considering that they never had an opportunity to be trained properly to reach the best they can ever be,” Kaura remarked.

He said the aim of the athletes now is to become the best and make a living out of their hidden potential.

The athletes' head coach, Mao Tjiroze, told this reporter that it was not an easy thing to explain the dynamics of athletics to the young Kunene five. “We just never had enough time to train these athletes,” Tjiroze said.

He was, however, happy with the performance because the aim was not to win, but to introduce the runners to the system of formal running.

On what lies next for the talented men, Tjiroze said training camps will be arranged to sensitise them on what is needed for them to perform better next year.

Meetings will be held with the relevant ministries and organisations such as AN to see how potential athletes from marginalised communities could be involved at national level.

A talent scouting exercise will be conducted in Tsumkwe sometime in June, while another for Otjozondjupa is still to be determined, Kaura told Nampa.



NAMPA

Basketball camp completed

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Basketball camp completed The Deutsche Höhere Privatschule (DHPS) and the Basketball Artists School (BAS) Foundation completed their first joint basketball camp that ran from 29 April to 1 May at DHPS.

The three-day camp attracted 50 people, including several junior coaches.

The expertise was dribbling, passing, shooting, layups, conditioning, matches and contests.

Trophies were given to Damian Schreiber who received the “Kristin Eichholz MVP 2017” (Most Valuable Player) award, Julian Horenburg (Most Improved Boy), Aayah Elshewikhy (Most Improved Girl) and Zunaid Benjamin (Best Shooter).

DHPS principal, Kristin Eichholz, who personally took part at the camp as a coach said that he was pleased with the progress made by the participants.

“This was the first time our players had three consecutive days of intensive basketball practice and you could really see which positive impact it had on their skills development,” he said.

Camp director Ramah Mumba, from BAS, also lauded the participants for making the camp possible.

“The camp was a huge success and we are sure that next time we will have at least double the number of participants, as the word of mouth will spread about how much fun this camp was for everybody.

“We would like to thank DHPS principal, Kristin Eichholz and OTB Sport for making this possible.”

Eichholz disclosed that the next camp will take place in the new DHPS sports hall.

The camp will have a new flavour given that three basketball training courts will be included.



Jesse Jackson Kauraisa

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A hupu meponokelo lyaakwashigwana

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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A hupu meponokelo lyaakwashigwanaTa dhipaga aniwa aantu nohefa Omukiintu gwomukunda Ongenga mOshikandjohogololo sha Okaku mOshana, okwa hokolola nkene a ponokelwa kaakwashigwana ta lundilwa kutya ota pe aantu ohefa. Hilma Sevelenus omunamimvo 50 okwa hokololele oshifokundaneki shoNamibian Sun kutya okandingosho ke oka hanagulwa po nokutomekwa omulilo kaakwashigwana mboka ya geya taya popi kutya ota dhipaga aantu nomiti dhuuzigo.

Okwa popi kutya osha tameke mOlyomakaya goshiwike shiyaka shokombanda, konima yefumbiko lyomukokele pomudhingoloko gwawo. Omulumentu omukwanezimo gwanakusa okwe ya pokandingosho ke moka ha landitha otombo niinima yilwe lwopotundi onti - 15:00 na okwa tameke ta hanagulapo iinima ye.

“Okwe ya owala mokandingosho kandje na okwa tameke ta pulandje ngele na dhipagendje, onde mu pula kutya onda ninga shike na okwa yamukulandje kutya ondi shi shoka nda ninga. Okwa tameke ta hanagula iinima yandje ayihe,” Sevelenus ta ti.

Okwa popi kutya okwa yi kosasiyona yopolisi yaNdangwa opo a ka lopote oshiningwanima shoka, ihe opolisi oye mu pe omayele opo a shune kegumbo na okwa shuna kegumbo.

Ongula yOsoondaha lwopotundi onti-07:00, ongundu yaantu oye ya megumbo lye tayi mu ithana opo a pitemo.

Omanga ina landula ongundu yaakwashigwana ndjoka ye mu fala kegumbo lyomukolele ngoka a hulitha, okwa pula kutya okwa ninga shike.

“Oye ya megumbo lyandje nokukuthandje mo nokufala ndje kegumbo lyomukokele ngoka, onda pula kutya omolwashike ihe oya popi kutya ongame tandi pelwa ombedhi eso lye.”

Sho ya thiki megumbo lyanakusa okwa tidhwa mo kaakwanezimo.

“Onda li tandi thigipo egumbo ndyoka sho nda thangwa okuzilila konima komulumentu gumwe, na sho nda kambadhala okuthikama okwa kwata ndje pothingo na okwa tameke ta pondondje. Oya mangele kiikaha yandje konima nongodhi omanga komagulu ya mangandje nondhalate. Oya langekendje nda tala mevi na oya tameke taya tulandje omavi momeho. Oya dhengendje kometse memanya, yamwe oya dhengendje niiti omanga yamwe ya thangandje.”

Hilma okwa popi kutya sho a kala ta monithwa iihuna ngaaka na ke na shoka ta vulu okuninga okwa kala a tula eitaalo lye muKalunga kutya oye owala temu hupitha meponokelo ndyoka.

Okwa popi kutya sho opolisi ye ya oye mu londeke nokumufala moshipangelo shaNandjokwe. Okwe shi pondola owala okugandja ehokololo lye kopolisi mOmaandaha ihe natango okwa ponokelwa aakwashigwana puundunda hawu ithanwa Omulamba.

Okwa popi kutya opolisi natango oye ya yi mu popile nokufalwa ishewe koshipangelo nokonima okwa tulamo oshipotha.

“Ondi na uumbanda ngashiingeyi na ondi li manga naakwanezimo. Itandi vulu okuza mo megumbo. Ngele otaya popi kutya onda pa omuntu ohefa naya holole uumbangi.’

Yamwe po yomaakwashigwana mboka ya ningwa nayo oonkundathana koNamibian Sun oya popi kutya hasho oshikando shotango omuntu ta si konima sho a talele po okandingosho komukiintu ngoka.

“Kuume kandje, momudhingoloko nguka kape na ngoka ta popile omukiintu ngoka. Ota dhipaga aantu,” omunamukunda gumwe a popi.

Metitatu aakwashigwana oya pangele okuninga ehololomadhilaadhilo ihe inali ka ningwa we.



Sho a ningilwa omapulaapulo, Komanda gwOpolisi yaShana, Rauha Amwele okwa popi kutya ina tseyithilwa kombinga yoshiningwanima shoka. Okwa popi kutya aakwashigwana kaye na uuthemba okwiikuthila oveta nongele oye na uumbangi oya pumbwa okukalopota oshiningwanima shoka kopolisi.

KENYA KAMBOWE

Gigaba has the answers

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Gigaba has the answersSpeaks at WEF, gains trust In discussion with a veteran journalist, South African finance minister Malusi Gigaba shed some light on his views and the country's economy. The fight against corruption in South Africa should not become a fight against transformation, said South African finance finister Malusi Gigaba.

Speaking at the 27th World Economic Forum in Durban, Gigaba cautioned against the notion that putting the economy in black people's hands amounts to corruption. “We shouldn't use transformation and corruption in the same breath.”

Gigaba was in discussion with Adrian Monck, veteran journalist and WEF head of communication on radical economic transformation in South Africa.

Monck asked Gigaba about recent statements that the ANC had been too conservative in dealing with transformation and the economy. “How should economic change become more radical?”

Gigaba acknowledged that there were areas where the ANC-led government could have done better. “We could have better changed the structure of production for example to diversify the economy and create a thriving manufacturing sector,” he said.

In addition, more attention should have been paid to beneficiation and skills development, such as those of future entrepreneurs.

“One problem for example is that there's not a productive economy in our townships and rural areas. The economy in townships are based on spaza shops and car washes for example and you must therefore understand the impatience for more speedy and significant change,” Gigaba said.

He stressed that the ANC should work hard and be self-critical to justify the confidence of the masses who put their trust in the ruling party.

Monck asked Gigaba whether he plans on continuing with the trajectory of fiscal prudence. “South Africa's fiscal debt was one of the main triggers for the credit ratings downgrade that greeted you when you became finance minister,” Monck said.

“Now you have the opportunity to let people know if you're going to borrow more, or follow through on the previous trajectory.”

Gigaba reiterated previous statements that the 2017 budget is set and that “nobody must tamper with it”.

“But we need to grow the economy. The inclusive growth narrative must become part of our DNA. With a growing economy we can expand our revenue base and grow the fiscus with which we can invest in socioeconomic programmes.

“However, we cannot spend money we don't' have. We need to manage it. Our spending patterns should not be out of tune with the growth patterns in our economy.”

Monck also asked Gigaba to tell the audience about his political career and pointed out that he was three times elected as president of the ANC Youth League when he was younger. “What took you into politics?”

Gigaba said his father was a pastor and his first ambition was to become a bishop. “I imagined myself wearing long robes and carrying a pastoral stick. Then I evolved into wanting to become an attorney, but my father told me I'll have to lie on behalf of criminals.”

Instead he obtained an education degree and entered politics at a very young age, Gigaba said. “And it's the only thing I know since then.”

Monck concluded the session asking Gigaba whether he harboured any presidential ambitions, in the same vein as the young French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron.

Gigaba side-stepped the question, but pointed out that the South African political system, particularly the ANC, functions in a particular way.

“In December 2017, ANC branches will make their decisions about the (new ANC) leadership,” he said.

FIN24

Rhino ride tour looms

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Rhino ride tour looms The annual RMB Ride for Rhinos tour will begin on 24 June in Namibia.

Around 20 cyclists will traverse through the rugged landscape of north-western Namibia as part of their support towards the endangered animals.

Since 2015, the RMB Ride for Rhinos, a Travel News Namibia initiative, has provided an opportunity for 20 cyclists to support and increase their understanding of the efforts of SRT by participating in a 160 km, four-day cycle tour.

RMB Namibia also announced that it will provide pedal power to trackers.

RMB Namibia and the FNB Foundation, save the Rhino Trust were able to purchase eight mountain bikes to help its trackers protect the last free-ranging population of black rhino left on earth.

Accepting the bikes on behalf of the foundation was STR’s CEO, Simson Uri-Khob.

“Our trackers operate in remote areas, covering up to 45 km a day on foot.

“These bikes will make them more mobile, and able to react quickly to the challenges of protecting rhinos in this environment,” Uri-Khob said.

After careful evaluation, SRT will use the first eight bikes as part of a pilot project, deploying them to allow trackers to reach areas of concern more expediently, thus increasing their effectiveness and ultimately their ability to protect the rhinos.

“By experiencing the harsh environment where SRT trackers operate, we at RMB have a better understanding of the difficulties SRT trackers face in their mission to save the rhinos.

“This understanding provides a strong motivation for us and the other riders who participate in the RMB Ride for Rhinos event to become even greater advocates for rhino conservation,” Head of RMB Namibia Conrad Dempsey said.

Through exposure, awareness and increased understanding that have been a substantial part of the RMB Ride for Rhinos, several other Namibian companies and individuals have come forward to support SRT with funding and in-kind donations.

A substantial discount offered by CYMOT, another long-time supporter of SRT, the bikes are adding to the arsenal of ways in which SRT trackers can continue to fight poaching and protect our rhinos.

Save the Rhino Trust Namibia

Established in 1982, Save the Rhino Trust (SRT), a Namibian Non-Governmental Organization, is dedicated to the monitoring, study and protection of the critically endangered desert adapted black rhino in the Kunene and Erongo regions in north-western Namibia.

Sports Reporter

Mariental set for sport event

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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Mariental set for sport eventTeachers are ready Hundreds of people are gearing up to participate in a sport event slated for this week. The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture will host its 10th Annual Inter-Ministerial Sports event from today till Friday, in Mariental.

The event will see teams from all the regional directorates of education and head quarters competing for honours.

The teams will compete in football, netball and volleyball matches throughout the week.

The tournament commences with a parade today from 07:00, with the official opening slated for 08:30 at the Persianer Sports Ground.

Themed, ‘Celebrating a decade of breaking barriers through unity in sports’, organiser expects a large number of people at the event.

The tournament is one of the major sporting activities held by the Ministry’s Social Sport Club.

The event was established with the aim to create a platform for its branches so that employees can socialise and create work related links and share best work practices whilst taking part in different sport codes.

The platform also offers interaction with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Through the event the ministry is able to encourage and promote all forms of sport codes, social and recreational activities for all participating staff members.

The event ensures that staff members accelerate to having healthy bodies with healthy minds.

Kunene Region hosted the event in (2008), Kavango Region (2009), || Kharas Region (2010), Erongo (2011) Khomas (2012), Otjozondjupa (2013), Oshikoto Region (2014), Oshana region (2015) and Zambezi Region (2016).

The public relations officer of the ministry, Johanna Absalom, urged people to flock in their numbers.

“The event is free at the gate and therefore all interested members of public can make their way to the stadium,” She said.

A resident of Mariental, Maggie van Wyk expressed her excitement over the event.

She believes that the event will contribute to the town’s development as many of the people will be buying and supporting local stalls.

“We are very excited and I can tell you that this will be a productive week in our town.

“I urge people to remain discipline and avoid accidents and other criminal activities,” Van Wyk said.

Jesse Jackson Kauraisa

SA appoints Baxter

May 7, 2017, 4:00 pm

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SA appoints Baxter Stuart Baxter's reason for accepting the Bafana Bafana job was to have another go at competing at a FIFA World Cup, says SuperSport United CEO Stanley Matthews.

The 63-year-old Baxter was on Thursday confirmed as South Africa's new head coach after a lengthy search process to find a successor for Shakes Mashaba, who was sacked in December 2016.

Baxter will be officially unveiled by South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan upon his return to South Africa from CAF and FIFA commitments.

Meanwhile, the United coach will continue to fulfill his responsibilities at the club for the remaining four Absa Premiership fixtures, as well as the Nedbank Cup and Confederations Cup.

SAFA and Matsatsansta have agreed to work together to ensure that Baxter gets time off following SuperSport's final league match on May 27 to prepare Bafana Bafana for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) match against Nigeria.

Bafana Bafana will take on the Super Eagles on the weekend of June 9-11 in Nigeria.

Matthews wished Baxter the best of luck for his second term as Bafana Bafana mentor, but stressed that the focus right now is still on SuperSport United retaining the Nedbank Cup and finishing in the top four of the League.

"We obviously did not want to lose Stuart as our coach. He has done a great job in getting us to the competitive level we expect as a club, however, we also understand that Stuart would like to have a final go at competing at a FIFA World Cup and that would be a fantastic achievement for the country as a whole," said Matthews.

"But right now our focus, and that of Stuart's, has to be on a strong finish to the League, becoming the first club to retain the Nedbank Cup and to fight our way through the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.

"So we are glad this matter is now settled and we can all focus on the job at hand which is meeting our football targets for this season and planning ahead for next season."

Baxter joined SuperSport United in January 2016 and led Matsatsantsa to a top 8 finish and won them the Nedbank Cup trophy with a thrilling victory over Orlando Pirates in May 2016.

This season, United reached the Telkom Cup final but were defeated by newly formed PSL side Cape Town City.

Sport24