Auntie Nangy

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Auntie Nangy Erectile dysfunction



Dear Auntie Nangy, I have a problem with my penis. These days, whenever I try to have sex it fails to reach full erection and when it does I ejaculate within in a minute. Please help.



Oh boy, this is a bit of a tough situation. Auntie can imagine how hard this might be for you. Erectile dysfunction can be caused by physical problems, psychological factors or a combination of both. I know it's hard for guys to discuss erectile problems, but treatments exist. Auntie advises you to see a medical doctor, and don't be shy to describe the problem. Auntie wishes you luck. Hopefully soon, you and your special someone will have no further problems.







No job, no money



Dear Auntie Nangy, I have a problem… I am orphan… I don't have a job and I don't have money. What must I do now?



Oh my sweet child, how lonely and full of despair it must be to be orphaned and with no ability to provide for yourself. While you might feel achingly alone, remember there are people willing to help and you too have abilities that you might not be aware of. Take a piece of paper and write down all your strengths, passions and abilities. Think of ways you can turn it into an income-generating activity. Also, update your CV, reach out to people to help you in that regard, apply for anything and everything. Talk to activists in your community, volunteer for NGOs in your community, they might assist in the long run. You need to go out there and find the opportunities. If you are still a minor, approach the welfare ministry for assistance. Auntie is right behind you cheering you onto and speaking life into your dreams.







Too shy to ask



Dear Auntie Nangy, There is this girl I like and I am afraid of proposing to her… please what should I do?



Afraid of proposing? Oh you boys make Auntie so angry. There was a time Auntie had her eyes firmly set on this guy from down the street. He took so long; Auntie was convinced he weren't interested. By the time he finally had the courage to ask Auntie out; Auntie already had way too many boyfriends on speed dial and was struggling to juggle an already busy schedule. Lesson here, life is a fast-moving train, speak up, she might just be waiting on you. Also, what do you have to lose apart from a broken heart as a result of rejection, a broken heart that would eventually heal itself.











Dominating colleague



Dear Auntie Nangy, I have a problem that I'm not sure of how to fix. I have made friends with a lady at work and that is fine. The problem comes when I have to do projects with her. Auntie, I just feel like she takes over everything and suffocates me. The sad part is that she doesn't see the problem in this and even wants us to be assigned on more projects. I would like to remain friends with her but I'm scared of the day I will open my mouth and then, I will hurt her feelings. What must I do?



You don't need to be mean, rude or lose a friendship to be professional. Tell her how you feel, and that her actions reflect badly on her. If you two have crossed a line as friends, then it would be wise to choose to not work on the same projects. Making friends is great, but ultimately you come to work, and at work, that's your number one priority. Speak up!







Cyber-bullies



Dear Auntie Nangy, I am being bullied on the internet and I don't know how to handle it. It gets to me some days and others I am able to ignore it. The people bullying me are those that I know but they don't know that they are hurting me. Please help.



Social media can be such a cruel place. People have become so numb to the human lives behind the post and the comments. You need to prioritise your own sanity by limiting your social media activity and not interacting with people who are cruel or rude. Sites such as Facebook offer privacy settings, unfriend and block those you deem toxic. I know it's hard, but try not read comments and post about you. Also, if it I indeed hurtful, also approach law enforcement for assistance. Here is an imaginary hug from Auntie to you. Stay blessed.

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Let's talk music

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Let's talk musicAction taken for the hip hop industry Popyeni Kaxuxwena hosts another session in the hope to unite and allow ideas to be shared between hip hop artists PK Administrations brings back the second volume of yet another Hip Hop Talk to discuss the status of Namibian hip hop. The panel of five will share their experience within their area of expertise. Organiser and hip hop enthusiast Popyeni Kaxuxwena says the much-anticipated event is one that will be a platform for engagement on important industry matters. He says for a long time in Namibia, hip hop has been known as the stepchild of kwaito music and it has not been appreciated as an industry on its own… and this brings about its own unique problems.

Part of the agenda includes speakers from the hip hop community, artists Ghetto Ballerina, J Black, Franklin, DV8 and vocal DJ Musketeer, who will each give their perspective of the industry and will be airing some issues too.

Kaxuxwena says hip hop artists are not given a platform of their own and this brings about issues such as the artists not knowing how to stand on their own or how to organise their own events.

“The hip hop industry is not guided and has not been in the past.

The consequences are that the up and coming artists don't have role models who have successfully made it just from staying in the hip hop lane and because of this, there is nothing to build on.

This means everything is borrowed from other countries and we miss out on our culture. The Hip Hop Talks will cover all of this and it is important that everyone affected person comes,” Kaxuxwena said.

The event will take place on 24 February at the Warehouse Theatre from 12:00 to 14:00. Entrance fee is N$30.

June Shimuoshili

Entertainment with a purpose

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Entertainment with a purpose436 performances across Namibia in 2017 tjil looks into OYO's achievements and their plans for 2018. Since 2001, the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) has been a platform that works with young people to target social issues such as HIV prevention, sexual health, alcohol and drug abuse, stigma and discrimination, through the arts.

Director and choreographer Philippe Talavera chats with tjil about the successes of 2017.

tjil (T): How was the year 2017 for OYO, what were some of the noticeable accomplishments?

Philippe Talavera (PT): We had many programmes in 2017, many more than any other year. We performed 436 times to 150 488 people.

To be able to reach those numbers, we actually had to divide the troupe. We created a junior troupe with trainees. This allowed us to reach more schools and more learners.

T: What are some things you missed to do last year?

PT: We were so busy touring that it was difficult to focus on the personal development of dancers as performers.

We also didn't have that much time to create new pieces. Overall, we reached our targets and did a fantastic work.

T: What are the plans in motion for OYO 2018?

PT: We have unfortunately lost one of our funding partners this year, as the global fund decided not to renew its support to OYO. Therefore we will tour much less extensively.

Subsequently, we regrouped the troupe.

We won't have two groups touring at the same time.

We are managing three big projects this year: the San Matter, the In and Out project and the Growing Strong in the //Karas Region.

T: What are some of the plays to premiere this year?

PT: Since 2017 we have been doing some work around the issue of child marriage.

We realised that child marriage is more prominent than one may think.

It is a part of our San Matter project.

It is also the theme of a film we produced with the Omega community and we will launch soon.

Maria was born from discussion with young girls who were married before completing school and never got a chance to further their studies.

But what impact does it have on the girls? Should such practices still exist in the Namibia of today? Those are questions raised by the piece Maria.

June Shimuoshili

How to love

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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How to love Gone are the days when so much of what our grandparents told us we can still apply. From the way we dress, to the way we communicate, and even the way we express our love or whom we choose to love – everything has changed. We live in a generation of not being loved but we still make it seem like we are together… sometimes. New-age relationships or millennial dating has transcended the way relationships work or at least the dynamics of traditional relationships. Some youth are no longer interested in traditional and committed relationships. Not utterly healthy, but, do we blame the youth? Others opt to love the same sex, and it is perfectly fine.

Our generation takes pride in the amount of girls or men they date. As a safeguard and as a way to limit the disappointments of dating in this new age and due to a general lack of trust, more and more young people opt to enter open relationships in order to test whether their partners are going to be faithful to them or not. When people enter open relationships they consider the benefits instead of the challenges. Part of the reason why many opt for these relationships is because they believe they will get what they want without difficulty, or any effort at all. In an open relationship you do not belong to the person you are seeing, you are not exclusive to them but you can still see them. You can date and mingle with any other person that you want without the baggage of being in a relationship. Quite frankly, open relationships are messy and highly unpredictable but a few people make it work for them.

I personally think such relationships are caused by people not knowing their worth or who don't love themselves.

The underlying reasons vary for entering into such relationships with anyone, include the fear of getting one's heartbroken by someone or not having time to enter into a real relationship. At the end of the day, it is about being safe and true to you. Whomever you choose to love and how to love them is totally up to you. Get out of your shell and demand what you want instead of getting what someone thinks is right for you.



june@namibiansun.com



June Shimuoshili

Local film calls for auditions

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Local film calls for auditions#LANDoftheBRAVEfilm to commence shooting soon Collective Productions has called for auditions for four specific roles in the movie #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm. #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm has been a long time coming as the first draft of the screenplay was written in 2009.

#LANDoftheBRAVEfilm follows the story of Meisie Willemse, a tough cop with a dodgy past. She's solving one of the most challenging murder cases of her 25-year career as a cop.

The closer she is to catching the killer, the more secrets from her past are revealed, ultimately derailing Meisie's life. She'll only crack the case once she faces her own demons.

The film is produced by Collective Productions and producers have called public auditions for four roles.

“Anyone who feels that they have acting talent and that meet the character specifications as laid out audition, no matter what experience level they have, can come,” said Tim Huebschle, the film's director. The bigger roles of #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm including that of Meisie Willemse are selected via a closed audition process where hand-picked actors do screen tests.

On the #LANDoftheBRAVEfilm audition website there are character briefs and excerpts from the screenplay which interested people can download and prepare.

“What we want is those that are interested to record their 60-second audition using their phone or camera, upload and share the link of their audition video with us,” said Huebschle. Applicants must fill out the entry form and paste the link of their video in the relevant field on the form available on www.landofthebravefilm.com/audition.

Supported through a production grant from the Namibia Film Commission, the movie will be shot this year in July and August in various parts of Windhoek, and a little bit en route to and in Lüderitz.

#LANDoftheBRAVEfilm is set for release at the end of 2018. The Namibian thriller is expected to be 110 minutes long.

June Shimuoshili

Eat and relax at the Pantry at Avani

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Eat and relax at the Pantry at Avani Need a grab-and-go mix of comfort food or sit and chill with boos, friends or family?

The Pantry at Avani is just the place for you.

The Pantry at Avani is one of the luxurious features of the hotel's N$24 million modernisation project unveiled recently. Handpicked socialites dressed in black and gold were granted a powerful taste of the new sit-or-go eatery in the heart of Windhoek when it was launched by Rudie Putter, general manager of AVANI Windhoek Hotel & Casino last Thursday.

This on-the-go café offers fresh, quick bites for guests on the move, whether they are looking for a healthy snack en-route to a meeting, or comfort food after a long day of work. With fine, freshly made coffee, a selection of cold drinks, wines and cocktails completing the menu, this offering grants guests a quick alternative to the hotel's other dining option, which was designed for a more relaxing, indulgent experience.

“This first phase of our redevelopment means that guests can now enjoy the convenience of entering the hotel from the main street, while larger groups or frequent travellers are now also welcomed at their own entrance and reception area, easing the congestion for other guests in the main lobby during busy periods,” said Putter.

In addition, Pantry at Avani is perfectly located alongside the new business lounge and is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology starting from Apple iMac, a wireless colour printer and high-speed Internet access. The hotel will be rolling out upgraded high-speed WIFI throughout the hotel during the second phase of the renovation, to ensure guests can stay connected.

Staff Reporter

It's about self love

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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It's about self loveLGBTIQA+, a community kind of love tjil speaks to self-love advocate and award winning artist Priscilla the Namibian Dessert Queen on the recent project she embarked on with the LGBTIQA+ community. This week we celebrated love. Love which comes easy to some and to others, not so as they have to identify and understand themselves to express their love.

People have the misconception that Valentine's is all about spending the day with your partner, however, it is also about loving oneself.

Priscilla the Namibian Dessert Queen says her childhood had a lot do with who she is today and why she is the ambassador of love, by singing about it or mentoring people to love themselves.

It has to do with her being an early developer who developed breasts before the rest of the girls in her grade, by the age of nine. She started hating her body as she was called names which made her develop low self-esteem and she started having self-destructive thoughts.

“I told my mother about this and she told me to stop crying because God created me in his image and there was nothing wrong with me,” she recalls.

In 2015, Priscilla was involved in a car accident that left her paralysed from waist down and it took her back to square one, again.

She started wondering why she was so unlucky and blamed everyone around her, almost giving up on life.

“It was weird because I found myself wanting the 'big' body I hated in the beginning because I was going to be left with nothing,” she said.

Her kids and family helped her recover and whilst in hospital she wrote her first song titled Malva Pudding, as she had come to understand that she had to love herself the way she was.

Priscilla started the Love Yourself campaign the following year which was aimed at encouraging plus-sized ladies to love themselves and know their worth.

The campaign, which included motivational talks and a photo shoot, received such an overwhelming response and she extended it to ladies of all sizes and shapes in the 2017 campaign.

This year, Priscilla's Love Yourself campaign is with the LGBTIQA+ community members which were inspired by her song LGBTI - Coming Out. She believes she has a soft spot for the community as she was once being bullied, feeling not good enough, and desperately wanted to feel loved.

“I want the whole of Namibia to know that the Love Yourself campaign is about embracing everyone,” she said.

The 2018 campaign started with a photo shoot with the seven members from the LGBTIQA+ community who share their stories of how they came out and what loving themselves is.

Miss Ivy Hailombe - transgender

I am a proudly a Namibia transwoman. From an early age I knew that I was different but I did not have the words to articulate myself. I started to do research and seeking professional help. I finally got my answer and I broke the news to my parents and their response was overwhelming. They accepted me as I was and I felt so free.

Donovan - gay



Twice in my life, my sexual orientation has been exposed on my behalf, without my consent, to both my family and my friends.

This was not easy and was partly my fault because I had allowed the world to control who and how I was to be. I have since decided to get up every day and take control of my life and my journey. Let's grow ourselves, let's grow one another and let's grow Namibia with strength and confidence.

Redelio - gay

I've always felt different. Whether it was the way I spoke, dressed or saw the world. I started to see my difference as a disease. I hated myself.

It went on for so many years until I met a woman who asked me why you are limiting yourself. She looked at me and said embrace yourself and you'll go far. Today I believe in love and celebrating oneself in every aspect.

Celine - transgender

Someone once asked me how it is to be transgender. I had to ask the person how it is to be heterosexual. You know, at times people think that the lives we live are somehow extraordinary. I believe deep down inside we all live a life full of daily struggles. All of us as humans have emotions.

I may not be defined by what society expects me to be, however, I am defined by my simple existence. I am defined by being human.

June Shimuoshili

Beware the populist wolves

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Beware the populist wolves If African governments, including those run by former liberation movements, continue to abuse the trust of their people by making empty promises and through practising self-enrichment, unscrupulous populists will continue to rise.

A case in point is the political soap opera that culminated in the resignation of South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday night, which holds many important lessons for Namibia, given the well-documented, shared history of the two nations.

This is especially true when one analyses the way Zuma had initially used populist rhetoric to position himself as a man of the people and someone who is 'pro-poor'.

When Zuma rode the populist train, in the run-up to the 2007 African National Congress (ANC) Polokwane national conference, he was an 'outsider'.

Back then he was fired from government, and together with his backers in Cosatu, the South African Communist Party, the ANC Youth League and sections of the ANC, was challenging the establishment led by a supposedly aloof President Thabo Mbeki.

Yet, when Zuma ascended to the party, and later the state presidency, he used his powers to run a now well-documented state capture project, which resulted in billions being siphoned from the country's fiscus, at the expense of the poorest of the poor.

Perhaps it is not fair to use Zuma as yardstick for those who spew populist rhetoric simply as a pretext to place their hands on the levers of power. However, his rise is certainly a blueprint that can be followed by the likeminded. Unsurprisingly, the proponents of populism argue that the established political order needs to be disrupted, as it no longer listens to the people or cares about them.

In the Namibian context, 28 years after independence, many feel let down, miserable and hopeless, as the fruits of freedom remain out of reach. This in itself is a breeding ground for those who would use these genuine gripes to their own advantage.

For now, they only appear to be winning popularity contests on social media.

However, that may change in the years to come, as radical populism, spewed by wolves in sheep's clothing, is used to secure ever-decreasing spaces at the state feeding trough.

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The limits of imagination

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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The limits of imagination Has someone ever posed a question to you and asked you to use your imagination to come up with the answer? Chances are that if you were raised in the hood like I was, you will struggle with such a question. Well, it’s not because kids raised in the hood – the Katuturas, Omulungas, Kuisebmonds and Tseiblaagtes of this world – have no imagination; it’s because we were raised with a completely different set of imagination than those boys from the suburbs.

Kids from the suburbs have a wild imagination – and so do their parents. Gary, an old school friend of mine, who recently graduated with a Charterted Accoountant (CA) qualification is one such person with a wild imagination.

Ask Gary anything, and he is bound to come up with the most outrageous answer. For instance, I recently sat Gary down and told him I have some news to tell him.

“Don’t tell me….wait, I know! You just won the lottery and the two of us will go on a road trip across the world. We will rob banks, date women and just go nuts. I will change my name to Kiko and I will call you Dudu!

Eish, I was only going to inform him that I bought a new exercise bicycle! Such a wild imagination!

It is people like Gary that allow their kids to have imaginary friends, with whom they do almost anything under the sun with. Our kids from the hood will be staring at the suburbs’ kids in awe as the kid talks to his imaginary friend and even asks them to talk to him!

We had no imaginary friends – it was already enough keeping up with our fake friends who only came around when mommy dishes out the food! To be honest, we didn’t even know back then of the existence of such a thing as an imaginary friend.

Our imagination took us to other places – like actually believing that Daisy, the most sought-after girl at school was ours! Or that we look exactly like Denzel Washington and are the best thing to happen to girls since ‘Bu-Tone’. Ja, those were how far our imaginations went.

Have you ever wondered why kids from the hood back in the day had difficulty understanding science fiction movies like E.T. and others? Well, our brain was not made to explore and actually believe the possibility that a dog could talk, or that a cat could fly!

Show us Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris and MacGyver anytime and we will actually believe that a man can fly through a hail of bullets. That, my friends, was our kind of imagination. In fact, I believe to this very day that nothing beats Chuck Norris – the man is just tough and nothing will get him down.

So, whenever a mother tells her kid, “You can be anything you set your mind on. Let the limits of your imagination be your only guide…”, we always giggled and whispered to ourselves that the mother had no idea what she is telling her kid.

Like, can someone really be anything, and anyone you want to be? At that moment we all looked at Chuck Norris on our TV screens and in unison shook our heads and broke down in uncontrollable laughter. To us, there can only one Chuck Norris.

But living in a world full of trials and tribulations, we are at times called upon to be creative with our imagination. For instance, if your ATM refuses to give you the amount you asked for due to insufficient funds, simply slip the card back in and imagine the money rolling out of the ATM.

In fact a little prayer will help too: “By the grace of the almighty God, God of Moses who helped him part the Red Sea, God of Abraham who held his hand when he was about to sacrifice his own son, please take away any evil cast upon this ATM. I declare and decree that no insufficient funds formed against me shall prosper. I decree that I will receive that N$1000 I seek, in Jesus name I pray…”

If nothing pops out by the time you open your eyes, then the ATM most probably had an imagination of its own too!

Until then…

tjatindi@gmail.com

Rain causes havoc

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Rain causes havoc Houses and household items of roughly 60 families were destroyed and blown away by heavy rains and winds over the weekend in the Burgershoek settlement on the northern outskirts of Rehoboth.

Burgershoek is the one of the town's poorer areas and is home to many squatters and unemployed people.

The Rehoboth Urban West constituency leadership has appealed to Good Samaritans who can assist with donations of corrugated iron sheets or mattresses and blankets.

One of the affected people was an elderly man who had spent about N$25 000 to build his makeshift house which has been completely destroyed.

Other people barely scraped together enough material to build their dwellings which have been lost to the strong winds as well.

“It is such a tragedy, but the good thing is that no one was injured. The saddest part is that some people are not in town as they are working outside Rehoboth and have not yet returned to see their homes are gone,” said Jan van Wyk, a member of parliament and the constituency leadership.

He added that many of the residents cannot afford to buy new building material as they are either pensioners or unemployed people.

Meanwhile, a caravan belonging to another elderly man was blown around and eventually landed on its roof, while shacks were simply blown apart.

“Even people's belongings were blown away.

Some people have managed to iron out their corrugated iron sheets and have started repairing their homes, while others must find new building materials Things were also stolen in the aftermath of the storm,” he said.



JEMIMA BEUKES

Communal farmers called to register

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Communal farmers called to register The Namibia National Farmers' Union (NNFU) will kick-off the launch of their membership registration and the issuing of membership cards to members, for them to be able to participate in the agri-value chain, tomorrow.

This will also see the introduction of the NNFU Livestock Auction Calendars for the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) that would help those farmers to sell their livestock.

Apart from launch that will be held at selected places in Oshana, Omusati and Kunene, the registration of farmers will be done at all the regional council offices in constituencies with the support of traditional authorities and ministry of agriculture.

The union says this is to enable it to organise communal farmers into commodity-based institutions, and create a database of farmers based on commodities they produce, so that the union can negotiate with buyers.

According to the union's regional coordinator for the NCA and Kunene North, Chacks Ashikutuwa, the majority of farmers are only registered as livestock farmers without specifying what they are farming with.

He says the strategy is aimed at enabling farmers to pull production together and market as a group, and also to have a strong influence on policy makers and other service providers.

“The NNFU is embarking on the process of being seen at ground level in all 14 regions of the country registering farmers based on what they produce. This will involve the establishment farmers' associations, cooperatives, and other community-based organisations in all constituencies toward well-organised agriculture. In constituencies where these institutions already exist, we will support and empower them,” Ashikutuwa says.

Ashikutuwa said that one of the NNFU's mandates is to formalise the agricultural industry, including involving all stakeholders, to control, advise, direct and implement diverse agricultural activities in order to uplift the living standard of rural people.

“Our goal is to protect and advance the interests of communal and emerging farmers, to promote the development of a viable farming industry, in order to improve rural communities' standard of living and enhance the rural farming industry's contribution to the national economy, and grow internationally competitive, innovative and sustainable farm businesses,” he says.

He said that NNFU membership provides farmers with votes on all resolutions presented to the NNFU Congress, an opportunity to stand for the NNFU National Council and its board, a vote on the election of NNFU board members, the ability to communicate directly with NNFU on national issues of interest, access to information and policy papers on national issues, and the opportunity to nominate to participate in NNFU statutory boards where there is expertise and interest.

He said the first launch will be held at Oshakati in Oshana tomorrow at the youth ministry's offices. That will be followed by Musati at Outapi on Monday at the ministry of youth, Opuwo on 22 February, and Omakange on 23 February.

He said when registering, farmers would be expected to bring along their identity documents and information on their farming commodities.

ILENI NANDJATO

Land tax under threat

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Land tax under threatFarmers want it halted With a legal challenge to the Valuation Court's proceedings, two farming operations are asking the court to halt the payment and collection land tax. A ruling is expected next Wednesday in an urgent High Court application that sees two farmers seeking an immediate halt to the levying and collection of commercial land taxes, until a legal challenge is finalised targeting Valuation Court proceedings that took place in 2016.

The owners of Traupe Farming CC and Mapan Boerdery (Pty) Ltd, are arguing that the land valuation process should be declared null and void in their main application, where they are also seeking an interdict against the implementation of the rulings, orders and proceedings of the Valuation Court.

They lodged an interim challenge against the implementation of the Valuation Court's decisions on 23 September last year and went further on 10 October, when they challenged the written rulings and orders that had been given by commercial farm valuators.

Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula is expected to deliver his ruling on the urgent application to halt the levying and collection of commercial land taxes next week, in which the two farmers also want the respondents to be interdicted from issuing an assessment of the land taxes payable in terms of the main valuation roll of 1 April 2012.

Among the respondents are Valuation Court president Johannes Shuuveni, the ministers of agriculture and finance and the commissioner of inland revenue.

The applicants also want the court to interdict the commissioner of inland revenue from requiring that any land tax be payable in terms of any assessment purportedly based on the 2012 valuation roll.

Advocate Andrew Corbett, who is representing the two farmers, when asked why his clients had not negotiated an acceptable deal for themselves, said their valuation assessments had already done by the agriculture ministry, and that's why there was no point negotiating. “The only option is a court intervention,” he said.

According to Corbett, there was already a decision that constituted an invalid exercise of power, while adding that rates were already determined, tax assessments done and the amounts to be paid calculated.

Corbett argued that the applicants have a clear or a prima facie right to protect their interests, pending the final adjudication of the main review application.

In the main review application, the applicants seek to review, correct and set aside the rulings, orders and the proceedings of the Valuation Court.

They are also seeking a declaratory that such rulings, orders and proceedings be declared to be in conflict with Article 18, read with Article 12, of the Namibian Constitution.

The grounds of review in the main review application are non-compliance with sub-regulations 13(7)(c) which require that the Valuation Court give reasons for its decisions, and if this is not done, renders such rulings, proceedings and orders in violation of the constitution.

The applicants further argue that the Valuation Court did not all times consist of four members, nor were its decisions at all times those of the majority.

They said that there are allegedly no circumstances justifying less than four Valuation Court members presiding over its proceedings.

It is further being argued that the Valuation Court does not appreciate the nature of its power, in terms of regulation 12(3), which states that should it find, as it did, that the 2012 provisional valuation roll could not be relied upon for valuation purposes, then the court was constrained by the same regulation to order land valuator Protasius Thomas, or any valuator appointed, to revalue the agricultural land, while applying the correct methodology.

It's is being further claimed the jurisdictional facts prescribed by the enabling Act and regulations were not complied with, and that the valuators, among others, failed to appreciate the nature of their duties and discretion, to apply their minds properly and act fairly and reasonably.

In fact, it is being claimed, they acted outside the bounds of the relevant provisions.



FRED GOEIEMAN

Zambezi top jobless list

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Zambezi top jobless list The Zambezi Region ranks the highest in terms of unemployment in the country according to the Namibia Labour Force Survey (NLFS) report for 2016, presented in Rundu.

The NLFS report presented by senior communications specialist at the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), Nelson Ashipala, showed that the Zambezi Region had a 48% unemployment rate in 2016.

This was followed by Ohangwena at 45.4% and //Karas at 23%, while the Erongo Region had the lowest unemployment rate at 21.9%.

Ashipala indicated that the unemployment rate was higher for females than males for all the regions, except in Ohangwena and Omusati where the rates for females were lower than that of men.

The highest unemployment rate for the female population was recorded in the Kunene and Zambezi regions at 62.8% and 58.3%, respectively.

Ashipala observed that the highest unemployment rates for the male population were recorded in Ohangwena at 43.9% and Kunene at 43.8%.

He stressed the need for more employment to be created in the Zambezi Region in accordance with levels of education for those who are active in contributing to the economy of the country within their levels of education.

He thus called on the regional and local authorities, as well as those sectors responsible for regional planning, to do more in terms of workshops for the youth on how employment can be created to remedy the situation.

Speaking to Nampa on the sidelines of the event, one of the participants at the presentation, Dr Bennette Kangumu of the University of Namibia called on the education directorate to pull up their socks as most of those unemployed are school leavers who either failed Grade 10 or 12.

He appealed to the youth in the region to approach various offices and enquire about how they could become job creators.

Kangumu further said there is great potential in the agriculture sector in the region where the youth can make a living and create jobs.

The intercensal demographic and labour force survey launched at Katima Mulilo will also be presented to other regions.

NAMPA

More CEO’s are taking their social responsibly seriously

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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More CEO’s are taking their social responsibly seriously Thinking of the future We are witnessing a big, transitional moment – akin to the transition from analog to digital, or the realization that globalization is a really big deal. Companies are beginning to realize that paying attention to the longer term, to the perceptions of their company, and to the social consequences of their products is good business.

Jana Partners, the activist hedge fund, isn’t known as a tree-hugging hippie sort of firm. Yet, last month it joined with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to send a letter to Apple’s board warning about the effects of the company’s devices on children. The same month, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink sent a letter telling companies that his firm would consider social responsibility when making investments. And Mark Zuckerberg told investors that Facebook would be making changes to its platform that would help users in the long-term, even though, he warned, in the short-term the result would be users spending less time on it.

This realization is arriving not a moment too soon. The world badly needs a more sustainable form of capitalism if we’re going to build a more inclusive, prosperous society and avoid catastrophic climate change. Of course, many of us have been saying this for a while – that we need to think more about the long-term, consider social context, and incorporate sustainability into business. (Fink, to his credit, has been talking about long-termism for years.) The question, then, is: why now? Why are more and more mainstream players taking this seriously?

In my discussions with executives and in my teaching at Harvard Business School, two answers come to mind. The first is millennials’ growing role in the workforce. My students today are more likely to focus on a business’s impact on the environment or society at large, and to insist that companies have a positive social mission. The second is a declining confidence on the part of executives that government will step in and fix some of our biggest problems – from climate change to inequality. (This decline mirrors a decline among the broader population.) Both of these trends existed before Trump became president, but his election has accelerated them both.

Even so, the fundamental question around sustainable business remains how companies can bridge the gap between their own apparent self-interest and the broader needs of society. If a company decides to do the right thing, won’t its competitors take advantage? That question remains critical. It’s hard work to run a firm and to consistently make payroll, much less save the world. As I tell my students, rule one is: Don’t crash the company. We can’t expect managers to focus primarily on anything other than building a thriving, profitable enterprise.

That said, there is growing recognition that over the long- or even the medium-term, the interests of companies and the interests of society are more aligned than many people once thought. In some industries and under some conditions, socially and environmentally responsible firms are at least as profitable and sometimes more profitable than there conventional rivals, and there is some evidence to suggest that a focus on the long-term pays off. Moreover, many shareholders care about more than short-term profits.

But there is one other reason all of this is happening now, one that perhaps represents a silver lining within a more worrying trend. It’s no coincidence that the firms I mentioned above are Apple, Facebook, and BlackRock. Apple is an enormously powerful firm, and its actions can set the agenda for an entire industry. If an individual developer sets out to make an app that is better for kids, it may or may not gain any traction; if Apple makes this issue a priority, an entire ecosystem will shift. The same is true of Facebook. It has such a high share of the market that when there’s a problem with fake news it becomes, in large part, Facebook’s problem. BlackRock is a giant, too, and finance is another industry where a small number of big players dominate.

Big firms face different incentives, for a few reasons. To the extent these firms have market power, they’re less subject to quarter-to-quarter competitive pressure. That means it’s easier for them to focus on the long-term. And, to some degree, they have room to use that market power to pursue social objectives – especially if their investors of their employees pressure them to do so.

Big firms can also internalize certain externalities. An externality is a cost from a transaction that doesn’t fall on the buyer or the seller. If I pollute the air to make a product I sell to you, the cost of that pollution is spread out across society, and isn’t incorporated in the price I charge you for the product. Externalities pose problems for markets, since neither buyer nor seller have any incentive to deal with the costs. But sometimes, for really large firms, things work differently.

A somewhat apocryphal story about Henry Ford illustrates the principle. One example of an externality comes when firms pay their workers too little. The firm doesn’t necessarily bear the full cost from doing so (though it might bear some) nor does the firm’s customers. Society, on the other hand, might pay substantial costs. For one thing, if workers don’t have money to spend, the entire economy could suffer. Ford supposedly raised wages in his factories in part because he believed that if his workers had more money in their pockets, they’d buy more Ford cars. The Ford story doesn’t add up, if you assume that Ford believed that his move alone was enough to raise overall demand for cars.

But if you think instead that he was signalling to his competitors that if they all moved none of them would be at a disadvantage and that aggregate demand for the industry would increase, then the principle arguably holds in other contexts for some of today’s giants. (And, of course, there’s some evidence that he was also hoping to reduce turnover – which is entirely consistent with the idea that firms that handle this well look for short-term wins at the same time they’re looking for longer-term changes.)

https://hbr.org

Namibian private equity firm invests in water

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Namibian private equity firm invests in waterAcquires majority stake in HEP, NAM Through the capital and strategic support from the N$460 million Allegrow Fund, Eos' investment will provide an additional boost to continuous economic growth and deliver superior returns to its investors. The change to majority previously disadvantaged Namibian shareholding via Eos Capital will help unlock substantial opportunities. – Johannes !Gawaxab, Executive Chairman: Eos Capital Eos Capital, a Namibian private equity firm, has acquired the majority of the ordinary share capital of Heat Exchange Products (HEP) and Namibia Aqua Mechanica (NAM).

Pending Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) approval, this acquisition greatly supports the industrialisation drive in boosting the national economy of Namibia. HEP and NAM are key players in Namibia's water industry, a sector that forecasts potential growth. Through the investment of Eos, this industry is expected to expand considerably in the future.

HEP was founded by entrepreneur Henning Mercker in 1998 with NAM being acquired as an add-on in 2004. With the implementation of dynamic management principles through the introduction of ISO accreditation and sourcing a professional energetic team, HEP and NAM, with its headquarters in Windhoek, provide specialised services and products throughout the country and beyond its international borders.



Companies

HEP is the second largest water treatment company within Namibia and is committed in providing effective water treatment solutions to its clients through specialised non-commoditised chemicals and services. HEP is present in all sectors of the economy and generates it revenues from clients in the food/beverage, fishing, mining, manufacturing and agricultural sector.

NAM is a valve and engine reseller which further complements all these sectors with additional services and products particularly to the nations' important revenue markets of agricultural and mining.

HEP is a key player in bulk water treatment to all industries thereby serving NamWater and various municipalities. At present with a total staff of over 30 and its rapid growth over the past five years, HEP has become aware of the tremendous growth potential in the water industry.



Expand, diversify

There is a great need to expand and diversify ownership to include previously disadvantaged Namibians and hence the formation of a smart partnership with Eos Capital. Through the capital and strategic support from the N$460 million Allegrow Fund, their investment will provide an additional boost to continuous economic growth and deliver superior returns to its investors.

Johannes !Gawaxab, executive chairman of Eos Capital, says that partnerships, like with HEP and NAM, can help Namibian businesses operate at much higher levels than previously thought possible.

“This investment will strengthen the companies, making it possible to expand them and contribute towards job creation and economic development. Furthermore, the change to majority previously disadvantaged Namibian (PDN) shareholding via Eos Capital will help unlock substantial opportunities,” !Gawaxab says.



Jobs

According to Ekkehard Friedrich, chief investment officer of Eos Capital, after acquiring the majority stake in HEP and NAM, Eos will ensure overall productivity is continued with the retention of all employees and management.

“Our aim is to invest in companies with the potential for rapid growth and to support them in achieving this growth. HEP and NAM are ideally placed to benefit from the growth in the water sector – a strategic sector for the country – and combining the excellent management and our support from a strategy, governance and network perspective, the business will no doubt be a success story for the country and our investors,” he says.

Henning Mercker, who will remain as CEO and shareholder of HEP and NAM, is excited about the new venture. “We are delighted to have found a strong partner in Eos Capital with whom we can continue our growth strategy systematically. We are all proudly Namibian, together we can reach our full potential.”

The water sector remains crucial in every country and will always have great potential for strategic growth. National projects and upgrading developments have been envisaged for the coming years and HEP/NAM as in the past, will be part of this growth in the future. This partnership will result in a truly Namibian-owned company becoming a key role player in the economy of Namibia.

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Standard joins Chinese in New Year celebrations

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Standard joins Chinese in New Year celebrations Standard Bank Namibia recently joined the Chinese community in celebrating their New Year, the Chinese Year of the Dog, at Windhoek Country Club. The bank's new head of corporate and investment banking, Anne Juuko, handed over a donation of N$50 000 to the Chinese Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry to chairman Lin Jindan. Standard Bank helped China General Nuclear Power Corp. acquire the Husab Uranium Mine in Namibia for around US$2.5 billion. Other big investment projects include the local harbour upgrade project. There is a significant exchange of business between China and Namibia, Juuko said. Photo Contributed

NSFAF applications must be in today

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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NSFAF applications must be in today The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) has brought the 2018 closing date for applications forward by nearly two weeks, with the original closing date of 28 February shifted to today.

The fund also announced that it would be able to reimburse a little over N$75 million out of a total of N$279 million still needed to settle outstanding 2017 non-tuition fees for students.

More than 18 500 students will receive a partial or full settlement of outstanding non-tuition fees between Thursday and next week Friday.

The NSFAF said it was uncertain when the rest of the money would be available.

Olavi Hamwele, the fund's chief human capital and corporate affairs officer, said the fund had launched a widespread media, social media and online campaign to ensure that students were aware of the earlier deadline for applications.

He said the fund was confident that its decision to bring forward the closing date would not disadvantage students who had planned to apply this year.

The NSFAF said it based the decision on the fact that 11 799 applications for 2018 had been processed, around 3 000 higher than the 8 000 learners whose Grade 12 results from the previous year made them eligible for admission to tertiary institutions.

The discrepancy was probably caused by students from institutions such as the Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol), those who had taken a study break, and older students who had finished school in previous years, the fund noted.

“It is therefore logical to bring the application closing date forward to allow for earlier verification and timely adjudication,” the NSFAF announced in their press statement.

Hamwele said the processing of the applications would take no longer than a month after the closing date.

During the press briefing, Hamwele said last year the fund approved the applications of 15 000 students out of a total of 25 000 who had applied.

Payment of non-tuition fees still outstanding from last year will begin on Thursday and end next Friday.

Hamwele explained that N$75 million was made available as a partial payment towards the outstanding fees.

The 2 344 students at VTC institutions will receive a complete settlement payment of N$1 541 each, totalling more than N$3.6 million.

The rest of the money will be distributed in chunks of N$4 280 to 16 232 students over the next week.





JANA-MARI SMITH

Student pastor's killer to take stand

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Student pastor's killer to take stand Andre Friedel Castro Dausab, who has already been convicted of murdering his pastor-in-training girlfriend, will testify in mitigation of sentence.

Dausab told the Windhoek High Court yesterday that he will give evidence under oath on 1 March, when his case resumes.

He also confirmed that he does not intend calling any other witnesses to testify on his behalf.

He is representing himself, after his lawyer Brownell /Uirab withdraw from the case, citing irreconcilable differences.

The 35-year-old accused was found guilty of murder with direct intent on 25 July last year.

He was convicted of slitting the throat of 33-year-old Gofaone Motlamme at the United Lutheran Paulinum Theological College in Pionierspark Extension One on 22 February 2014. According to the accused,

/Uirab had not represented him honestly and to the best of his abilities during the trial, as he is a legal aid lawyer, whose salary is paid by the government.

“He accused me of colluding with the state to secure his conviction, deliberately concealing evidence from the court, and of failing to challenge evidence presented by the state.

“It is an irrevocable breach of trust and I cannot in good conscience continue to represent Dausab,”

/Uirab said, when he explained to the court why he was withdrawing from the case.

Yesterday, advocate Ethel Ndlovu, who is heading the prosecution, said they are lining up witnesses to testify in aggravation of sentence.

Judge Naomi Shivute informed Dausab that evidence under oath carries more weight and that he will be cross-examined.

He was also informed that he may address the court from the accused dock, and is also entitled to call witnesses. Dausab, however, said that he does not have any other witnesses to call.

FRED GOEIEMAN

500 GBV cases in six weeks

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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500 GBV cases in six weeksCounting the cost of the festive season Crime statistics for December and the first half of January make for grim reading. More than 500 gender-based violence (GBV) cases were reported to the police between 28 November 2017 and 18 January 2018.

This was confirmed in the official statistics of the Festive Season Crime Prevention and Road Safety Operation.

According to the police they also served 48 protection orders during the period.

There is no comparative data for the previous festive season.

The number of murders reported to the police during the 2017/18 festive season remained the same as the previous year, with 28 registered cases.

There was a slight increase in attempted murder cases, with 28 reported cases, compared to the previous year when 25 cases were reported.

Assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) and rapes also increased somewhat, compared to the previous year, with 65 rape cases being reported in 2017/18 and 61 the previous year, while GBH cases totalled 197 during the just-ended period, and the previous year's figure stood at 184 cases.

Six armed robberies were reported, as opposed to eight last year, and 90 cases of housebreaking were reported during the 2017/18 festive season, compared to the 107 cases reported the previous year.

According to the police, a total of 18 suicides were reported, compared to the previous year's 36.

Meanwhile, drug-related cases amounted to 117, while the previous year a total of 69 such cases were reported to the police. Stock theft cases increased from 35 to 56.

With regard to protected resource cases, these increased from 11 to the 18, with 21 suspects arrested. These cases mainly deal with wildlife crime.

The police managed to confiscate seven pangolins, four elephant tusks, 60 pieces of ivory and five predator skins, as well as one tortoise, during their operations.

They also confiscated 91 bags of maize and 52 containers full of fuel, as well as eight firearms and 68 rounds of ammunition, 205 knives, 16 machetes and 13 screwdrivers.

Overall, a total 296 suspects were arrested, compared to the previous year, when 231 arrests were made. The arrests also included those of 157 illegal immigrants.

According Nampol inspector-general, lieutenant-general Sebastian Ndeitunga, the number of criminal cases registered was relatively low, except for GBH and dealing in drugs, where slight increases were observed.

“This does not only reflect the effectiveness of law-enforcement agencies, but also the support and cooperation we have received from the general public during the period under review.”

He urged police officers to rededicate themselves to the fight against crime, in order to make Namibia a better place.

“The safety and security of our nation must be at the forefront of our strategies.

We must ensure that the strategic guidelines are translated into well-thought and logically planned activities that are aimed at addressing crime and the fear of crime on our communities.”

ELLANIE SMIT

Air Nam’s Accra/Lagos project to take off later

February 15, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Air Nam’s Accra/Lagos project to take off laterPostponed to June External factors forced the local airline to move the introduction of the new routes. Staff Reporter - Air Namibia has postponed its Windhoek-Lagos- Accra flights operation to 29 June 2018.

The operation was initially set to commence on 25 March 2018.

“The postponement is due to external factors: the non-availability of departure slot at Kotoka Airport in Accra to support the initial scheduled departure at 22:05. We have accordingly changed the scheduled departure time to 20:00,” Air Namibia said in a statement yesterday.

Days of operation remain unchanged – departing from Windhoek on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Air Namibia will use its Airbus A319 fleet, which offers a seat configuration of 16 business class and 96 economy class seats.

The routing will still be Windhoek-Lagos-Accra, and the return will still be Accra-Lagos-Windhoek. The operation will further transport passengers and cargo on the Lagos-Accra-Lagos route, using the fifth freedom traffic rights granted by the Ghanaian and Nigerian Governments, as contained in the existing Bilateral Air Service Agreements.

The operating schedule and flight timings allow smooth and convenient connections inbound and outbound to Air Namibia’s regional flights, connecting West Africa via Windhoek to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Luanda, Harare, Lusaka, Vic Falls, Gaborone Walvis Bay and Durban, the airline said.

Kassie:

The operating schedule for Windhoek-Lagos-Accra operation will now be as follows:

UTC Local

WDH Depart SW507 12:25 14:25

LOS Arrive 17:15 18:15

LOS Depart SW507 18:00 19:00

ACC Arrive 19:00 19:00

ACC Depart SW508 20:00 20:00

LOS Arrive 21:00 22:00

LOS Depart SW508 22:35 23:35

WDH Arrive 03:50 05:50