Grabbing each opportunity

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Grabbing each opportunityBold steps defines your career Ashton Dube is a digital marketer at heart, and has been for the past eight years. Octavia Tsibes

Dube studied Computer Science and currently holds an Honour’s degree in the field. Early in his career he fell in love with the marketing aspects and woke to the opportunities availed by technology in the communications field.

“My journey into digital marketing began when I asked myself the question, ‘How do I get people to know about the websites that I have developed’?” Dube said.

“As my journey continued I was hired into a very forward-thinking organisation, Alpha Media Holdings in Zimbabwe which to my delight, operated on a digital first ideology. Within three months of working there as digital marketing officer, I was promoted to manager, working with a young and dynamic team to develop, grow and monetise digital products.

Dube’s desire was to explore other African markets and that drew him to Namibia and found a home in Adforce as the digital media strategist.

His current position at Adforce is centred on bringing clients value for their brands, products and services through effective, innovative strategies.

Dube’s challenge thus far and perhaps the challenge for many digital marketers out there has been convincing clients of the necessity effectiveness of digital media.

“There has been a slight hesitation to fully embrace digital, but through persistence, we have seen a growth in confidence and therefore, spend in the digital sphere,” he says.

“I am inspired by great work. I constantly look at what other industry leaders are getting up to the world over and see what I can learn from them. I also love traveling to new places and experiencing different ways of doing things. I find that the more open one is to different ways of doing things, the more open they are to continuous development and learning. This is key, especially in the digital space.”

Dube goes on to advise young people to never stop learning. “I am not saying you must live the rest of your life as an academic scholar, rather always seek out opportunities to sharpen your skills and find new and better ways of doing things. That way, you will always be ahead of the game,” he adds.

He further says that he would also recommend young and upcoming professional in whatever field, to find someone to mentor them. “I learnt a great deal from them not only about the industry but about life in general. Their input has been more than valuable to me both professionally and personally,” he says.

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Corruption - A social disease (Part 147): The Bribe Code of Nigeria and its potential for Namibia and Africa

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Corruption - A social disease (Part 147): The Bribe Code of Nigeria and its potential for Namibia and Africa Johan Coetzee - The objective of Nigeria's Bribe Code is to address the contract between government and companies as one of the potential key strategies to reduce corruption.

The interface between the public and private sectors is an area that is conducive to corruption in Namibia (Coetzee). Nigeria is no different. However, the scale of this interface in Nigeria, with approximately 200 million people (the largest market in Africa) and the magnitude of corruption in this oil endowed country, are enormous compared to Namibia.

The Bribe Code has been developed by Chuma Nwokolo, a well-respected barrister, academic and publisher. The Code includes compensation, reward and protection of whistle blowers. If a company is convicted of serious corruption, above a threshold of e.g. N$100 000, the directors will face a penalty of liquidation, with a no fine option, and with 1% of its assets going towards rewarding the whistle blower(s). This approach can overcome current challenges in Nigeria and Namibia because corrupt companies can no longer depend on partners in government to side-line justice.

A NEW CULTURE

The Bribe Code will make the penalty for corruption unacceptable to company directors and shareholders and create a private sector with minimum tolerance for corruption. A new anti-corruption culture can develop that will grow through self-regulation by the private sector and civil society. It will change the propensity for officials in the public sector to request bribes and for the private sector to offer bribes.

The Bribe Code requires political commitment to amend the Anti-Corruption Act and the more recent Whistleblower Protection Act. In order to popularise the Bribe Code, a strong marketing initiative and civil advocating mechanism(s) are needed to create awareness, education and support for implementation. Role players can include the Institute of Corporate Governance, the Citizens Trust and the Institute of Public Policy Research.

This code has the potential to change the structural basis and legal bureaucratic circumventing of corruption. The two countries can compare notes and sign a memorandum of understanding and cooperation which can include onther countries. It can be broadened in scope and application to SADC and the rest of Africa.

At www.bribecode.org the public can ask questions, volunteer and express their support.

The Code is not the only option to reduce corruption but it is an innovative African alternative developed by an African and promoted by African interest groups that need the support of Africans. This Code can change perceptions about corruption in Africa. As proud Africans we have an individual and collective accountability to take the disastrous effect of corruption personally and respond collectively.

If you support implementing the Bribe Code in Namibia, let me know at jcoetzee@nust.na. You are also welcome to provide critique about the Bribe Code, to ask questions, raise concerns and propose new innovative ideas how to reduce.

References

The Bribe Code. 2018. Rethinking Corporate Corruption.

Coetzee, J.J. 2018. The role of the private sector in tackling corruption. The Institute of Public Policy Research, 9 May 2018.

Bank Windhoek, Adonai Trust upskill Walvis Bay inmates

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Bank Windhoek, Adonai Trust upskill Walvis Bay inmates A total of 86 inmates from the Walvis Bay Correctional Facility took part in a two-week Money Map training session hosted by Bank Windhoek and the Adonai Trust in September.

Comprising 38 male and 48 female offenders, the session was facilitated by Martin Ganseb, a local pastor from Alpha Course Prison Ministry.

“The participants found the initiative financially educative. For instance, those who have been convicted of theft, testified that if they practiced integrity in the past, they would not have been in prison,” said Ganseb.

Themed ‘Your journey to financial freedom,’ the Money Map training sessions cover a variety of topics that educate the inmates on financial, spiritual and mental fitness as they serve their sentences, and beyond.

Its main purpose is to guide individual inmates to achieve a biblical, joyful and stress-free financial future.

Adonai Trust co-founder, Sanet Vermeulen, said: “The Walvis Bay training session was conducted and received well by the inmates who expressed their gratitude at the end of the gathering.”

The Money Map training sessions, which are expected to benefit close to 200 inmates at four correctional facilities across the country, has three more seminars scheduled to take place at the following correctional facilities: Divundu, Elizabeth Nempembe and Keetmanshoop.

Gallery stunned by trafficking testimony

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Gallery stunned by trafficking testimony KENYA KAMBOWE



Shocking revelations have emerged in the bail application of two suspects arrested for allegedly trafficking and sexually abusing a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

Frederick Jacobus van Zyl (32) and Sylvia Bonifatius (20) are facing charges of human trafficking, two counts of rape, committing immoral practices, drugging a female for unlawful intercourse and stupefying a female for unlawful intercourse.

The two are accused of kidnapping, drugging and raping an Oshakati schoolgirl.

They are applying for bail in the Oshakati Magistrate’s Court.

Both the State and the defence were expected to submit written arguments by yesterday.

Chief Magistrate Mika Namweya is likely to make a ruling today or on Monday.

The two accused and three State witnesses have made some shocking revelations, which shook the public gallery.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Chrisna Masule, Bonifatius testified she was accommodated for four months in Oshakati’s Ehenye township by a stranger, whom she referred to as a “Samaritan”.

The Samaritan was identified as advocate Johan Pienaar, who is the deputy prosecutor-general stationed at the Oshakati High Court.

Pienaar is expected to testify once the matter goes to trial.

Bonifatius claimed she was a minor, but an immigration official who testified yesterday said according to a birth certificate retrieved from the Home Affairs office in Oshakati, Bonifatius is 20 years old.

Bonifatius also testified that she is registered at Namcol and should be released in order to write examinations. She could, however, not prove this.

At first she informed the court that a relative would bring proof to the court, which never happened.

She also claimed her examination timetable was lodged between her confiscated cellphone and its cover, but no such document emerged when the phone was brought to court.

The State also enquired from Namcol and her name was not found among the institution’s records.

The State’s second witness, Constable Abraham Eliaser, who is the investigating officer in the matter, testified that the two suspects were only arrested in September, after the case was opened in July.

The defence grilled Eliaser on this issue, saying one of the grounds on which the State is opposing bail is that the matter is serious. However, the suspects were only arrested months after the case was lodged.

Eliaser said it was a complicated case and it was not easy to track down the two suspects.

He said Bonifatius had moved from the last address she had given the police.

Explaining why Van Zyl was not arrested at the time the case was opened, Eliaser said the name provided to him was Steven, which is the suspect’s nickname.

It was also revealed that the victim had turned to her friend Bonifatius when her father had beaten her, and that she wanted money.

Eliaser disputed that the girl had been beaten by her father and said she had only been yelled at.

Bonifatius is represented by Simson Aingura, while Pieter Greyling appears for Van Zyl.

'I know who the spies are'

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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'I know who the spies are'Smit says he was never a Koevoet Opposition MP Nico Smit says he was a senior security police officer before independence and knows who the spies in Swapo were. Nico Smit, MP of the official opposition Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), says he will not be cowed into silence on the Basic Education Bill after the flak he got from Swapo parliamentarians over his comments on the bill.

During the parliamentary debate on the bill on Wednesday, Smit criticised the bill as being autocratic, undemocratic and draconian.

He also said he suspected a political motive behind some of the provisions in the bill, which seemingly attempt to ensure loyalty to the ruling party and to indoctrinate impressionable young minds, as well as teachers. Chaos ensued and Smit was heckled and labelled as a former member of Koevoet, a former counter-insurgency group of the defunct South West African Police (SWAPOL) by, among others, the minister of basic education, arts and culture, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa.

Reacting to the chaos that erupted during the parliamentary debate, Smit yesterday said he had in fact never been a member of Koevoet but was in the security police.

Smit also denied that he had accused some Swapo MPs of being former Koevoet members. He said because he was a senior officer in the security police, he had access to documents proving that some Swapo MPs were in fact spies for the former SWA regime.

“I know who the spies were and how much they were paid,” Smit contended, saying the alleged spies should know that he would have such information because of his former position in the police.

He also said his criticism of the bill was never criticism against Hanse-Himarwa. Smit said after having consulted various education experts at Nust and Unam, he had to conclude that the Basic Education Bill “serves no purpose at all”. “They must be out of their minds,” he commented, saying none of the submissions made during consultation on the bill were considered for incorporation. “This is a predetermined bill. Consultation on the bill was just for window-dressing,” Smit said.

CATHERINE SASMAN

Our money-milking SOEs

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Our money-milking SOEs While making an impassioned plea this week for the National Assembly to pass the much-anticipated and long overdue Public Enterprises Governance Bill, public enterprises minister Leon Jooste touched some salient and critical issues.

It cannot be denied that over the years, the country's parastatals have been a hotbed of concern, specifically around billions in bailouts and ongoing board and management battles, as grubby fingers eyed tenders and contracts, which were inevitably creamed off the top, so the elite could benefit.

The ongoing shenanigans at SOEs have played their part in the country's unfolding economic crisis, as many of these parastatals have become bottomless pits into which taxpayer money has been thrown into with gay abandon.

This in turn leads to money not being available to drive other important aspects, while tenderpreneurs have lived off the fat of the land.

Available figures indicate that the country's public enterprises portfolio had a total asset value of N$93 billion at the end of June.

SOEs employ 17 224 people. The total liabilities of this sector, however, amount to a whopping N$44 billion, which leaves a net asset value of just N$49 billion.

Commercial public enterprises have a N$62 billion asset value, N$30 billion in liabilities, an annual income of N$23 billion, while expenditure totals N$21 billion and a profitability is just N$1.9 billion.

This is a 1.2% return on assets.

Obviously not all SOEs are designed to be money-making entities, but in the same breathe, they should not be money-milking machines.

The country is at a crossroads, in terms of an economy that has for too long been exporting its raw materials, which are then sent back as finished products.

A fundamental aspect that continues to underpin this disastrous economic model is the fact that SOEs are draining state coffers.

It has now reached a stage where the country can no longer afford this type of siphoning, which inevitably puts money into the pockets of the few. Jooste has an immense task ahead.

Face adversaries, create greatness

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Face adversaries, create greatness Small dreams cultivate fantastic realities From a small-town girl to an innovator, Lizette Feris fought all odds to claim her place in the corporate jungle. Elizabeth Joseph

After matriculating from Namib High School, Lizette Feris immediately set her career in stone and went on to study international marketing in Cape Town.

She moved back to her hometown of Swakopmund and was immediately employed at the Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Centre for some time until she relocated to London, in the United Kingdom to further her studies with the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

There she honed her skills further whilst being employed at four-star hotels in in the city. “Since returning to Namibia eight years ago, I was involved in many short training courses, and was selected as a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow, attending Dartmouth College in America. I'm now a student of the Media and Information Literacy Learning Initiative (MiLLi*) at the College of the Arts completing my certificate in MIL,” she says.

Feris was recruited by DW Akademie, an international media development organisation in July 2016, as their project associate to assist with the implementation of their Media and Information Literacy (MIL) project in Namibia.

“In 2017 I was promoted to project manager, where I continued working on MIL and additionally assisted at the community information project line where DW Akademie partnered with the Namibia Community Broadcasters Association to develop the capacities of community radio presenters.”

As if that was not proof enough that she was the author of her own destiny, Feris took another great leap in her career and established herself even further at the DW Akademie.

Seeing that there are always several dominant constraints that hold the company’s growth from reaching its potential, we asked her how she plans to overcome these constraints at DW Akademie Namibia and she had this to say: “Namibia is one of eight African focus countries DW Akademie works in, and the Namibia office took five years to establish. Back when the office started out, there was one staff member with a briefcase and a laptop.

Today they have three full-time staff members and one volunteer to assist with the work they do in media information literacy and community information in Namibia. At the moment the DW Akademie is stabilised and focusing on their partners reaching their potential.

Some of the DW Akademie’s short term goals include continuing the support they already have for MiLLi* the local MIL initiative in Namibia, implemented by College of the Arts.

“To date, MiLLi* has reached 506 young people in ten regions. We are impressed with this result and will continue to focus on MIL, working with the College of the Arts, to train Namibians the knowledge, skills and review their attitude to reading and writing media and information messages,” Feris adds.

A day in the office

“There is no such thing as a typical day for a project manager. As I implement several projects, working with the project partners, I will usually take stock of what is urgent on my daily task sheet, encounter challenges which requires my problem solving skills, and also round off with payments or checking budgets, or other activities that are required from a project manager.

Most, if not all, of her time is dedicated to MiLLi*, where Feris now trains staff and volunteers at the MiLLi* Coordination Centre to implement the core activities which are summer school, youth projects and the certification course. Typically, her day includes a lot of coffee, telephone calls, email correspondence, and media technology.

Fact Box

1. God is my oath (I live up to the actual Hebrew meaning of my name)

2. She has 22 years working experience in six countries

3. Feris is direct, and like people who are the same

4. “I like laughing, and have a great sense of humour,” she says.

5. I am a mentor, and a student at the same time

6. My passion is working with children

7. I'm always on a 'see food - eat food' diet

8. I love music and dancing, and taking road trips

9. I used to be a stage performer and a radio presenter

10. I'm an advocate for human rights

Retirement funds worried about FIM Bill

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Retirement funds worried about FIM BillCould cause death of industry Retirement Fund Solutions believes that the Financial Institutions and Markets Bill would have severe consequences for employers, workers and pension funds. “For the employer, there will be no incentive to offer a pension fund under the FIM Bill anymore and there is no legal compulsion to do so” - RFS NDAMA NAKASHOLE

Retirement Fund Solutions (RFS) has expressed concern over the Financial Institutions and Markets (FIM) bill which will soon be tabled in parliament, labelling it an “onslaught on the pensions industry”.

RFS believes that the bill and related developments will have a serious negative impact on everyone who has been saving up for retirement in a pension fund.

RFS board chairman Tilman Friedrich told Market Watch yesterday that the bill is a complex one and its complexity means it will be very expensive to manage.

According to him, the bill, which will regulate insurance companies, medical aid funds, pension funds and other non-banking financial sectors, will require resources to be complied with and since it is costly, all parts involved will spend more money to meet the requirements.

As a result, people who save up for their future in pension funds will have to carry the cost of that.

“There is a whole lot of things around that bill that will require costs,” he said.

During the launch of its annual report on 30 August 2018, Namfisa CEO Kenneth Matomola mentioned the FIM Bill as one of the regulator’s highlight bills that will be promulgated and implemented in the current financial year.

Cause of demise

In a letter to finance minister Calle Schlettwein dated 3 October 2018, Friedrich pointed out some of the key developments which he said are likely to cause the demise of the industry.

According to him, the FIM Act has numerous severe consequences for employers and employees.

Aspects of the bill that will be negative for the industry include Namfisa levies, the Income Tax Act provisions concerning pension funds as well as VAT on asset management services to pension funds.

The establishment of GIPF under a separate law, GIPF using its market dominance and taxpayer guarantees to compete with the private sector on a low-cost ticket under the guise of Kuleni, as well as the establishment of an umbrella fund for SOE pension funds are also some key issues that RFS gave a red flag in the letter to Schlettwein.

According to Friedrich those issues, plus others, have a negative effect on a significant part of the working population in Namibia - people saving for their retirement in pension funds.

Grievances

In its latest newsletter, RFS said that Namibia will be moving into a new era with the advent of the FIM Bill.

It says employers will also be required to support Namfisa in its prudential and market conduct supervisory endeavours.

“The employer will be prohibited from using the pension fund in support of its business objectives to attract and retain staff while the employer, including its directors and officers in their personal capacity, will be facing serious risks.

“For the employer, there will be no incentive to offer a pension fund under the FIM Bill anymore and there is no legal compulsion to do so,” says RFS

For the employee, RFS says the key advantage of a pension fund, namely the strong protection previously offered by Section 37 of the Pension Funds Act, has for all intents and purposes been removed from the FIM Bill.

“For employees earning below the minimum income tax threshold, the income tax regime offers no contribution incentive. For those earning above this threshold, the income tax regime will in many cases actually offer a disincentive,” it further claims.

As far as the tax exempt status of pension funds is concerned, the benefit is not all that meaningful when one looks at the income pension funds typically generate, RFS says.

“The individual investor would pay interest withholding tax on local interest income of a mere 10% and may be exposed to interest withholding tax on interested earned from foreign investments. This basically leaves some rental income of fairly little impact that pension funds typically generate and that is tax free when earned by a pension fund while the individual investor would have to pay tax at marginal rates on any rental income.”

Namfisa’s stance

Erna Motinga, Namfisa’s deputy CEO, last week said the FIM bill had been sent to the attorney-general for certification for submission to the National Assembly.

When she gave an industry overview at the African Insurance Organisation’s Reinsurance Forum held in Windhoek last week, Motinga said the bill would encourage localisation of core functions away from remotely controlled asset managers.

The envisaged regulatory regime introduces flexibility and responsiveness to market developments and also allows for the issuance of subordinate legislation by the minster responsible for finance or the regulatory authority, she said.

Motinga said the bill would give Namfisa an enhanced enforcement power, such as directing the removal of unfit key persons and issuance of administrative penalties.

Transparency and accountability to stakeholders as well as a redress mechanism for consumers of financial services through the financial adjudicator office are some of the issues that the bill is expected to introduce, she said.

Market Watch could not immediately get comment from Namfisa by the time of going to print.

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Kamushinda accused of dirty tricks

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Kamushinda accused of dirty tricks The Supreme Court of Namibia on Tuesday reserved judgement in a matter in which Metropolitan Bank of Zimbabwe and World Eagle Investment are trying to overturn a High Court order to place the SME Bank in liquidation.

In his answering affidavit to the appeal, provisional liquidator Ian McLaren said the liquidators and creditors of the SME Bank would be severely prejudiced if the Supreme Court were to grant relief in favour of the two Zimbabwean entities.

He said since he and David Bruni were appointed as the provisional liquidators they have taken various steps to finalise the liquidation.

The steps taken include recognition by the South African Supreme Court to act as foreign liquidators in June. They were also granted permission by the same court to hold insolvency inquiries in South Africa.

They were also granted permission to establish a commission of inquiry in Namibia, which was held in secret and yielded valuable information about money that “mysteriously disappeared” from the SME Bank.

McLaren said they also succeeded in freezing two South African bank accounts in respect of N$40.5 million and N$12 million that had been invested in trust in South Africa.

Summonses on behalf of the liquidators have been issued for N$79 million and N$12 million respectively, of which McLaren said the prospects of success are good.

He said they were currently establishing an inquiry in Dubai, to which N$69 million was transferred. “We will recover the amount in Dubai,” McLaren said confidently.

He said should MetBank and World Eagle's appeal application be successful, all freezing orders would probably have to be undone and the money would have to be returned to those “who reaped the fruits of unlawful conduct”.

McLaren also accused a director of MetBank and World Eagle, Enoch Kamushinda, of having done everything in his power to stop the liquidators from recovering the money spirited out of Namibia.

He said it was strange that Kamushinda, a shareholder of the SME Bank, had lodged legal proceedings to set aside the South African court order to establish the insolvency inquiry. Kamushinda had also instituted proceedings in the Namibian High Court to set aside an order that gave the liquidators certain powers to continue with the liquidation. Kamushinda had succeeded in this matter and this judgement is subject to an application for a leave of appeal to the Namibian Supreme Court to be heard on 7 November.

Kamushinda also brought another High Court application to set aside the appointment of the liquidators, which McLaren said was brought when they received proof during the South African enquiry that N$64 million in cash had been delivered to an address in Johannesburg. “The thieves there actually signed for the cash and the money was delivered with reference to the SME Bank's money,” McLaren said. The delivery notes reference “SME 10.10” and the liquidators have prepared statements, which the liquidators said would be publicly released upon certain events, which include “veiled threats” made to them. Bruni said in his answering affidavit before the Gauteng High Court on 4 October that a certain Stickling in his affidavit to that court stated that about N$64 million in cash had been delivered to a certain George Markides. Stickling had indicated that one of his regular clients who received cash from his business was Kamushinda's company, Crown Finance Corporation. Bruni said during the time the cash was delivered, there were no fewer than 77 phone calls between Kamushinda and Markides.

Bruni also said although Kamushinda was not authorised to represent MetBank or World Eagle, he nonetheless took a number of steps to hamper the liquidators' duties. Kamushinda allegedly also attempted to protect Mauwane Kotane, director of Mamepe Capital, where about N$196 million of the SME Bank's money was allegedly invested.



CATHERINE SASMAN

NDF promotions 'corrupt'

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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NDF promotions 'corrupt'Relatives, children, friends and lovers favoured Disgruntled soldiers have urged the court-martialling of corrupt officers who are promoting their relatives, children, friends and lovers. The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) is allegedly paying hordes of soldiers holding the same position in the staff structure, and who are shadowing those legitimately in these posts.

There are also swirling allegations of illegal promotions, ahead of more deserving members.

Disgruntled members of the NDF's 26th Brigade at Grootfontein and 263rd Battalion at Oshakati have claimed “systemic corruption” in the force's promotion policy.

They say this policy is currently costing the government a lot of money.

Members who studied the recent promotion list, effective from 1 February, said they found that some members who were nominated for promotion by their unit staff officers were removed from the list by battalion commanders and replaced with non-deserving members.

The NDF would neither confirm nor deny these allegations.

The defence ministry, however, said defence force chief, Major-General John Mutwa, would launch an investigation and act upon the findings.

A letter seen by Namibian Sun, addressed to defence minister Penda Ya Ndakolo, claims some senior members have created a loopholes for unfair promotion, which sees soldiers being promoted to fill positions that are structurally and physically already occupied.

The ministry is reportedly paying up to ten people in a position that is designed just for one person.

The disgruntled members also exposed that a recent payroll verification conducted by the defence ministry verified that promotions within the force are milking the government, in the sense that many members are occupying positions meant for one person.

They are therefore requesting Ndakolo to order Mutwa to court-martial the corrupt officers.

According to the NDF promotion policy, the promotions board should consist of company commanders, the adjutant, some staff officers, including intelligence officers, and two battalion commanders.

“The promotion policy is not being followed and this is caused by the lack or unwillingness by some commanders at all the levels to constitute promotion committees or boards in their formations and units. It has created deep loopholes for rampant promotions based on fraud, forgery and uttering,” a source said.

“The system is being ignored intentionally for the corrupt commanders to promote their favoured members, the majority of whom are being transferred from different departments, divisions, platoons or sections to fill positions that are already occupied.”

The source said currently the company commanders and division and section heads only provide the names of those to be promoted to the office of the adjutants.

The adjutants, chief clerk and commanding officers then start dealing with the promotions on their own.

“Staff officers who have these personnel working under them can submit names of the deserving hardworking and capable members for promotions, but these lists are being manipulated and replaced with names of their relatives, children, friends and lovers. Only after promotion one will find out that none of those who were nominated for promotion have made it through,” the source added.

“Their names are being removed and replaced with members from other divisions or units, and sometimes they do not even have experience in those units, and they are just being promoted for the sake of the rank and remain shadows of the post occupants.”





The irked members said this is being done to deceive the brigade commander, so he can sign fraudulent promotion lists which are an offence contrary to the Defence Act 2002 and military disciplinary code, section 30.

It was exposed that due to the past eight years of promotions, ten warrant officers, 11 staff sergeants and 18 sergeants are occupying three positions at the 26th Brigade, while eight warrant officers, nine staff sergeants and 12 corporals occupying three positions at the 263rd Battalion.

When contacted for comment, defence ministry's spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Petrus Shilumbu said the ministry was not aware of the allegations.

“The defence ministry is not aware of these complaints. The norm is that complaints are channelled through the chain of command to the relevant authorities. Promotion and posting is done according to the established structure,” Shilumbu said.

“There also other relevant bodies, such as the defence inspectorate and military police, to investigate these allegations and keep management informed in order for them to take informed decisions. The authority has taken the allegations very seriously and the chief of the defence force will detail an internal investigation and will act upon the outcome.”

ILENI NANDJATO

Kandjii-Murangi plays 'Game of Thrones' battle over COSDEF

October 11, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Kandjii-Murangi plays 'Game of Thrones' battle over COSDEF The higher education ministry has launched a bid to remove former prime minister Nahas Angula as board chairperson of the Community Skills Development Foundation (COSDEF) and replace him with its minister, Itah Kandjii-Murangi.

Kandjii-Murangi is apparently leading the charge to replace Angula as chairperson and also wants the entire board dissolved.

This was revealed to Namibian Sun by the ministry's director for vocational education and training, Muvatera Ndjoze-Siririka.

He was responding to a recent article in Namibian Sun which lifted the lid on how Angula and Kandjii-Murangi are embroiled in a dispute over the country's community skills development centres (COSDECs), which are run by the COSDEF.

Ndjoze-Siririka said Angula and Kandjii-Murangi had held consultative meetings to see how best the outcomes of a “scoping mission” could be implemented.

The first meeting was held on 21 November 2016 to appraise the new minister on COSDEC operations. The second meeting took place on 5 March this year.

“This meeting involved some of the COSDEF board members and the chairperson,” explained Ndjoze-Siririka.

He said the purpose of this meeting was to see how best the outcomes of a scoping mission could be implemented, in terms of streamlining technical and vocational education and training (TVET) providers, which would include the COSDECS.





“The ministry wanted a soundboard to take into account the new political dispensation. That is, to find out from the board whether they would be amenable to the idea of yielding their positions to the current (political and sector) occupants. In this case, the chairperson (Angula) being replaced by the current higher education minister,” he said.

Angula as chairperson, as well as fellow trustees Paulus Kapiya, Len le Roux, Justin Ellis and Albertina Heita, have all served since the inception of the organisation in 1998.

Ndjoze-Siririka said they have all since left the organisations they used to present on the COSDEF board.

“They are Kapiya who was representing the youth ministry, Roux was the representative of Rössing Foundation, Ellis who was representing the basic education ministry, and Heita represented the higher education ministry's directorate of vocational education and training.”

Ndjoze-Siririka said COSDEF was deliberately started as a trust by the then education ministry as a community-based organisation. To that end, the ministry has an obligation to fund it.

The ministry's intention was to have an organisation that was closer to the community and that would immediately respond to its needs.

The COSDEF also aimed to act as an agency that would afford the local community the opportunity to have their informally acquired skills or indigenous skills certified.

Angula, who unsuccessfully stood against President Hage Geingob for the Swapo presidency during last year's party elective congress, confirmed to Namibian Sun last week that Kandjii-Murangi had written to him last year to enquire how the COSDECs were established.

He said the COSDECs are unique training institutions targeting out-of-school and unemployed youth, but the minister of higher education has been pushing for the COSDECs to introduce entry requirements. He said those requirements will deny the youth on the margin an opportunity to have a start in life.

Angula said other private training providers are supported by the vocational education and training (VET) levy, through the Namibia Training Authority (NTA), such as the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), but government is not questioning them.

“Why does the minister not take over NIMT? Why only the COSDECs? If the minister still has a problem, let her proceed with whatever action she deems necessary,” he fumed.

Currently 85% of the COSDECs' funding comes directly from the foundation. The COSDEF budget is funded by the education ministry, through the NTA. Special projects are funded by various donor agencies, the private sector and individual sponsorships.

Each COSDEC is expected to generate 15% of its total yearly budget through its own initiatives.

Ndjoze-Siririka said originally the COSDEF was funded directly by the then education ministry, but later this function was transferred to the NTA.

“The foundation is funded on a unit cost basis. This amount was initially about N$3 000 per trainee per annum. But it has now reached N$ 14 300. What the foundation makes per annum is dependent on the number of trainees they have in a particular year. For example, if they have 2 200 trainees then they would have about N$31 460 000 per annum.”

The ministry also refuted claims that it has reported or registered any dispute with COSDEF at the attorney-general's office.

ILENI NANDJATO

Vries stages tournament

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Vries stages tournamentGiving back to the community Brave Warriors' number-one goalkeeper Virgil Vries is a perfect example of people who never forget where they come from, even if they find greener pastures. Kaizer Chiefs and Brave Warriors goalkeeper Virgil Vries has decided to plough back into the community of Keetmanshoop after launching an under-15 tournament.

The tournament will be played in Keetmanshoop on 27 October with the aim of identifying talent and encouraging a healthy lifestyle among the youth around the region.

There is no registration fee for teams playing in the competition, as Vries has all the costs covered.

“Virgil called me and asked me to help me stage this tournament because he wanted to give back to the community.

“This is a great gesture from him because he wants to help the children in the region and especially the town of Keetmanshoop to develop their skills.

“Virgil started his career here in Keetmanshoop and hopes that many youth can emulate his success,” said organiser Emrico Blaauw.

Teams as far as Karasburg have expressed interest in the tournament, while schools and academies from Keetmanshoop are expected to be part of the competition.

Medals and trophies will be up for grabs.

Born at Keetmanshoop, Vries joined Golden Arrows in 2011 from Namibian side Eleven Arrows, signing a three-year contract.

A November 2011 blunder against Amazulu gained worldwide attention, making life difficult for the player.

In January 2012 he was loaned to second-division side Carara Kicks.

Later in 2012, he signed a short-term contract with Orlando Pirates in the Namibian Premier League.

In January 2013 he went to Maritzburg United in the South African Premier Soccer League.

He made 27 appearances for the club and kept a clean sheet in eight games while conceding 23 goals in the others.

The player recently joined high-profile South African outfit Kaizer Chiefs, making him one of the few Namibians to break through in the 'Glamour Boys'.

He made his debut for the Namibian national football team on 4 June 2011 against Burkina Faso, a match that Namibia lost 1-4.



JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

Wigan beat Warrington

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Wigan beat Warrington Wigan beat Warrington 12-4 in the Super League Grand Final to give boss Shaun Wane and his side's departing stars the perfect send-off at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The final whistle sparked emotional celebrations for Wigan, with Wane ending his 30-year association with his home-town club and key players Sam Tomkins, John Bateman and Ryan Sutton also set to leave.

Wane, who worked for Wigan as a player, scout and coach, will take up a role as high performance coach with the Scottish Rugby Union later this month. The 54-year-old bowed out on a high as he clinched the sixth trophy of six years as Wigan boss.

In their 10th Grand Final appearance, Wigan brought the curtain down on the Wane era with a fifth Super League title.

“It's coming to an end, it's the perfect way to finish,” a tearful Wane said.

“I've got so much respect for the players. I just wanted the win against a champion team. I've lived the dream, it's an outstanding feeling.”

Tomkins, who will join Catalans Dragons, was in tears before the trophy presentation.

England international Bateman is moving to Canberra Raiders and he said: “It's been a dream. I've always said that. I'm going to miss these lads.”

Warrington failed to end their 63-year wait for a Grand Final victory as they again finished as runners-up after losing the 2012, 2013 and 2016 title matches.Having beaten Warrington to win the crown two years ago, Wigan were expected to regain the title.Wane's men conceded the opening try in the 14th minute when Dan Sarginson spilled a low kick close to his own line and former Wigan ace Josh Charnley slid over in the corner.

But Wigan roared back to take an 8-4 lead by halftime.

They were level in the 26th minute after Thomas Leuluai and Oliver Gildart put Dom Manfredi over and took the lead when Tom Davies finished off from George Williams' kick. Wigan lost Leuluai to a head injury in a heated finish to the half, which appeared to boil over in the tunnel as the players made their way back to the changing rooms.

After the interval, Manfredi had to leave the field for treatment on a nasty eye injury.

However, he somehow returned to action and made a crucial try-saving tackle to deny Tom Lineham as Warrington pushed for a leveller.

And it was Manfredi who wrapped up the silverware with three minutes remaining when he finished a sweeping move to cap a superb display with his second try.

NAMPA/AFP

Defeat piles pressure on Loew

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Defeat piles pressure on LoewGermany is misfiring These are dark days for the Germans in the wake of their dismal World Cup display when they crashed out after finishing bottom of their group. Joachim Loew is facing the biggest crisis of his 12-year tenure as Germany's head coach after their embarrassing 3-0 defeat away to the Netherlands.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk gave the Dutch a first-half lead before late goals by Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum capped a golden night for the Oranje at Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff

Arena.

They are now bottom of Nations League Group One and Loew must avoid defeat against world champions France in Paris on Tuesday, knowing his future will be debated at home.

“Yes, I understand that there is a debate and we have to deal with it,” Loew told broadcaster ZDF.

“In the next two days, I will focus entirely on preparing the team before the match in Paris against France, and not on the debates in public, although these debates are normal, very normal.”

“We have to show character against France and win the return match against the Dutch or we are going down.

“We had good chances, but couldn't put them away, which would have been good for confidence. It's bad that we fell apart at the end,” he added.

After ex-Germany captain Michael Ballack said he was “surprised” Loew kept his job after their woeful World Cup display, the Dutch defeat ramps up the pressure.

Once again, Loew trusted his senior players to deliver a win, but his Bayern Munich axis of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller failed to deliver. Both Muller and his second-half replacement, Manchester City starlet Leroy Sane, squandered clear chances either side of the break. Hummels admitted the team can expect a backlash from the German public after the defeat.

“We'll get it in the neck now, but we have no one to blame but ourselves,” said Hummels.

“We lost 3-0, even though we actually had to win the game.

“We had a lot of bad luck, but it's not down to any one player.”

Germany have now conceded goals in their last 19 internationals.

“We made too little of our chances, although we could have gone ahead early on,” said goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer.

“At the end, we were too open and made mistakes.”

Neuer put the blame firmly on the players: “Before the game, every player signalled to the coach that they were ready to play.”

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said the Germans lost their structure after falling behind.

“The structure was missing after the first 30 minutes, but it's hard heading home without having scored,” said Kroos.

“You need a reward for the good work you do and that's not happened.

“We have to keep going, we have the next chance on Tuesday and concentrate on the good things we

did.”

The Dutch were delighted with their first win over the Germans for 16 years.

“Sometimes you need a bit of luck, but we deserved the win, fought for every inch and defended well,” said Dutch coach Ronaldo Koeman.

“It's an unbelievable result, especially as the Germans weren't that bad.

“It's 16 years since we beat Germany and we are on the right way with a talented, young team.”

NAMPA/AFP

Nepal rescuers retrieve bodies of nine climbers

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Nepal rescuers retrieve bodies of nine climbers A rescue team yesterday began retrieving the bodies of nine climbers killed in a violent storm on Nepal's Mount Gurja, a freak accident that has left the mountaineering community reeling.

A helicopter dropped four mountain guides at the camp where the South Korean climbing expedition was staying when powerful winds and snow swept through, killing the entire team and scattering their bodies as far as 500 metres away.

“All nine bodies have been found and the team are in the process of bringing them down,” said Siddartha Gurung, a chopper pilot who is coordinating the retrieval

mission.

A second helicopter along with a team of rescue specialists and villagers were also involved in the mission, which has been hampered by strong winds as well as the camp's remoteness in the Dhaulagiri mountain range of Nepal's Annapurna region.

The bodies of the climbers five South Koreans and four Nepalis will be flown to Pokhara, a tourist hub that serves as a gateway to the Annapurna region, and then to Kathmandu, said Yogesh Sapkota of Simrik Air, a helicopter company involved in the effort. The expedition's camp was totally destroyed by the powerful storm, which hit the area late Thursday or Friday, flattening all the tents and leaving a tangled mess of tarpaulin and broken polls.

“Base camp looks like a bomb went off,” said Dan Richards of Global Rescue, a US-based emergency assistance group that will be helping with the retrieval effort.

Wangchu Sherpa of Trekking Camp Nepal, who organised the expedition, said they sent a helicopter to investigate on Saturday morning after the team did not get in contact for more than 24 hours. The expedition was led by experienced South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho, who has climbed the world's 14 highest mountains without using supplemental oxygen. Mountaineering experts are questioning how the experienced team was so badly hit while still at base camp at around 3 500 metres.

“At this point we don't understand how this happened. You don't usually get those sorts of extreme winds at that altitude and base camps are normally chosen because they are safe places,” said Richards.

The team had been on 7 193-metre (23 599-foot) Mount Gurja since early October, hoping to scale the rarely climbed mountain via a new route.

NAMPA/AFP

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Two Chilean priests defrocked

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Two Chilean priests defrocked Pope Francis on Saturday defrocked two more Chilean prelates accused of sexually abusing minors, and to show greater transparency about how he's responding to the church's global sex abuse crisis, the pontiff publicly explained why they were removed.

The Vatican's unusually detailed statement announcing the laicization of Jose Cox Huneeus and Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez signalled a new degree of transparency following past missteps that appeared to underestimate the gravity of the scandal.

Explaining the latest removals as Chile's church is called to account for decades of sexual abuse and cover-ups, the statement made clear the two were defrocked for abusing minors with evidence so overwhelming that a canonical trial was unnecessary.

The Vatican said the move could not be appealed.

An Australian archbishop was found guilty on Tuesday of concealing child sex abuse by a priest, which Australian media said made him the most senior Catholic in the world to be convicted on such a charge.

Previously, the Vatican has rarely, if ever, announced laicizations of individual priests and only issued a single-line statement if a bishop had resigned, without further explanation. Before Francis' papacy it was practice to reveal if resignations were retirements due to age, or for some other 'grave' reason that made them unfit for office.

Advocates for abuse survivors have long complained about the Vatican's secrecy in handling such abuse cases, and the lack of transparency when arrived at judgments.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Saturday's more detailed statement suggested a new trend in the way the Vatican will announce results of investigations of bishops accused of abuse.

The issue of church sex abuse came up in a papal audience earlier Saturday with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Echenique, who also met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The Vatican said both meetings discussed "the painful scourge of abuse of minors, reiterating the effort of all in collaboration to combat and prevent the perpetration of such crimes and their concealment."

Recently Francis has removed two other Chilean prelates and denied them a chance to appeal, in a sign that he now understands that some abusers cannot remain in the priesthood for the good of the church.

NAMPA/AP

Ramaphosa wants swift VBS action

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Ramaphosa wants swift VBS actionSays individuals involved should face the music South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has urged action into the VBS scandal saying the country need investors and scandals such as VBS and Steinhoff are no good. President Cyril Ramaphosa wants developments around the VBS scandal to be dealt with swiftly, adding that all the individuals implicated should face the music.

The president said this on Saturday during his address at the Fundraising Gala Dinner hosted by the ANC KwaZulu-Natal Musa Dladla Region.

South Africa was being looked at by international investors which is why it was important that issues such as corruption were dealt with speed, Ramaphosa said.

He said the VBS saga was concerning just as the Steinhoff scandal that broke out last year.

“We need to speed up the process of ensuring that those who have done wrong against our people should be made to account without delay,” he said.

Ramaphosa said dealing with corruption was also one of the ways of building a strong foundation for South Africa.

“If people have done wrong against the people of South Africa they must know that there will be consequences and that the consequences are going to be quite harsh against them,” he said.

Ramaphosa pointed out that it hurts the people when they see individuals who are implicated in corrupt activities carrying on with their lives as though nothing had happened.

“We say that must come to an end, we must act with speed against people who do wrong things,” he reiterated.

During his address Ramaphosa also encouraged those in attendance to invest in the economy in order to open doors for the poor and create jobs.

“We call on you you in progressive business to invest more in the economy as well in order to create job, to drastically decrease poverty,” he said.

“We want to work together with business and act in unison to silence the sceptics and affirm that South Africa will succeed under the ANC and that the objectives of national democratic revolution will be achieved,” he said.

Ramaphosa said the government was doing all it could to focus on what could generate growth and create jobs in the country saying it was for that reason that government had also embarked on a hundred-billion-dollar investment drive.

“We are confident of the success of this investment drive because of the overall positive move that has engulfed our country since the ANC Nasrec conference,” he said.



NEWS24

Germans march against racism

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Germans march against racism Tens of thousands of people marched in Berlin on Saturday in a protest against racism after growing concern over a series of xenophobic incidents in the east of the country.

Organisers said at least 150 000 people turned out for the march, although Berlin police were yet to release their own estimate.

It's already a success," said Theresa Hartmann, spokesperson for the #unteilbar (indivisible) movement, who said they had only been expecting 40 000 people to turn up.

The marchers walked in balmy weather through the city centre before gathering at the Brandenburg gate where a number of German groups performed.

They shouted anti-Nazi slogans and carried placards in favour of rescue missions on the Mediterranean Sea and others saying "More love, less hate" and "No room for Nazis".

The #unteilbar collective, made up of a number of activist groups and individuals, has already staged demonstrations in the northern city of Hamburg and Munich in the south that attracted thousands.

They are supported by trades unions, religious organisations and some charities. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), posted a message of support on Twitter.

The march was partly in response to the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Building on the backlash to Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to admit more than a million refugees in 2015 and 2016, it won its first parliamentary seats in elections last year.

At the end of August a far-right demonstration in the eastern city of Chemnitz after the murder of a German that was blamed on a refugee degenerated into attacks on foreigners.

Early in October, German police arrested six men on suspicion of having taken part in the attacks, describing them as members of a far-right "terrorist" group.

NAMPA/AFP

Goodbye Ghandi

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Goodbye Ghandi Over 3 000 people have signed a petition opposing a planned statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Malawi's commercial capital Blantyre, saying the Indian independence hero had done nothing for the southern African country.

Work on the statue began two months ago along a road named after Gandhi. The Malawi government says it is being erected as part of a deal that will see New Delhi construct a US$10 million convention centre in Blantyre.

“Mahatma Gandhi has never contributed anything to Malawi's struggle for independence and freedom,” a statement from the 'Gandhi Must Fall' group said.

“We therefore, feel that the statue is being forced upon the people of Malawi and is the work of a foreign power aiming at promoting its image and dominion on the unsuspecting people of Malawi.”

The petitioners claim that Gandhi, who early in his career practised in South Africa and fought against apartheid-era segregation laws, was racist.

“We are not comfortable with imperialistic and neo-colonial ideologies that seek to impose... foreign influence which deprives us of honour,” Wonderful Mkutche, a member of the group told AFP on Saturday.

“Now more than ever, our nation must rise above pettiness and weakness in international deals.... This must mean that we should only accept investments, partnerships... that are responsible, fair, equal, honourable, sustainable, efficient and transparent.”

But Isaac Munlo, Principal Secretary in the foreign ministry, defended the project saying: “It should be recognised that Mahatma Gandhi promoted values of simplicity, fight against social evils, promoting human and civil rights as well as uplifting of social well-being of people.

“It is also worth noting that all African freedom fighters that fought against colonialism and oppression and thus demanded independence were influenced by what Mahatma Gandhi fought for. In other ways, Mahatma Gandhi is a role model of a human rights campaigner for both Africa and India,” he said.

Malawi and India established diplomatic ties in 1964 and New Delhi is one of the country's biggest

donors.



NAMPA/AFP

Mick Schumacher can be 'one of sport's greats'

October 14, 2018, 3:00 pm

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Mick Schumacher can be 'one of sport's greats'Following in daddy's footsteps Schumacher had been a picture of concentration in the final laps to hold second and secure the title, and punched the air after crossing the finish line. Mick Schumacher, the teenage son of the stricken Michael Schumacher, was described as having the potential to become “one of the sport's greats” after being crowned Formula Three European champion on Saturday, fuelling speculation of a Formula One career.

“We will now think more intensively about next year and the decision will be made in the next few days,” Schumacher, 19, told broadcaster n-tv, without giving details.

Toto Wolff, the powerful head of world Formula One champions Mercedes, tipped the teenager for great things.

“He has proven himself and can become a great in our sport,” said Wolff.

His first F3 title means Schumacher has qualified for a FIA 'super licence', a prerequisite for the jump to Formula One, and follows on from his father, who won the German F3 championships 28 years ago.

With one F3 race left this season, the 19-year-old finished second in the day's second race at Germany's Hockenheim circuit to leave him with an unassailable lead in the championship.

“It's hard to describe, I'm just grateful, I'm living my dream,” he said.

“The title was my goal from the beginning, I never stopped believing it. We drivers do what we love. And when it is successful, it is the best feeling you can have.”

Estonia's Juri Vips took the chequered flag, but all the attention was on Schumacher, who dominated the second half of the F3 season after claiming five straight wins last month.

He hugged his team after finishing on the podium for the 13th time in 29 races this season.

Before Sunday's final race, Schumacher had 347 points, 51 ahead of Britain's Daniel Ticktum, the only driver who could have caught the German. Schumacher had finished 12th in Saturday morning's race after an early crash forced him into the pits.

“You could see that perhaps I wanted it too much or had too much adrenalin,” admitted Schumacher.

The presence of the German teenager with the famous name generated huge media interest in F3 this season.

After a mediocre start, things clicked in July, when he won at Spa in Belgium to claim his first victory in the 15th of 30 races.

He then began a run of nine podium places of the next 12 races.

In September he racked up five straight wins to seize control of the drivers' championship and catch the attention of those in Formula One.

Born in March 1999, the year before his father won the first of five consecutive F1 world titles for Ferrari, Mick started his racing career in karting aged nine.

To avoid attention he raced as 'Mick Betsch', using his mother Corinna's maiden name.

He was on the piste with his father in December 2013 when an accident in the French ski resort of Meribel left Michael with serious head injuries.

The 49-year-old has not been seen in public since as he recovers at the family home in Switzerland.

In 2014, Mick junior finished the karting season second overall in the German, European and world championships.

Finally racing under the family name, he stepped up to F4 racing in 2015. Schumacher scored his maiden win at Oschersleben for the Van Amersfoort Racing team, but eventually finished tenth overall after only two podium places.

With the spotlight permanently on young Schumacher, he was fiercely guarded from reporters' questions by Sabine Kehm, his father's manager.

In 2016, Schumacher junior finished second in both the German and Italian F4 championships and last year when he stepped up to the F3 championships he was 12th with just one podium finish.

This season, he has been a revelation for Prema Theodore Racing, sparking speculation that he will race in Formula Two next season or step straight up to F1.

NAMPA/AFP