Murder, rape dominate crime

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

≪ Previous: Loans to individuals, businesses up N$750m

Murder, rape dominate crimeBaby killed, pensioner raped It was a busy week for the Namibian police with a high number of murders and rapes.

The Namibian police are investigating a murder that took place in the Windhoek Psychiatric Hospital in late December, after a 29-year-old patient used a pen to fatally stab another patient in the neck.

The latest crime report confirmed the victim was Hangura Hausiku, 30. No arrests have been made to date and the investigation continues.

Another murder investigation was launched last week after a three-month-old baby girl died from a blunt force trauma to her head.

The investigation so far has revealed that the girl, Hengari Kaundenisa, was left at home by her mother with a 14-year-old boy and when she returned she discovered the baby had died and that her skull had been crushed.

No arrests have taken place to date and the investigation continues.

Men attack women

A 72-year-old pensioner's rape on 30 December in Henties Bay is being investigated by police.

The woman informed police that the suspect, age unknown, asked her for water in the early morning hours.

When she handed him the water, he “beat her to the ground and raped her”.

No arrest has taken place.

Multiple rapes of a 16-year-old girl between March and December 2018 at the Ongulumbashe location in Usakos, and assault and threats to kill her, has led the police to open a rape, and assault by threat, and common assault case.

The police report indicates that the case was brought to the attention of the police after the man violently attacked the minor, who is pregnant now, on Sunday 30 December, and threatened to kill her.

The suspect, 21, is known to police but has not yet been arrested.

Another rape on 28 December in the DRC location of a 21-year-old woman by a 28-year-old man is being investigated.

A violent domestic dispute between a 19-year-old woman and her 24-year-old boyfriend has resulted in his arrest for attempted murder after he attacked her with a panga and slashed her head and caused injuries to her hands as she tried to defend herself.

The attack took place in Ondangwa on 31 December during the early evening hours. The man has been arrested.

Another rape investigation was launched in Ongwediva, after a woman told police she had woken up and discovered a friend was having sexual intercourse with her without her consent.

The police investigation has revealed that a group of friends had returned from a party and the man assaulted her after they returned home and she fell asleep.

Dog protects owner

An armed robbery in Avis has been reported to police, after a young woman, 21, and her dog were attacked and robbed in her Avis home on New Year's Eve.

The violent robbery took place shortly before midnight on the last day of 2018 as the two attackers entered the house just after the victim's family left to view fireworks in the city centre of Windhoek.

According to a friend's report, the robbers threatened to kill the young woman during the attack, demanding she hand over a laptop and other items.

During the violent struggle, her dog, a large Boerboel, jumped up against the men in an attempt to protect her and was stabbed multiple times.

As the woman ran out of the house an employee of a private security company spotted her and rushed to provide assistance.

The robbers fled with a television set, a decoder and cell phone. To date no arrests have taken place.

Following the incident, the woman was taken to hospital to be treated for severe shock and the dog immediately taken to a veterinary clinic where she received life-saving surgery.

Friends soon reached out on a social media platform, sharing the story and appealing for assistance to cover the costs of the large veterinary bill.

Within two days the veterinary bill had been covered completely as the community banded together to assist the family.

JANA-MARI SMITH

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Things will stay the same

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Battle for Lüderitz is on

≪ Previous: Murder, rape dominate crime

Things will stay the same

The long-awaited new curriculum for the NSSCO students in Namibia will be implemented this year.

The grade 10s of 2019 will be the first to follow the two-year study plan and can attend university if they are not interested in following the Namibia Secondary School Certificate Advanced Subsidiary. In a frank interview with Namibian Sun, Nust's vice-chancellor, Dr Tjama Tjivikua, said he did not expect much to change.

We stand with him.

Of concern is the quality of teaching. Physics and chemistry are now separate subjects and maths can only be taken on the extended and no longer the core level.

Textbooks for the new study plans have been ordered but not yet delivered.

Regarding the dismal performance of the 2018 grade 10s, Tjivikua said, “The picture is no different to that which we are used to. It is a nightmare and every year it is the same. There is no marked improvement in the output.”

He is correct that both English and maths remain the primary challenge for our learners. This is an inherent flaw in the system which starts at primary school level.

Teachers themselves are not fluent in English as a home or first language and mathematics is, just well, mathematics. A high level of skill is needed to teach and pass the subject and, not all children are born with an understanding of calculus, algebra and geometry.

As Tjivikua said: “We are not necessarily going to get more or better students.”

While we understand the necessity of creating an opportunity for local learners to study internationally, we do not see that the critical foundations have been laid in this regard to truly bring about a change in the pass rate for both ordinary and advanced learners.

In fact, if predictions by those in the know hold, we will see maths being the major stumbling block for our pass rates and a shortage of knowledgeable teachers the other.

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Battle for Lüderitz is on

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

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≪ Previous: Things will stay the same

Battle for Lüderitz is onHarbour town fights manganese imports The trans-shipment of large volumes of South African manganese ore via Lüderitz is said to threaten the town's future.

The acting permanent secretary of the ministry of environment and tourism, Teofilus Nghitila, yesterday confirmed that no environmental clearance certificates had been issued to two South African companies to export manganese ore via the port of Lüderitz.

Nghitila has instructed an investigation into the matter.

Lüderitz residents had a rude awakening at the end of 2018 when trucks rolled in and dumped a large heap of manganese ore just outside the town.

The ore was brought in by a South African company, registered here as TradePort Namibia CC, one of two companies that have been in negotiations with NamPort for the handling and exporting of manganese to China.

Local people charged that the manganese was “dumped” without TradePort having secured an environmental clearance certificate, something which could not yet be established.

But that confirmed their worst fears for the town's future.

The first evidence of the goings-on was when workers put up a fence made of wooden poles, steel wire and shade netting around three corners of a concrete slab next to the rail siding about 600 metres south-southwest of the town.

Residents say this site is in the direct path of the prevailing southwesterly winds, which often reach 40 to 50 knots, blowing directly into the lagoon and over the town.

Offloading started on 1 January and the observers noted that by late afternoon on the same day plumes of black dust could clearly be seen moving rapidly along with the wind towards the town.

The operations had been slated to start between January and March, pending official approval.

Background

The observers said news of the impending handling and exporting of the manganese ore through the Lüderitz port only emerged during November – in newspaper advertisements which many had missed – and a stakeholders' meeting on 3 December.

When some details of the planned operations were revealed at the stakeholders' meeting, grave concerns were expressed that this could sound the death knell for local businesses and potentially smother the windswept town in a toxic coat of black dust.

At that meeting it became clear that NamPort was finalising deals with TradePort and the other South African company, registered here as Pektranam Logistics, to ship 30 000 tonnes of manganese ore per month from each of the companies via the Lüderitz port.

These volumes could increase in future.

Pektranam Logistics, which hosted the stakeholders' meeting, said it would use 834 truckloads for one shipment of 30 000 tonnes per month. It said the loads would be distributed over a 30-day period. Each truck should deliver about 12 loads; it will therefore use 70 trucks per shipment.

The distribution of the loads will mean a frequency rate of 1.16 trucks per hour, or one truck every 52 minutes over a 24-hour period, offloading the ore at the site of the old Roads Construction Company (RCC) camp about two kilometres outside Lüderitz.

A co-owner and director of the family-owned Kuruman-based company, Pieter Kruger, said the stockpiled manganese would be moved to the harbour over a three-day period every month, with ten dedicated trucks moving through the town when the ships come in.

TradePort's draft environmental scoping document only states that once the manganese ore is being offloaded on the concrete slab, five trucks with link trailers will run 24 hours per day to the NamPort jetty until a ship is loaded.

It does not state how many trucks will run between the Ariamsvlei border post and Lüderitz, or to what extent it intends to use rail.

Be that as it may, the residents complained that this would not only disrupt traffic in the town's main street, but also transport more dust directly through the town.

Heavy-duty trucks from Rosh Pinah and Scorpion Zinc are already driving through the town every ten minutes, every day of the week, to offload sulphur and zinc at the NamPort jetty.

'NOT PAST MY FRONT DOOR!'

Residents are livid about the truck volumes, saying turning this narrow street into a “highway of trucks operating on a 24/7 basis” will bring all traffic to a standstill and cause serious damage to the road infrastructure.

Lüderitz is a small town hemmed in by mining areas, the Naukluft Park and the recently proclaimed Sperrgebiet Park. It has a 41-kilometre coastal area.

It is considered a cul de sac destination with only one way in and out. There are no alternative routes and the main street is where most businesses are clustered.

Trucks using this street would also disrupt business in the town centre and severely affect tourism, which has shown steady growth over the last ten years.

More importantly, contamination would harm the marine aquaculture (or mariculture) and fishing sectors that keep Lüderitz afloat.

“We are not against economic development, but at what cost does this come? What is the benefit to Lüderitz? If the environment gets contaminated with that dust you cannot reverse it; there is no recourse,” said Howard Head, involved in marine diamond recovery and local tourism.

Jason Burgess, involved in oyster farming, said the location of the ore stockpile is a major worry. The site is in a wind funnel which blows directly onto the first lagoon with its oyster and abalone farms.

Burgess points out that oysters, as filter-feeders, are a primary indicator species and can be negatively affected by any manganese dust entering the water.

Mariculture in Lüderitz is currently thriving because the seawater is clean.

“The lagoon is the catch-point for all the dust before it even gets to town. That is also the primary swimming area; where will our children swim? What will be the future of our children that will be exposed to that?” Burgess said.

CEO of Marco Fishing, Kurt Laufe, believes the manganese business would jeopardise the fishing industry because the truck traffic would block the entrance to the harbour.

More importantly, Laufe said the local fishing companies export fresh fish to the European Union.

“Can you imagine if there is just a little plume of manganese [dust] coming through the air and it settles on the fish? It would destroy the entire fishing industry,” Laufe said.

Ulf Grünewald, chairperson of the Lüderitz Tourism Forum and general manager at the Nest Hotel, feels that more should instead be invested on creating “clean” and alternative development.

WHY LÜDERITZ?

Residents also want to know why the two South African companies decided to move their manganese ore through Lüderitz while there are huge ports in South Africa.

Media reports in South Africa suggest that there were outcries and protests over manganese dust pollution at the Port Elizabeth port.

Kruger said it is simple: the distance between Lüderitz and other South African ports from the Kuruman area is practically the same, the region is thinly populated, and the topography is flat as opposed to the mountainous and densely populated other routes.

Also, he said, NamPort was forced to drastically reduce its port tariffs to be competitive. This massive tariff reduction was only conceded to the manganese projects.

HEALTH MATTERS

There are also numerous reports of the health hazards of exposure to manganese dust. One of these is 'manganism', an occupational disease similar to Parkinson's disease.

Pektranam's owners insist that there cannot be any hazardous effects, arguing that manganese only becomes a health risk when it is being processed.

Assmang Manganese – one of the oldest and biggest manganese mining operations in South Africa – is a main supplier of the manganese ore to Pektranam.

Monde Gwababa, a hygiene officer at Assmang Manganese, assured Pektranam in an email that “manganese dust poses a risk of manganese poisoning”, but added that this “normally can occur after variable heavy exposure ranging from six months to three years at average air levels of 1 mg/m3 [one milligram per cubic metre].”

“[At] our operations the exposure levels are fairly low and even in Port Elizabeth harbour where we also export our manganese ore the levels in the air are of insignificant risk,” Gwababa wrote.

Pektranam insisted the manganese ore is like hard rock. It said each load will contain about 27% to 37% of this rock-like ore, but contended that the rest of the load is “ordinary soil and gravel”.

'IT'S MANAGEABLE, NOT SO BAD'

NamPort has proactively gone out to lure more business to its Lüderitz port, which according to a NamPort official is currently only busy for about two weeks a month.

“We can handle the volumes,” said this official, who preferred anonymity.

He added that there was “no way” NamPort would touch a product that was not cleared for shipment.

Crispin Clay of the Lüderitzbucht Foundation is adamant that an urgent moratorium be placed on the manganese trans-shipment and all such projects that could pose a risk to “our country, our people, our resources, our environment”.

Preferably, he said, these should be stopped permanently, at least until comprehensive, independent, internationally credible scientific studies have been completed, assessed and agreed on by all parties involved.

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Fears of drought escalate

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Fears of drought escalate

JANA-MARI SMITH

Recent downpours in many parts of Namibia and a trickle inflow into dams in the central areas have raised hopes of a good rainy season but experts warn that farmers should rather prepare for drought than pin their hopes on good rainfall for the rest of the season.

South African climatologist Johan van den Berg, a climate scientist at Santam Agriculture, said this week that from an agricultural viewpoint, the rest of the 2018/19 summer season carries a high risk of drought conditions.

He stressed however that a notable challenge climate experts are wrestling with currently is the fact that accurate weather forecasts are highly unreliable and difficult.

“The 2018/19 summer season will more than likely be remembered as one of the most difficult forecasting seasons in many years. Few if any weather outlooks forecast that the first part of the season would be so dry,” he said.

Van den Berg added that southern Africa is more than likely nearing the end of a drought cycle that started in 2012, based on a long-term overview.

“It is very likely that wetter conditions will set within the next year or two. The challenge is to survive the current season.”

As a result of the forecasting difficulties, which are due to several factors, while it is recommended to prepare for dry months ahead, “there is always a chance that the rain conditions could improve.”

To guard against false optimism and to ensure adequate planning, however, Van den Berg said it was crucial that farmers ensured they were ready for a potential disaster in terms of rainfall. “Should it turn out differently, [they should] see that as a bonus and not the other way around.”

Scarce

In August last year already the consensus reached by climate scientists for the southern African region was to expect erratic rainfall and normal to below-normal rainfall for the period October 2018 to March 2019.

The most recent weekly dam bulletin issued by NamWater shows that the level of the Von Bach Dam rose from 39.7% to 41.5% by 31 December as a result good rains.

The Omatako Dam’s level has increased slightly from 0% to 0.5% since last week.

The level of the Swakoppoort Dam continued to drop in the last week of 2018, from 23.9% to 23.5% by 31 December.

Compared to last year, the dam levels are worrying.

At the same time last year, the Swakoppoort Dam was 40.8% full and Von Bach 60.3%.

The level of the Omatako Dam is the same as last year – empty.

In August, the City of Windhoek announced an emergency water supply strategy, in addition to new mandatory 10% water savings, to ensure sustainable and secure water supply under drought conditions.

Currently, Windhoek's southern suburbs are primarily supplied with water from nine boreholes that were drilled in the aquifer, the city’s emergency resource, over the past year.

At least 20 000 cubic metres of water is extracted daily from the aquifer.

This supply strategy was designed to address the lack of inflow to the three main supply dams - Von Bach, Swakoppoort and Omatako - whose supply to the city was halved from around 60 000 cubic metres daily to 30 000.

The city’s water supply is additionally supplemented with around 17 000 cubic metres a day from the Windhoek reclamation plant, which is the maximum output it can provide.

Yet, in order to ensure the new daily usage target of 67 000 cubic metres a day is achieved, a 10% saving by residents is crucial.

Koos Theron of the City of Windhoek's infrastructure, water, and technical services division explained at the time that the current water supply strategy is highly risky as it relies on the aquifer, which is a designated emergency resource.

He explained that the current daily abstraction of around 20 000 cubic metres is not sustainable in the long run, based on the average natural recharge of the underground water source which amounts to around 1.7 million cubic metres per year.

At the current rate, around 7.5 million cubic metres per year are being extracted, almost 4.5 times the recharge rate.

“If everybody can contribute, we should be able to get to the 67 000 cubic metres a day. If we do not, we have to exploit the boreholes further, which is not a good option, because we are already using our 'retirement money',” he said.

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Company news in brief

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Spotlight on role of automated trading amid Wall Street swoon

≪ Previous: Fears of drought escalate

Company news in brief

Total starts production at Nigerian oilfield

Total SA said on Wednesday it had started production from the Egina oilfield off Nigeria's coast, part of a shift by the French energy firm towards deepwater oil and gas projects to its drive cash flow.

Output from Egina, which is located in waters about 1 600 metres deep, is expected to plateau at 200 000 barrels per day of oil, Total said. That rate is equivalent to about 10% of Nigeria's current production.

"Egina will significantly boost the group's production and cashflow from 2019 onwards, and benefit from our strong cost reduction efforts in Nigeria where we have reduced our operating costs by 40% over the last four years," Total's head of exploration and production, Arnaud Breuillac, said.

Total is betting on profitable deepwater oil and gas fields in Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and the US Gulf area. In Africa, the company is ramping up deepwater projects in the Republic of Congo and Angola.

Total forecasts output from deepwater projects will reach 500 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020 and account for more than 35% of cash flow in coming years, compared with about 15% now.

Total also said it would take a decision this year on whether to invest in developing the Preowei field, located in the same block as the Egina field. – Nampa/Reuters

Qatar Airways acquires stake in Chinese airline

Qatar Airways has acquired a 5% stake in China Southern Airlines, the state-owned Gulf carrier said on Wednesday, in a move to gain access to the fast-growing mainland Chinese market.

Qatar Airways also owns a 20% stake in British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group, 10% of South America's LATAM Airlines Group SA, 49% of Italy's Meridiana and 9.99% stake in Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific.

Qatar's flagship airline has sought new partners and routes after it was blocked last year from flying to the lucrative markets of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates because of restrictions imposed by those countries.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

China Southern in a separate statement said Qatar Airways may consider increasing its stake in the airline in the next 12 months. Qatar had no previous investment in the Chinese airline.

Qatar Airways is the second foreign carrier that has a stake in China Southern, after American Airlines. The Chinese carrier left the Skyteam airline alliance at the start of the year. – Nampa/Reuters

UBS chairman pours cold water on Deutsche Bank talk

Swiss bank UBS is not looking to merge with any other bank, chairman Axel Weber told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, dismissing speculation that UBS could join forces with Deutsche Bank.

"There is a lot of talk in Europe and the United States about mergers but nothing happens. These are all simulation games," he said in an interview published yesterday.

Asked specifically about whether UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, was running simulations about Germany's biggest lender, Weber said: "Every company has to think things over, but it makes little sense to consider mergers at group level now. These paralyse companies for years.

"UBS is much stronger today than before the financial crisis, but combining with another bank - no matter which - would be premature at this moment. We want to grow primarily organically and we surely have to be able to walk before we want to run."

Weber, a former Bundesbank chief who joined UBS in 2012, said he could imagine remaining in his post until 2022. – Nampa/Reuters

Sinking Apple shares a wish come true

Billionaire Warren Buffett has said he would love to see Apple Inc shares decline in price so he could buy more. He is getting his wish.

Apple's warning on Wednesday about weak iPhone demand in the holiday quarter due to slower sales in China sent its stock down 7.5% during after-hours trading. Class B shares of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc traded down 2% in the same session on Wall Street.

Including its after-hours drop on Wednesday, Apple's stock market value has tumbled to below US$700 billion from over US$1.1 trillion at its peak in October. Although Apple has fallen behind Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp in value, it remains one of Wall Street's most widely held companies.

Shares of Berkshire itself have held up well even as the broader market sank last quarter. Last year, Berkshire returned 2.8%, while the S&P 500 fell 4.4%, including reinvested dividends.

But the US$3 billion hit to Berkshire's Apple shares in evening trading on Wednesday could show in future reported earnings. Those figures do not reflect any long-term gains on Berkshire's investments, and Buffett has encouraged investors to ignore the profit statistic mandated by US accounting practices. – Nampa/Reuters

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Spotlight on role of automated trading amid Wall Street swoon

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Bolsonaro's challenges as he takes charge of Brazil

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Spotlight on role of automated trading amid Wall Street swoon

Juliette Michel - The recent tumult in financial markets has shined a light on the rising role of automated trading on Wall Street and whether it is exacerbating volatility.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, investors have increasingly turned to computerised trading systems that have been programmed to render quickfire "buy" and "sell" orders based on economic data, utterances of central bankers or complex artificial intelligence software that employ algorithms.

Though set up by humans, these trades are based on a snap assessment that lacks the subtle discernment of the human eye.

Whenever an unexpected lurch on Wall Street slams investors, fingers are pointed at such systems that increasingly dominate trading.

Critics have questioned whether the market's recent swoon - which could result in the worst December since the Great Depression - is due to a liquidity drain and other unanticipated effects of the computerisation of trading, rather than fundamental economic factors at a time when US unemployment is low and economic growth is solid.

Uptick in volatility

Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, blamed the uptick in volatility on the surge in high-frequency trading, a type of automated trading.

Trading from quantitative hedge funds relying on computer models now accounts for 28.7% of overall volumes in the United States, according to the Tabb Group consultancy. That is more than twice the share from five years ago and, since 2017, above the percentage held by individual investors.

JPMorgan Chase analyst Marko Kolanovic has estimated that only about one-third of the assets in the stock market are actively managed and that only 10% of the daily trading volume is the result of specific deliberation.

But while the rise of automated trading is undeniable, it is less clear that it is responsible for increased market turmoil.

Algorithms

Tabb Group Founder Larry Tabb said most electronic trading firms employ algorithms that identify and take advantage of price discrepancies between the price of a given security and what it fetches elsewhere.

"They are looking to buy the cheap ones," Tabb said, adding, "most models actually dampen volatility rather than enhance volatility."

At the same time, Tabb concedes that the proliferation of exchanges where stocks are bought and sold can result in limited liquidity on platforms. That can make markets vulnerable to a "flash crash," although this possibility was mitigated with circuit breakers instituted after 2010.

The system of automated trading is "all about supply and demand like it's always been," Tabb said. "It's just a supply and demand at a quicker pace."

‘Herd-like behaviour’

Another oft-cited risk is the tendency for computers to behave with "herd"-like behaviour because they are engineered in a similar fashion.

"Because of the design similarities, they tend to buy and sell futures at similar price levels," said Peter Hahn, co-founder of Bridgeton Research Group.

"When they are hitting 'sell' stop-loss levels at similar times they can add significant price pressure at the beginning of down-trends," said Hahn, adding that the impact is more muted when trades are triggered by fundamental factors, such as an economic indicator.

Kolanovic warned that the shift away from active investment could pinch the market's ability to "prevent and recover from large drawdowns."

"The US$2 trillion rotation from active and value to passive and momentum strategies since the last crisis eliminated a large pool of assets that would be standing ready to buy cheap public securities and backstop a market disruption," Kolanovic said. – Nampa/AFP

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Bolsonaro's challenges as he takes charge of Brazil

January 3, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Bolsonaro's challenges as he takes charge of BrazilKey issues While the far-right politician enjoys sky-high popularity, the challenges to his agenda are formidable.

Marc Burleigh - Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has promised to radically change the path taken by Latin America's biggest country by trashing decades of centre-left policies.

But while the far-right politician enjoys sky-high popularity, the challenges to his agenda are formidable.

Brazil is a commodity-exporting powerhouse but it's still limping out of a record-breaking recession that eradicated many gains from the stellar period of prosperity it enjoyed just a decade ago.

Bolsonaro has appointed a free-marketeer, Paulo Guedes, as economy minister to push through reforms to bring down Brazil's swelling debt, mainly through privatisations, tax changes and encouraging foreign investment.

Congress

One of the trickiest problems will be cutting back on Brazil's unsustainable pension system, which requires an overhaul of the constitution.

But Bolsonaro's far-right Social Liberal Party does not have a majority in Congress. To pass legislation he will be relying on ad-hoc alliances with backbenchers in various parties who are part of his evangelical, pro-agribusiness, pro-gun base.

Eurasia Group, a consulting firm, notes the reforms pose "a real challenge". The big swing in public support behind Bolsonaro could give him the legislative firepower he needs, if he moves early in his term - but even then "expect a lot of drama" in Congress, it said.

Trump

Brazil's new orientation will quickly be clear to the world through its diplomacy. And a lot of that is inspired by US president Donald Trump, whom Bolsonaro admires.

Bolsonaro has already said he will pull his country out a UN global migration pact, and he is deciding whether to do the same with the Paris accord on climate change and on whether to move Brazil's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem - all measures aligned with Trump.

Additionally, he is hostile to greater Chinese investment in Brazil, and he has said he will do all he can to challenge the leftist governments of Cuba and Venezuela.

Bolsonaro's two main promises are to crack down on Brazil's rampant crime and extinguish political corruption.

Crime

The ex-military man wants laws eased so "good" people can own guns to deter armed assailants. Critics fear that could usher in a "Wild West" in a country where there are already nearly 64 000 homicides annually.

Police officers - responsible for some 5 000 deaths a year - will be given greater impunity under Bolsonaro.

The fight against corruption has been under way since 2014, under a sprawling anti-graft probe known as "Car Wash" that has snared many political and corporate chiefs. In a savvy move, Bolsonaro has named the judge who led "Car Wash," Sergio Moro, as his justice minister.

But corruption in Brazil has deep roots, and any evidence of it in Bolsonaro's inner circle - some allegations are already being investigated - or his party could rapidly damage his image.

Another domestic challenge will be protecting Brazil's environment, which includes the Amazon, sometimes called "the lungs of the planet". Bolsonaro has indicated he will put mining and farming interests above conservation. – Nampa/AFP

KASSIE

Indigenous land

Brazil's newly inaugurated president issued an executive order on Wednesday making the ministry of agriculture responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists.

During his presidential campaign, far-right Jair Bolsonaro said he was considering placing indigenous affairs under the ministry of agriculture, alleging lands should be opened to commercial activities that are currently banned.

Bolsonaro has now decided to move indigenous affairs agency FUNAI into a new ministry for family, women and human rights, and so the key decision on land claims will be in the hands of an agriculture ministry with deep ties to Brazil's powerful farm sector.

Critics say Bolsonaro's plan to open indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society.

Environmentalists say the native peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest that is vital for climate stability. – Nampa/AFP

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Kakko buries US

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Kakko buries US

Kaapo Kakko scored the game winner with 92 seconds left in regulation as Finland won the gold medal at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships with a 3-2 victory over the USA on Saturday.

Kakko found a loose puck during a wild scramble in front of the US net and tucked the winner home to give Finland their third gold medal in the past six years.

Kakko outduelled American Jack Hughes Saturday as the two 17-year-olds are tabbed to go one and two in the 2019 NHL entry draft.

Montreal Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen and Otto Latvala also scored while goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the underdog Finns, who surrendered a 2-0 lead in the third period before Kakko's late goal broke the deadlock.

Sasha Chmelevski and Josh Norris scored back to back goals in the third period for the Americans, who were outshot 29-27.

The US had five powerplays but failed to score a goal with the man advantage.

Kirill Slepets notched a hat trick as Russia defeated Switzerland 5-2 to capture the bronze medal.

Host Canada did not reach the medal round and finished sixth as they were eliminated by Finland in the quarter-finals.

Next year's tournament will be held in the Czech Republic.

NAMPA/AFP

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Mosimane expresses delight with victory

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Mosimane expresses delight with victory Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane was relieved to walk away with three points against Kaizer Chiefs, who he felt were superior in the first half.

The Brazilians beat Amakhosi 2-1 on Saturday thanks to goals by Anthony Laffor and Lebohang Maboe to keep their unbeaten record intact this season.

“It was the way it was expected. We played against a difficult opponent, they're credible. You could see how they got to our box with small one-twos. But we managed at the end to stop them from going through,” Mosimane told SuperSport TV.

“Anthony [Laffor] scored a great goal. The goal we scored earlier it woke them up. Because after that they took the game to be honest.

“It's a big game, you have to be smart. We came back in the second half, the first half they were superior.”

The former Bafana Bafana coach went on to say that Middendorp's tactics in the first half caught him off guard, with the German unusually playing left-footed defender Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya at right wing.

“You know coach Middendorp is very awkward, he plays awkward football to be honest. Very good tactician. Not easy to figure him out, but at halftime we sorted it out. We changed a few things.

“For us it was a relief [to see the] left back [Godfrey Walusimbi] coming out because we had a problem with the two wings-backs and it created a little bit of stress on our wingers to track back.

“But in midfield [Hlompho] Kekana was unbelievable with 'Sugar' [Tiyani Mabunda] they have experience, they know how to win the championship. They've been here for a long time.

“Not to be bragging but when we come here [at FNB Stadium] we either draw or win. In June we won a cup here [pre-season trophy],” he said.

Kickoff

↧

NPL resumes on Saturday

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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NPL resumes on Saturday'Fans must commit to league' The MTC Namibia Premier League (NPL) officials want the level of the game to improve in 2019 in order to attract more spectators.

The MTC Namibia Premier League first round will resume this Saturday, league administrator Tovey //Hoebeb says.

The teams are back in training after the December break.

//Hoebeb says the first round of the league is expected to be concluded at the end of February.

“I can confirm that the premier league will resume this week and we expect all teams to be ready.

“Last year we witnessed good football from several teams and we just hope that it can improve this year.

“There are no other further developments but we will communicate anything that comes up through our trusted media,” //Hoebeb said.

Black Africa are leading the table with 16 points, followed by Mighty Gunners who are level on points with the former league champions after seven matches played.

Citizens are at the bottom of the top pack with 11 points.

//Hoebeb urges more people to support the premier league this year.

He believes it is the only way that the teams can improve their performance. “I would like to thank those that always took their time to be at the football matches last year.

“It is however also important to note that we need more fans at our stadiums in order to take the matches to the next level.

“Let us not only support European teams but also make time to support our own football.

“The only way that Namibian football can grow is when we all pull together as a nation.”

He also encouraged teams to play better football than last year.

African Stars won the 2017/18 NPL title after accumulating 64 points and winning 19 matches.

The club drew on seven occasions, while losing only four of their 30 matches.

The champions scored 40 goals and conceded 14, with star striker Panduleni Nekundi netting 15 goals.

Stars' arch-rivals Black Africa failed to pip the champions to the post last season and finished on 55 points. The Mighty Gunners came third with 54 points, delivering their best performance ever in the premier league.

Unam FC also had a good campaign, taking fourth spot with 48 points.

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

↧

More election delays

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

≫ Next: Too early to consider exchange of US spy suspect

≪ Previous: NPL resumes on Saturday

More election delaysDRC on edge as election results postponed There are fears of widespread violence in the DRC following a weekend announcement that the final results are not ready and are delayed.

Officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday delayed the announcement of preliminary results from a crucial presidential election, amid growing pressure from world powers and the influential Catholic Church to respect voters' wishes.

Preliminary results, scheduled for release yesterday, will now come out only next week, the head of the country's electoral commission CENI told AFP just hours before the deadline.

“It is not possible to publish the results on Sunday. We are making progress, but we do not have everything yet,” Corneille Nangaa said, without announcing a new date.

The country's powerful National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), which represents the country's Catholic bishops, warned popular anger could result in the event the final result were not “true to the verdict of the ballot box.”

The DRC's powerful Catholic Church, which provided more than 40 000 election observers, had said Thursday it knew who had won the vote, but did not name him.

In a letter to Nangaa on Saturday, CENCO president Marcel Utembi said that, given the delay, “if there is a popular uprising it would be the responsibility of the CENI”.

The 30 December vote saw 21 candidates run to replace President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the vast, conflict-ridden country for almost 18 years.

Among the frontrunners were Kabila's handpicked successor Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary and two opposition candidates: veteran heavyweight Felix Tshisekedi and newcomer Martin Fayulu.

At stake is the political stewardship of a mineral-rich country that has never known a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Kabila had been due to step down two years ago, but clung on to power, sparking widespread protests which were brutally repressed, killing dozens.

The election, preceded by repeated delays, was carried out in a relatively peaceful manner. But tensions have built over the lengthy counting process, amid fears the results could be manipulated to install Kabila-backed Shadary in power.

The electoral commission had promised to announce preliminary results on Sunday, followed by a definitive count on 15 January.

But Nangaa told AFP just under half of ballots had been counted by Saturday afternoon, adding: “Next week, we will announce.”

The further delay could stoke tension in the unstable central African nation of 80 million.

Nangaa has blamed the slow count on massive logistical problems in a country the size of Western Europe with poor infrastructure.

Since the vote, the authorities have cut internet access and blocked broadcasts by Radio France Internationale, causing widespread frustration.

With international concerns growing over the transfer of power in sub-Saharan Africa's largest nation, Western powers have upped the pressure.

The United States and European Union urged Kinshasa to ensure a peaceful change of power.

Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States was sending about 80 troops to Gabon to deploy in the event of election-related unrest in nearby DRC.

The African Union, which had sent an 80-member team to monitor the vote, insisted that respecting voters' wishes was “crucial”.

And Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the DRC's western neighbour, the Republic of Congo, urged restraint in uncertain times to “safeguard peace and stability in this brother country”.

Nangaa wrote to CENCO head Utembi on Friday accusing the episcopal conference of putting out partial result “trends” designed to “intoxicate the population in preparing an uprising,” an accusation the latter turned on its head with Saturday's letter in response.

In his letter Nangaa warned CENCO would “alone be responsible” for unrest after disseminating “insignificant and partial data”.

The ruling FCC coalition accused CENCO of “seriously breaching” the constitution and electoral law by “illegally declaring voting trends” in favour of a given candidate.

The last two elections in 2006 and 2011, both won by Kabila, were marred by bloodshed, and many feared a repeat if the results this time round were placed in doubt.

In 2006, Kabila defeated former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba in a violence-tainted poll.

Five years later, he was re-elected in another vote blighted by bloodshed, chaotic organisation and alleged irregularities.

The opposition rejected the results.

Between 1996 and 2003, the DRC lived through two fully-fledged wars that claimed millions of lives through fighting, starvation, and disease.

NAMPA/AFP

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Too early to consider exchange of US spy suspect

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Too early to consider exchange of US spy suspect

Russia's deputy foreign minister brushed back suggestions Saturday that an American being held in Moscow on suspicion of spying could be exchanged for a Russian citizen.

The brother of Paul Whelan, however, tells The Associated Press that he can't help but question whether the events are indeed connected.

“You look at what's going on and you wonder if this is just a large game of pieces being moved around,” David Whelan told the AP via Skype from Newmarket, Ontario. “You start to wonder if all of these things are connected. But at the same time, they could just be arbitrary events.”

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who also holds Canadian, British and Irish citizenship, was detained in Moscow in late December. His arrest has led to speculation that Russia could be using him to bargain for a Russian who pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent in the United States. Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said that discussing a possible swap involving Whelan and Maria Butina would be premature because Whelan hasn't been formally charged, according to Russian news agencies. “As to the possibility of exchanges of one sort of another, it's impossible and incorrect to consider the question now when an official charge hasn't even been presented,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA-Novosti.

“Charges will be presented in the near future,” he said, according to the Interfax agency.

Some Russian news reports earlier cited unnamed sources as saying Whelan had been indicted on espionage charges that carry a possible prison sentence of 20 years.

Officials haven't given details of Whelan's suspected activities and he was initially identified only as an American. His concurrent Canadian, British and Irish citizenships became known on Friday.

US Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. visited Whelan on Wednesday in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, a 130-year-old facility noted for strict conditions. Britain, Canada and Ireland have applied for consular access to him. Whelan, 48, was discharged from the Marines for bad conduct. He works as the global security director for a US automobile parts manufacturer and lives in Michigan. His family has said he was in Moscow to attend a wedding.

His brother, David, told the AP that Whelan loves to travel and likes to “interact with the people in the places that he goes,” but that Whelan would be too “conspicuous” to be selected as a spy. David Whelan said his family had had no direct contact with Paul and had received no details about the espionage charges from either the Russian or US governments.

“He likes to go places and Russia happens to be a place where he knows people and when he's there, he does go and visit,” David Whelan said.

Paul Whelan established an account on VKontakte, a social media service similar to Facebook that is popular among Russians, which showed he had scores of contacts in Russia. Many attended universities affiliated with the military, civil aviation or technical studies. Many share his interest in sports and firearms.

Also Saturday, the foreign ministry said it was seeking information about a Russian who was arrested on 29 December in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States commonwealth in the Pacific.

In a statement, the ministry said Sergei Makarenko was sent to the US state of Florida after his arrest and it wants consular access to him.

The Saipan Tribune reported that Makarenko was indicted in 2017 in Florida for the alleged illegal shipment of military goods to Russia.

Konstantin Kosachev, head of the international affairs committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, said Makarenko's arrest was “the latest attack on a citizen of Russia outside the frame work of international law,” Interfax reported.

NAMPA/AP

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Death toll from Philippine storm, landslides climbs

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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≪ Previous: Too early to consider exchange of US spy suspect

Death toll from Philippine storm, landslides climbs

The death toll from a storm that devastated the Philippines shortly after Christmas rose to 126, authorities said Sunday, adding landslides caused by torrential rain were the top cause.

The storm hit central and eastern Philippine islands on 29 December and caused massive flooding and landslides. More than 100 people died in the mountainous Bicol region southeast of Manila, regional disaster officials said.

While the Bicol region is often hit by deadly typhoons, many people failed to take necessary precautions because the storm was not strong enough to be rated as a typhoon under the government's storm alert system, according to civil defence officials.

Officials also said that many residents were reluctant to leave their homes during the Christmas holidays.

“In two days alone, Usman poured more than a month's worth of rainfall in the Bicol region,” national disaster agency spokesman Edgar Posadas told AFP, using the local name for the storm which had weakened into a low pressure area.

“Our search and retrieval operations are ongoing but the sticky mud and the unstable soil are a challenge.”

The death toll was likely to climb further with 26 people still missing, Posadas added.

More than 152 000 people were displaced by the storm and 75 were injured, according to the national disaster agency.

President Rodrigo Duterte visited the storm-hit areas on Friday and urged officials to build evacuation centres instead of using schools as shelters for the displaced.

About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of people.

The deadliest in recent years was Super Typhoon Haiyan which left more than 7 360 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in 2013.

NAMPA/AFP

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Detroit Three ready for 2019 rumble

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Detroit Three ready for 2019 rumble Lucrative pickup trucks Sustaining sales and pricing in the large-pickup segment will be critical in a year when most forecasters expect overall US car and light truck sales to fall. There's no doubt this segment is one of the epicenters of the auto wars. - Sandor Piszar, Marketing Director: Chevrolet

Nick Carey - The battle for profits from sales of large pickup trucks is intensifying among the Detroit Three automakers as sales of small cars in the United States shrivel.

For decades Ford Motor Co has had the single best-selling truck brand in its F-Series trucks. General Motors Co's Chevrolet brand was a solid No. 2, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Ram brand was a distant third.

Now, that hierarchy may be in flux.

Sales figures for December and the fourth quarter released on Thursday show FCA's Ram brand tied with GM's Chevy brand for the No. 2 spot during the fourth quarter, as sales of the redesigned Ram pickup surged, fueled in part by demand for an optional 12-inch (30.48 cm) dashboard screen.

Chevy not long ago held second place to Ford by a wide margin. GM executives said on Thursday they are bullish on their new GMC and Chevy trucks for 2019.

"There's no doubt this segment [pickup trucks] is one of the epicenters of the auto wars," said Sandor Piszar, director of marketing for Chevrolet at GM. "It's been that way forever and we wouldn't have it any other way."

On Wall Street, investors give electric car leader Tesla Inc a higher valuation than any of the Detroit automakers. But in the nation's heartland, big pickups remain far more popular and profitable than any electric car - and most other consumer vehicles of any kind.

Large pickups generate at least Us$17 000 a vehicle in pretax profit for GM, the company has indicated in disclosures to investors. By contrast, many Detroit Three sedans are so unprofitable, their manufacturers have decided not to build them anymore.

Disciplined approach

Sustaining sales and pricing in the large-pickup segment will be critical in a year when most forecasters expect overall US car and light truck sales to fall.

Ford's US sales chief, Mark LaNeve, on Thursday called the F Series "the backbone of our franchise," during a conference call, and added the "segment will continue to be strong, but hotly contested" in 2019.

Automakers are banking on pickup truck sales to stay strong even if US interest rates continue to rise. Rising interest rates translate into higher monthly car payments and are expected to deter some buyers in 2019.

GM has said 27% of Chevrolet and GMC trucks – which can haul trailers by day and substitute for a luxury sedan by night - sell for more than US$55 000.

The new Silverado was engineered with a focus on slashing weight and trimming production costs to compete with market leader Ford. However, the truck has received unflattering reviews for its utilitarian interior.

GM's Piszar brushed aside the critics. "We're not concerned at all," he said. "As people see this new truck they're blown away."

He said the automaker has adopted a "very disciplined, very gradual" approach to ramping up production of its new truck. All versions of the new Silverado will be in dealerships in January and sales moving forward will reflect that reality, he said.

Ram on the rise

The transformation of large pickups from work vehicles to substitutes for luxury sedans is most evident in the new Ram. FCA designers stuffed the new Ram 1500 with features including a 12-inch touch screen, betting customers would pay more for a fully loaded truck.

"These are all the things that customers who are paying that kind of money have come to expect," said Jim Morrison, head of the Ram brand for North America. "It's amazing to be able to have your cake and eat it too."

FCA chief executive Mike Manley told Reuters that with the new Ram trucks and additional production capacity, the brand should be the No. 2 seller in the segment.

In the fourth quarter, FCA's Ram brand tied the Silverado at around 161 000 trucks. For all of 2017, FCA sold 500 000 Ram pickups to the Silverado's 585 000.

Who is really No.1?

The Detroit automakers on Thursday renewed their jostling over which among them is really the leader in truck sales.

Ford claims its F-Series is the market leader, with 909 330 trucks sold in 2018, an increase of 1.4% over 2017.

But collectively across its Chevrolet and GMC brands - including smaller, midsize trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado - GM sold more pickups in 2018 with 973 469 vehicles sold, an increase of 2.6% over 2017.

Ford will start selling its midsize Ranger pickup truck this month to compete with the Colorado.

Overall, the Detroit Three sold 620 206 full-size pickups in the fourth quarter of 2018. Ford had 37.1% share of that total, GM had 36.8% and FCA had 26%. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the Detroit Three sold 594 691 full-size pickups during the fourth quarter. Ford accounted for 40% of that total, GM had 38.8% and FCA 21.2%.

FCA was the only one of the three that reported an increase in full-size pickup sales in the fourth quarter. – Nampa/Reuters

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Omalunduluko momusindalongo

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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≪ Previous: Detroit Three ready for 2019 rumble

Omalunduluko momusindalongo

Omalunduluko ngoka taga ningwa momusindalandu gwelongo gwoshilongo ngoka tagu tulwa miilonga nuumvo itaga gumu owala iizemo yelongo moshilongo ihe aakuluntuskola mooskola oya holola omaiyuvo gawo kutya omalunduluko ngoka otaga ka guma woo omaudhano, oshowo omahogololo gaaleli yaanaskola kwiikwatelelwa komulandu ngoka omupe.

“Oomvula mbali dha piti onda pula kutya oshike tashi ka holoka komaudhano gomooskola. Inatu mona omayamukulo na ondi wete kutya inaye shi dhidhilaadhila pethimbo taya ningi oompangela ndhoka,” omukuluntuskola gumwe a popi.

Omusilandu dhopambelewa inashi pewa natango ooskola okuza kuuministeli.

“Onda tala kiizemo yongashiingeyi na onda tala kutya otandi ka kanitha oopresenda 50 oshowo 60 nongundu yandje yaamboka haya kutha ombinga omaudhano,” omukuluntuskola a popi.

Ongundu yaadhani mboka otaya ka thiga po oskola momvula yo 2020 molwaashoka inaya gwanitha po iipumbiwa tayi pulwa moNamibia Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) mondondo onti 12. Opo ya gwanithe po iipumbiwa aanaskola yomondondo onti 11 oya pumbwa okukala ye na ondondo C mekonaakono lyoNamibia Senior Secondary Certificate on ordinary level (NSSCO).

“Omaudhano gooskola otaga ka gumwa noonkondo konkalo ndjoka yomo 2021 unene yaadhani yoomvula dhi li kohi yo 19.”

Inashi yela ngele mboka otaya ka wayimina oongundu dhomaudhano dhiiputudhilo yopombanda nenge oongundu dhomaudhano dhomoshilongo.

Sollie Duiker gwoNamibia Schools Sports Union (NSSU) ina vula okumonika a tye shakombinga yonklao yoshikumungu shoka.

Aakuluntuskola oyendji oye na omapulo kombinga yomalunduluko ogendji ngoka taga holoka po ihe kaye na omayamukulo kutya oshike tashi ka ningwa nokuholoka po.

Oya holola omapulo kutya mbele kombinga yiituthi yomalalekathano mooskola otayi ka ningwa ngiini, ngele otaku kala taku ningwa yaanaskola yondondo onti 11 naamboka yondondo onti 12.

Kombinga yaanaskola mboka taya ka kala ya landula omusindalongo gwoNSSCAS aanaskola yomondondo onti 12 otaya ka kala nootundi omasiku ga 7 uule woowili 9 uule woomitute 40.

Aanaskola yomondondo onti 10 oshowo ondondo onti 11 otaya ka kala ye na ootundi dhuule woominute 40 oshowo oontundi 9 dhelaka lyoshiingilisa.

DANI BOOYSEN

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sUutile woshikukuta

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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sUutile woshikukutaAatseyinawa ya holola kutya otashi vulika oshilongo shi dhengwe konkalo yoshikukuta nonuumvo Omata gomvula ngoka ga dhidhilikwa koombinga noombinga moshilongo oga e ta omukumo mokati kaakwashigwana ihe aatseyinawa oya holola kutya anamapya naya ilongekidhile oshikukuta nokukala nomukumo woo kutya omuloka omwaanawa otagu ya.

Omunambelewa gwoclimatologist, omukwashigwana gwaSouth Afrika, Johan van den Berg, na okuli omunongononi gwonkalo yombepo koSantam Agriculture okwa popi kutya onkalo yoshikukuta oya taalela oshilongo moshikakomvula sho 2018/19.

Okwa popi kutya onkalo yomvula yo 2018 no 2019 otayi kala yi na oshikukuta sha kwata miiti onkene aanamapya naya kale yii longekidhila onkalo ndjoka. Van den Berg added gwo Southern Africa okwa popi kutya onkalo ndjoka ya tamkele momvula yo yo 2012 otayi tsikile. Berg okwa popi kutya aanamapya naya kale yiilongekidhila onkalo yoshikukuta.

MuAguste gwomvula ya piti aatseyinawa yonkalo yombepo mUumbugantu waAfrika oya li ya tengeneke omuloka omunene pokati komwedhi Kotomba gwomvula yo 2018 oshowo Maalitsa oshowo Maalitsa gwo 2019.

Molopota yondjele yomeya moondama dhoshilongo ndjoka ya pitithwa koNamWater oya holola kutya ondama yaVon Bach ondjele yomeya mondama ndjoka oya londo okuza poopresenda 39.7 okuya poopresenda 41.5 momasiku 31 gomwedhi Decemba. Ondama ya Omatako ondjele yomeya oya londo okuya poopresenda 0 okuya po 0.5, okuza oshiwike sha piti. Ondama yaSwakoppoort otayi tsikile nokushuna pevi, sho ondjele yomeya ya dhidhilikwa kutya oya gu pevi okuza poopresenda okuya poopresenda 23.5.

Okuyeleka nomvula ya piti, ondjele yoomeya moondama moshilongo otayi limbilike. Ethimbo lya faathana omvula ya piti, ondama yaSwakoppoort oya li uudha noopresenda 40 omanga ondama yaVon Bach ya li yuudha noopresenda 60.3.

MuAguste gwomvula ya piti elelo lyoshilando shaVenduka oya pititha etseyitho koombinga lyekwatonawa lyomeya mokati kaakwashigwana noopresenda dha gwedhwapo dha thika po 10.

Monena oshitopolwa sholukalwa lyoVenduka yUumbugantu ohaya mono omeya okuza koomboola omugoyi ndhoka dha mboolwa dha nuninwa egandjo lyomeya kaakali yomoshilando. Omeya ga kalela po oocubic 20 000 ohaga zi moomboola ndhoka esiku kehe. Shoka osha ningwa okukalekapo omeya okuza moondama ngaashi ndjka yaVon Bach, Swakoppoort oshowo Omatako – ndhoka hadhi gandja omeya moshilandopangelo ga thika poocibic meta 60 000 okuya poo 30 000.

Koos Theron gwoshilando shaVenduka okwa popi kutya pethimbo mpoka oshilando sha taalela ompumbwe yomeya, oompungulilo dhomeya moshilando odha nuninwa owala okulongithwa pethimbo lyomathimbo gopaulumomhumbwe.

Okwa popi kutya aaantu ayehe oya pumbwa okulongela kumwe opo ku kwashilipalekwe kutya omeya oga kwatwa nawa moshilando ko kuyandwe onkalo yomeya yombumbwe ngaashi ndjoka ya taalela oshilando shaVenduka.

Okwa pula aakwashigwana ya longele kumwe noshilando shaVenduka opo ku kwatwe nawa omeya ko kuyandwe onkalo yokwaahena omeya moshilando.

JANA-MARI SMITH

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Failing our children, still

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Failing our children, stillFour-year-old bill languishes Namibia has still not implemented its new child protection laws passed four years ago.

As the world approaches the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Namibia is still stuck with an apartheid child law and has failed dismally to implement a new law that was passed in 2015 already.

Last year in November, on World Children's Day, Unicef launched a global petition to call on world leaders to commit to fulfilling the rights of every child and to recognise that these rights are non-negotiable.

In February last year, the minister of gender equality and child welfare, Doreen Sioka, confirmed that they were still waiting on the justice ministry to approve regulations contained in the long-awaited Child Care Protection Bill that was passed in 2015.

She could however not give feedback on the progress so far when Namibian Sun called her on Sunday and said, “My sister, I am on leave”.

In September the United Nations Children's Fund country representative Rachel Odede called for the speedy implementation of the 2015 act.

The Ombudsman Advocate John Walters has been on record for several years pleading for the implementation of the 2015 Child Care Protection Bill saying it is a shame that Namibia is still plodding on with an outdated 1960 law.

On Friday he repeated that the 2015 Child Care and Protection Act embodies every article of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Walters emphasised that the gender and childcare ministry needs to pull up its socks and do more for the welfare of the children.

“Namibia needs to do more to keep children in school and to improve the facilities of childcare and education. Children are housed and schooled in deplorable conditions especially in the O-regions and then we wonder why we have half of the grade 10s failing. Half of the country's children cannot be stupid,” he said.

To this end, his office will observe 2019 as the Year of the Child.

“We will vigorously pursue the welfare of Namibian children. It is unacceptable that we shift the blame for the conditions our children are taught in and where they live.

This bill provides for the appointment of a children's advocate, the establishment of a National Advisory Council on Children and for the establishment of a Children's Fund, amongst many other provisions.

It also provides for the appointment and designation of social workers, social auxiliary workers, community childcare workers and probation officers, amongst others.

JEMIMA BEUKES

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Ondangwa butcher still missing

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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Ondangwa butcher still missing

There is still no trace of Johannes Kadhiya, 43, who went missing in the Tsumkwe area on 8 December and the Otjozondjupa police says the investigation is ongoing.

Kadhiya, also known as Shifela, hails from Uukwiyuushona in the Oshana Region. He is employed at a 24-hour butchery in Ondangwa and went missing mysteriously in the Tsumkwe area while loading cattle for the butchery.

The Otjozondjupa police's regional commander, Commissioner Heinrich Tjiveze said the police is busy with the investigation and they cannot share any updates or progress with the media because they have not informed the family as yet.

According to information obtained by Namibian Sun, Kadhiya, together with other employees and their employer Sonny Basson, travelled to the Tsumkwe area to purchase cattle for the butchery. While they were busy loading the animals, Kadhiya disappeared mysteriously and has not been seen since.

It is reported that at the time he went missing he was wearing a blue overall over a black shirt.

Kadhiya's uncle Elago Alweendo said that they are not happy with the way Kadhiya's boss, Basson, handled the issue.

“He disappeared on 8 December but we, the family, were only informed about it on 11 December by a colleague who notified us. He did not even report the issue to the police in that area.

“He came to Ondangwa and reported the matter to the Ondangwa police,” Alweendo said.

“This is an indication that he did not take the issue seriously and that is what bothers us the most. We are not happy and we have put all our trust in the police investigation and we hope that he will be found alive.”

When contacted for information, Basson refused to talk to Namibian Sun saying that only if he is authorised by the police will he comment.

The police is calling on members of the public to assist them in their search for Kadhiya.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is requested to either contact his uncle Elgao Alweendo on 081 268 6922 or Commissioner Tjiveze on 081 127 9131.

In 2017, a 55-year-old police officer, Sergeant Petrus Nghinananye Lukas, went missing in the same area and he was never been found.

ILENI NANDJATO

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50 survive crash

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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50 survive crash

Three vehicles, including a bus, were involved in an accident on the Otjiwarongo-Okahandja Friday night.

More than 50 people survived the accident which occurred around 20:37 some 25 kilometres south of Otjiwarongo, Inspector Lucia Kahuure of the Namibian police said.

Kahuure said a 65-seater bus with 52 occupants, including the 36-year-old driver, drove into a Tata bakkie suspected to have been stationary on the road.

The bus, driving from the direction of Otjiwarongo toward Okahandja, forced the bakkie from the left into the right lane, into an oncoming BMW.

The sedan had five occupants, including the 26-year-old driver.

“There was no-one in the Tata when we arrived on the accident scene. It seems the occupants fled the scene,” said Kahuure.

A nine-year-old boy who was travelling in the BMW sustained serious internal injuries and was transferred to the Katutura Intermediate Hospital Friday night.

Cases of reckless and negligent driving have been opened against the drivers. Police investigations continue. Also on Friday night between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja, a 29-year-old man was arrested after being found in possession of the carcasses of two oryx and a warthog by police officers patrolling the route.

Kahuure said he was one of three men transporting the carcasses in a sedan, which a team of police officers on patrol on the B1 road came across.

“Two of the suspects fled and we apprehended one of them,” said Kahuure.

She said the suspects used an assagai to kill the three animals.

The carcasses and the vehicle suspected to have been used were impounded.

The 29-year-old suspect will appear in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate's Court on a charge of illegal hunting today.

NAMPA

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More challenges with school reforms

January 6, 2019, 2:00 pm

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More challenges with school reformsSport, farewells, councils to change The new curriculum for senior secondary education in Namibia does not only impact academics.

Changes to the senior secondary curriculum this year will not only impact that academics of schooling in Namibia.

School principals have expressed their concern over the practical implications and impact on school sport, for example, and moreover, the election of student councils and school farewells will also have to adapt to the new system.

“Two years ago I already asked what will happen to school sport,” one principal told Namibian Sun. “We are simply not getting answers and I get the feeling that they never thought of it or, it simply did not form part of their planning.” Official guidelines have not been issued by the ministry as yet.

“I took a look at the current results and in my estimation, I will lose somewhere between 50 and 60% of my first-team players,” the principal said. This group of sportsmen and –women will have to leave school in 2020 because in all likelihood, they will not qualify to follow the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) in grade 12. To qualify, grade 11 learners must have at least three C symbols in the new Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate on ordinary level (NSSCO). “School sport will feel the impact in 2021 in the current under-19 leagues. They will become far less competitive,” the principal said. It is not clear whether these school leavers will join Namibian university teams of clubs. Should the impact be great enough, the under-17 leagues will become the top school leagues.

“We try to prepare our learners holistically for the future,” the principal said regarding sport. “Today, sport is also a career and when learners leave school at 17, they miss a large part of this preparation.”

Sollie Duiker of the Namibia Schools Sports Union (NSSU) could not be reached for comment.

Student councils

Another school principal conceded that they are very unsure regarding certain issues but will address these internally and make their own plans for the future. “We have constantly been asking these questions,” he said. One of these is the election of student councils. Grade 11 learners will have to be included in these.

“Which standards will we apply for the nomination of members of student councils?” one asked. “A learner is chosen but decides at the end of grade 11 to rather leave school for university. Then, we have open seats we must fill,” he said.

“I have no idea,” another said. “Do we now have two farewells, one for grade 11 and one for grade 12?”

Both principals also expressed concern over what they are to do with grade 12 learners who do not have class. Some of these learners will only follow three subjects.

“How will this impact discipline?”

According to the prescribed curriculum, NSSCAS grade 12 learners will have a seven-day cycle of nine periods of 40 minutes (six hours) for each exam subject. NSSCO grade 10 and 11 learners will have eight periods of 40 minutes (5.3 hours) for their exam subjects and nine periods for English. A learner only has to take three subjects, along with two support subjects and this implies 25 off periods in a cycle, or, almost half of the school day.

“As teachers, we are adaptable,” one principal said. “We will sort out these things.”

DANI BOOYSEN

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