Namibian Sun

Poaching incidents declining - Shifeta

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

Namibia is experiencing a reduction in wildlife poaching incidents, while more arrests have been recorded.

This is according to environment minister Pohamba Shifeta, who gave a breakdown of rhino, elephant and pangolin poaching incidents and arrests dating back to 2018.

This year, 17 rhinos have been poached, compared to 46 last year and 78 in 2018.

A total of 89 suspects has been arrested for rhino poaching cases this year, compared to 175 last year and 109 in 2018.

Shifeta said 15 rhino horns have been seized this year, compared to eight last year and 16 in 2018.

As for elephants, he said two have been poached this year, compared to 13 last year and 27 in 2018.

Elephant, pangolin poaching

Thirty people have been arrested for elephant poaching cases this year, compared to 90 last year and 66 in 2018.

A total of 38 elephant tusks and 16 tusk pieces have been seized this year, compared to 116 last year and 99 in 2018.

Shifeta said three live pangolins have been seized this year, compared to 49 last year and 25 in 2018.

According to him, 35 pangolin skins and 612 scales have been seized this year, compared to 74 skins last year and 61 skins in 2018.

A total of 53 suspects have been arrested in connection with pangolin-related cases this year, compared to 160 in 2019 and 120 in 2018.

Pick n Pay assault twist• Wife of suspect lays charge against employee The female Pick n Pay employee has also opened a case of assault against the suspect and his wife.

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

The wife of a suspect, who can clearly be seen beating a Pick n Pay employee in a video that went viral this week, has laid a charge of assault against the female staff member.

The police have confirmed that the wife laid a counter-charge of common assault against the employee.

By late yesterday afternoon, the police were still searching for a man who assaulted the Pick n Pay employee at Grove Mall in Windhoek on Sunday.

The female employee opened a case of assault against the man and his wife, who assaulted her in the shop. Security guards failed to intervene.

Screenshots of a video of the assault were posted on the police's Facebook page, asking for the public's assistance to identify the man.

Public outrage quickly spread on social media and led to the identification of the suspect by members of the public as Shaun 'Coolboy' Skikale.

Hiding from police

Deputy Commissioner Abner Agas yesterday confirmed the suspect was still in hiding yesterday afternoon.

The police have been to his house, but he was not there.

Agas added that the public has provided the police with several names and nicknames and therefore the man's exact name has yet to be confirmed.

Violent incident

In the video, the man can be seen throwing something at the employee, resulting in her throwing a piece of paper back at him.

He then runs behind the counter and throws her to the ground and starts hitting her.

The assault continues while the man holds the employee over the counter, while his wife holds the victim's hands.

The man then walks away, but later returns to hit the employee again.

Security guards failed to intervene, and the man's wife at one point runs behind the counter and hits the employee.

During the almost four-minute video, the employee can be seen grabbing a chair to protect herself.

It is unclear what exactly triggered the attack.

Investigations ongoing

Police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, confirmed that no arrests have been made, adding that investigations are ongoing, which includes obtaining witness statements.

Meanwhile, Pick n Pay Namibia has condemned any form of violence in its stores.

Managing director Graeme Mouton expressed shock and dismay over the incident.

Barbaric

“This barbaric incident is extremely upsetting, as we highly value the health and safety of both our employees and customers. In a country where gender-based violence is the order of the day, we simply cannot and will not condone this type of behaviour.

“We are terribly sorry that our employee had to endure this trauma and sincerely apologise to her, as well as the rest of our employees and customers who had to watch this horrendous altercation,” he said.

Mouton said given the seriousness of the incident, and pending a thorough internal investigation into the matter, Pick n Pay has banned the man and his wife from their stores.

“We are proactively working with law enforcement as they proceed with their investigation. Through our group employee wellness function, we have initiated the process of providing trauma counselling to our aggrieved employee, and all our employees who witnessed the attack, to help them get through this ordeal.

“We wish to reassure our employees and our valued customers that their safety, a pleasant shopping experience and customer service is our top priority,” Mouton added.

San's existence under threat

STAFF REPORTER

WINDHOEK

The San's environment is constantly under threat, and while they were once able to sustain themselves and their way of life, their very existence is now under threat due to outside forces and activities.

Human activities like poaching, illegal harvesting, littering, mining, illegal grazing and over-farming have major detrimental impacts on the environment and the San feel this acutely.

This is according to a statement by the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation, this has caused them to seek assistance and help from organisations like the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF), amongst others.

These organisations have helped and supported them to keep their environment and way of life going by supporting irrigation and agricultural projects, as well as mitigating adverse environmental impacts.

The foundation said this has also given the San and their surroundings a voice in courts of law when illegal activities take place in and around their delicately balanced conservancies.

Crucial

The relationship the San have with their environment is crucial to their very survival, and when it comes to the environment and nature, the San are some of the people closest to the environment, the foundation said.

“They have witnessed their environment changing, evolving, absorbing and being impacted by human activities. Often suffering because of the way other people treat the environment, which impacts their livelihoods, their way of life and compromises their very existence.”

The foundation said the San have worked, lived and thrived on the land for generations and have always lived finely attuned to the environment they find themselves in.

“Knowing there is a delicate balance between being able to rear cattle and planting crops and doing that in a sustainable manner and exhausting the environment.”

Overgrazing

Too many cattle will cause overgrazing and over-farming without letting the soil regenerate and causes the land to deteriorate to such an extent that it is no longer arable, the foundation said. This causes soil erosion and desertification in the long run, something Namibia, an arid country, is already constantly battling.

Poaching, illegal harvesting, littering, mining, illegal grazing and over-farming were also highlighted as having major detrimental impacts on the environment and the San's way of life.

However, despite judicial rulings in their favour to stop illegal grazing and illegal fencing, these judgements are often ignored.

“This flagrant ignoring of judgements and laws causes the conservancies within which the San live to be severely compromised, in turn compromising their very way of life and existence.”

Farmers rue lack of post-resettlement supportPost-resettlement support programme To maximise land use, camps fencing infrastructure must be properly erected and demarcated. I had to take out money out of my own pocket to fix it. Obed Hamutenya, resettlement beneficiary: Omaheke

By Edward Mumbuu Jnr

Some resettlement beneficiaries have expressed discontent in governments post-resettlement support programme, which they suggest, derails the productivity and profitability of such farms.

The lack of support to develop dilapidated infrastructure and advisory services are the chief concerns. Joe Hepute, who was resettled in 2019, noted that the current post-resettlement programmes hamper the agricultural potential of recipients.

To maximise land use, camps fencing infrastructure must be properly erected and demarcated. So, I had to spend a lot of money. At the end of the day, this delays the objective of resettlement, which is to create employment and contribute toward the gross domestic product, he said.

The sustainable agriculture graduate added that upon resettlement, the beneficiary must immediately start farming, but it is not the case in most cases as one is inundated with repair works.

Ben Kapi, a resettlement beneficiary in the Kunene Region complained about the lack of adequate water on his farm.

When you are resettled, you are told there is enough water, just for you to wake to the reality that even the one windmill is out of order. Then it goes to fencing, which is a huge challenge, he said.

Echoing Kapis sentiments was Obed Hamutenya, a resettlement beneficiary in the Omaheke Region.

My water pump has not been working for quite some time. As per the law, I engaged the relevant authorities about this issue but did not get any response. I had to take out money out of my own pocket to fix it.

Responding to questions, executive director in the Agriculture Ministry, Percy Misika said the government is doing everything to empower resettled farmers.

The ministry provides security of tenure to the beneficiaries by issuing them long-term lease agreements for 99 years. The ministry also provides tailor-made pre- and post-resettlement support, Misika said. - Nampa

Time for Swapo to answer Now more than ever, the ruling party Swapo has no excuse to maintain the deafening silence on allegations it has benefitted from the multi-million-dollar Fishrot bribery scandal.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday testified that its investigations found that part of the Fishrot money was used for Swapo campaigns.

ACC classified this transaction as “suspicious”, the court heard yesterday.

For far too long, Swapo has been hiding behind lame technicalities not to comment on these allegations. In fact, the party accused the media of driving a wedge against it and its leaders.

Yet from day one, the media based and attributed these allegations to official records. Now there is a great deal of vindication when ACC itself goes to court and places this damning allegation on record.

Swapo spokesperson Hilma Nicanor dared anyone who links the party to Fishrot to approach ACC. Now ACC itself testifies in court that Fishrot funded party campaigns.

Again, we reiterate our earlier reminder that these are public resources for which the nation needs answers.

President Hage Geingob christened 2020 as a “year of accountability”, but this would remain mere hot wind if the organisation he leads tells everyone to go to hell insofar as Fishrot is concerned.

If Swapo is really worth its weight in gold, as it purports to be, it must summon its courage and publicly pronounce itself on this matter – not with more denials, but with how this matter is being handled internally.

Namibia receives 2.35 million USD worth of supportSolidarity The Chinese government has played a solid role in supporting Namibia and other African countries in dealing with the challenge of Covid-19 We encourage our Chinese business community operating in Namibia to also contribute to Namibia's fight against the virus. Yang Jun, political counsellor: Chinese embassy in Namibia

China has donated Covid-19 related supplies worth 40 million Namibian dollars (2.35 million US dollars) to Namibia to assist the country in fighting the virus, political counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Namibia Yang Jun said.

"We continue to pledge our support and our additional support is on the way. We hope the equipment donated is serving a good purpose in assisting the Namibian people," Yang said.

He was speaking on the occasion where Chinese tech company Huawei donated two Thermal Imaging Temperature Measurement Systems to Namibia's Ministry of Health and Social Services to assist in the fight against Covid-19.

Yang said the Chinese government through the embassy in Namibia is keen to support Namibia as a brother and as a way of cementing long-standing relations.

"The Chinese government has played a solid role in supporting Namibia and other African countries in dealing with the challenge of Covid-19. As a government we encourage our Chinese business community operating in Namibia to also contribute to Namibia's fight against the virus, " he said.

Solidarity

Presenting the donation, Huawei's Namibia representative Sam Liu said his company is in solidarity with the Namibian government in combating the pandemic.

"As a leading information communication technology company, we would like to help the ministry with the visual imaging technology which can identify victims of Covid-19 by picking high temperatures from afar, hence reducing further spread. Huawei believes that the donation will go a long way in combating the spread of the virus," Liu said.

Namibian Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula said Namibia appreciates the donation by Huawei and the continued support by the Chinese government.

"During this time of challenges, we have been humbled by the outpouring of assistance from all partners including Huawei Technologies. We greatly appreciate the continued support and hope the non-contact temperature thermometers will greatly assist us in dealing with this pandemic," he said. - NAMPA / Xinhua

Air Namibia wants its wings unclipped

OGONE TLHAGE

WINDHOEK

Air Namibia has written to the Transport Commission of Namibia, demanding to know why the national carrier's air services licence has been temporarily suspended.

The airline wanted a response from the commission by 17:00 yesterday.

Air Namibia spokesperson Paul Nakawa said they have all the necessary certifications needed to fly in and out of the country.

The transport commission announced on Monday that it had already resolved to suspend Air Namibia's air services licence last November because of concerns about the airline's financial situation.

Failed audit

“The commission had, apart from its concern about Air Namibia's financial situation, also become aware of a failed International Air Transport Association (IATA) operational safety audit, and therefore addressed this matter with you in a correspondence,” the commission said in a letter to the national carrier.

The commission also referenced comments made by President Hage Geingob in his State of the Nation Address that intimated that Air Namibia may be liquidated. An airline insider said there were perceptions that Westair was being favoured, to the detriment of Air Namibia.

The transport commission also mentioned that Air Namibia has admitted it was insolvent and, despite a cash injection of between 50 and 60% of the N$8 billion required to implement its business plan, this would not solve the airline's problems.

Jooste denies Westair favouritism

Public enterprises minister Leon Jooste denied speculation yesterday that Air Namibia was being sacrificed in favour of rival airline, Westair.

Westair launched passenger services in June, directly competing with Air Namibia. The airline flies to Ondangwa, Oranjemund and Cape Town and uses the Eros airport as a hub.

Jooste said his ministry was aware of the speculation around Westair.

“The speculation that Air Namibia is being sacrificed to position Westair for the future is known to us, but is entirely unfounded and we can only assume that the speculation is driven by individuals with agendas only known to them. The reality is exactly the opposite, as the current, struggling airline (Air Namibia) is in fact providing fertile ground for competitors to gain traction,” he said.

Cash flow woes

In October 2019, Air Namibia was forced to cut operating costs to the bone after treasury refused it a N$2 billion bailout, and the airline warned in November that it may be forced to shut down its operations if it did not receive a rescue package.

The situation has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 lockdown and travel restrictions, which saw the airline freeze operations for about two months.

Itula not a competitor – AR

OGONE TLHAGE

WINDHOEK

The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement does not see the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), a mooted political party led by former presidential candidate Panduleni Itula, as immediate competitors to the movement's own political ambitions.

AR leader Dr Job Amupanda, who supported Itula for the 2019 presidential election, said Itula has every right to carve his own political path, but added that AR will remain on course for its own ideological inclinations.

“We supported Itula because he was an independent candidate and we had already supported Angelina Immanuel as an independent for Ondangwa earlier the same year,” Amupanda said.

“We give political, philosophical and ideological orientation to others. We play above party politics, so Itula is not an immediate opponent.”

“We don't have a monopoly over political process.

“We want to be true to the fact that we want land. The question that we must pose is: How do we meet our people at the point of need?”

No major role

Walvis Bay Urban independent councillor Knowledge Ipinge distanced himself from Itula's party, saying the dentist did not play a major role in his activism journey.

“During the build-up to the presidential elections in November, I rallied behind Itula merely based on the fact that he was running for office as an independent and not under the banner of any political party,” he said. “It is important to take note that at the time, there was no intention or plan for him to form a political party and if it was the case, I wouldn't have associated myself with his campaign.”

Itula is playing his cards close to his chest following confirmation by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) that a party, an idea championed by Itula, will be formed.

Chief electoral officer at the ECN, Theo Mujoro, this week confirmed that an application had been received from Itula.

Itula had announced the formation of the party, but would not elaborate when asked what agenda it would be driving.

“We will advise the nation in due course,” he said.

When asked when the party would be holding a congress or announcing its leaders, Itula simply said: “Soon”.

In a message shared to would-be members of the party, Itula encouraged those who would join the IPC to take membership cards of the political parties they belonged to to a convention that is yet to be held.

“Please encourage all to bring their membership cards to the convention and they will be collected and delivered safely to the respective headquarters of those parties,” he said.

“We have political differences of how we wish to restore our people's dignity, but we should never cultivate hatred or anger against our own brothers and sisters. No emotions and no anger against your fellow compatriots,” his message further read.

Presidential ambitions

Itula in October 2019 announced his plans to run as an independent candidate, much to the chagrin of Swapo, whom he was still a member of at the time. He deplored the state of housing and lack thereof, saying that it was unacceptable that Namibians were subjected to living in shacks.

“Today, our people are living in shacks, unable to relieve themselves when nature calls; that is not dignity for my people, that is not dignity for Namibians. Should they elect Itula, within the first periods of my administration, we will provide them with sanitisation,” he said. Itula ran against President Hage Geingob in the November elections, taking 29.4% of the votes and ending second behind the eventual winner, Geingob.

'Swapo campaign benefitted from Fishrot'• ACC says investigations show ruling party received money The foul stench of Swapo benefitting from the Fishrot bribery scandal resurfaced in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court yesterday.

JEMIMA BEUKES

WINDHOEK

A State witness in the ongoing bail application of former fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau and his son-in-law Tamson Hatuikulipi dropped a bombshell yesterday when he said investigations have shown that Fishrot money bankrolled a Swapo campaign.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) senior investigator Willem Olivier did not elaborate on which campaign of the ruling party benefitted from the bribery scandal.

According to Olivier, N$15 million and N$2.5 million were paid into local lawyer Sisa Namandje's trust account under the reference “governmental objectives”.

“This was flagged as suspicious. Part of this money was used for vehicles, personal loans and other items. And as far as investigations found, monies were used for the Swapo campaign,” he said.

Swapo has previously accused the media of untruthfully linking the party to Fishrot, and dared those making such accusations to report the party to the ACC.

Extensive conspiring

Meanwhile, the ACC is adamant that the Fishrot accused, including Esau and Hatuikulipi, conspired 'extensively' to defraud Namibia by using a bilateral agreement meant to uplift the lives of Namibians.

Olivier, during his evidence before the Windhoek Magistrate's Court yesterday, was referring to a bilateral fishing agreement with Angola that was used to dish out Namibian fishing quotas to Icelandic seafood giant Samherji, which in turn allegedly paid hundreds of millions in bribes to the Fishrot accused.

According to Olivier, the ACC investigation so far shows that massive fraudulent activities took place under the guise of “governmental objectives”, with entities including JTH Trading and Erongo Clearing, both belonging to Hatuikulipi, being used to distribute monies to the Fishrot beneficiaries.

Olivier also said Fishrot led to massive pain for Namibia's citizens, including the suicides of fishermen who had lost their jobs due to the scandal.

According to him, Fishcor lost N$75 million meant to support drought relief, feeding schemes and offer cheaper fish to Namibians.

In light of this, he asked that the court refuse bail to Hatuikulipi and Esau, saying they are not only flight risks but have already started interfering with the investigation, despite being incarcerated.

US$63m 'parked' in Kazakhstan bank account

Oliver told the court that there is currently an amount of US$63 million parked in a bank account in Kazakhstan, which the ACC is investigating to see how it is linked to the Fishrot accused.

Fishrot-linked lawyer Maren de Klerk is the only one who has legal access to this account.

According to Olivier, Esau has also in the meantime attempted to sell off more than 300 cattle between April and June, but the ACC thwarted the attempt.

He also testified that they recovered former Fishcor board chairperson James Hatuikulipi's cellphone after his arrest and established that he made contact with Samherji “to cover his tracks”, asking them to say these payments were made to Angola and not Tundavala Investment, owned by him.

Contractors paid in cash

During evidence on Monday it was revealed that Namgomar Pescar Namibia and Samherji had agreed to a N$500 per metric tonne usage fee, of which 25% would be paid to Namgomar in Namibia and the remaining 75% to Tundavala, an entity registered in Dubai.

He added that Esau had a very humble house on his farm and later made huge adjustments and paid all his contractors in cash, with one contractor saying he was paid N$600 000.

“The ACC also found that Esau's wife bought all the building materials from local shops and she just used cash,” Olivier said.

Bilateral corruption

According to Olivier, it was extremely difficult to enter the Namibian fishing sector before 2014 given the stipulations of the Marine Resources Act, and this prompted Esau and his co-accused to instead enter into a bilateral agreement with Angola to get easier access to the sector.

He added that the existing usage agreements did not give easy access to those involved because “too many players were in the game”, and their plan - the bilateral agreement - was set in motion.

Olivier continued that draft documents confiscated from former justice minister Sacky Shanghala's house showed that the Fishrot accused, by means of James' company Hanganeni, tried to penetrate Namsov in order to access fishing rights.

The idea, Olivier said, would be that Namsov would continue operating its existing fishing quota, but once Hanganeni came into the picture, the quota would be increased.

However, this attempt failed.

Changing course

According to Olivier, on 11 September 2012, Shanghala, then Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) chair, wrote a letter to himself, on behalf of Esau, who signed the letter titled “Urgent Regulatory Reform: Marine Resources Act - 2000”.

Documents show that Shanghala responded the next day, saying: “The LRDC is more than glad to assist the ministry of fisheries. It is my understanding the minister would like to bring into law some regulations to catch limitations measures, so as to arrive at more equitable participation of holders of rights to commercially harvest marine resources in the fisheries and marine sector of Namibia”.

Shanghala continued: “These questions can be answered. We will include our responses to such a report, which we will hand over to the justice minister, as well as you, which may include a draft version of the regulations we may find relevant for your purpose.”

jemima@namibiansun.com

Namibia's airport gears for operations International tourism revival initiative Social distancing measures such as floor and seat stickers, messages on mandatory wearing of masks are visible at the airport, as well as sanitizer dispensers, to mention but a few, and other messages via the public service announcement system. We must play our part to revive the economy by setting in motion all that is required to facilitate the resumption of commercial flight operations as part of the targeted international tourism revival initiative. Bisey Uirab, CEO: NAC

Namibia's flagship airport the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) is ready for its restart plan as borders are going to gradually open under the provisions of the state of the emergency regulations on Covid-19.

Namibia eased regulations to stage 4 from June 30 to September 17 and HKIA is set to importantly aid the government's international tourism revival initiative effective from July 15 to August 15.

Namibia Airports Company (NAC) chief executive officer Bisey Uirab on Tuesday mentioned that they are working tirelessly with all stakeholders to ensure that the main airport is ready as per the stage-4 regulations.

"We must play our part to revive the economy and are setting in motion all that is required to facilitate the resumption of commercial flight operations at HKIA as part of the targeted international tourism revival initiative," he said.

According to Uirab, social distancing measures such as floor and seat stickers, messages on mandatory wearing of masks are visible at HKIA, as well as sanitizer dispensers, to mention but a few, and other messages via the public service announcement system.

"The NAC has also acquired thermostats and adequate materials for regular disinfection of facilities at all eight airports," he added.

Meanwhile, Uirab said for the targeted international tourism revival initiative, a stakeholder meeting is set for July 9 in collaboration with the tourism and hospitality partners, and further discussion will be undertaken in preparation for the commencement of the initiative. -NAMPA /Xinhua

New water infrastructure at Sorris-SorrisWater shortage a story of the past Pumps for boreholes using a solar power generator were installed in June, enabling the farmers to pump water into the newly constructed dam and into the extra tanks that were installed. When we moved here, we did not have water problems, but the infrastructure got old and we could no longer pump water for ourselves and our animals. Anna Guruses,Farmer: Sorris-Sorris communal conservancy.

Farmers at Plaas Rooidak in the Sorris- Sorris communal conservancy have finally received potable water infrastructure after enduring 10 years without their own water source.

Conservancy chairperson Gerson //Aiseb on Saturday mentioned that the farmers and their animals had to get water from the nearest farm, which is situated about 20 kilometres away from Rooidak.

“I can confirm that the farm has been without water since 2009. I have witnessed the struggle the farmers at this farm have been going through but it is now a thing of the past thanks to the programmes of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia,” he said.

//Aiseb said pumps for boreholes using a solar power generator were installed in June, enabling the farmers to pump water into the newly constructed dam and into the extra tanks that were installed.

The farm has more than five farmers who mostly depend on income from their livestock and the monthly government pension.

One of the farmers who spoke to Nampa, 62-year-old Anna Guruses, said she was resettled on the farm about 15 years ago.

Distance

“When we moved here, we did not have water problems, but the infrastructure got old and we could no longer pump water for ourselves and our animals.

We had to travel to a farm which is about 20 kilometres away for our consumption and for small livestock that are left behind when we take the ones that can move to drink water. I am happy that we finally have water,” she said.

Adolfine Garies, 80, who lost livestock over the years due to lack of water exacerbated by the drought, said she is grateful for the new development. “I am thankful that we no longer have to have headaches because of water shortages,” she said. - Nampa

Miller wins third race

NAMPA

Alex Miller won the third race of the Food Lover's Market (FLM) elite men's individual Time Trial (TT) series held at Matchless Mine outside Windhoek on Wednesday.

This was the third of four scheduled races in the FLM TT series. The highest-ranked riders in the male and female category will be crowned series winners.

Miller, who won the opening race of the series but did not start in the second race last week at Döbra, beat Drikus Coetzee on Wednesday with just 92 tenths of a second.

To win the third race of the FLM TT, Miller completed the 18.6-kilometre route in 29 minutes, 24 seconds and two tenths (29:24.02) while Coetzee came second in 29:24.94.

Despite finishing second, Coetzee leads the overall points standing with 1 010 points, while Kai Pritzen, who finished third, is ranked second overall with 910 points. Konrad Marais, who finished fifth, is ranked third overall with 870 points.

Miller is ranked sixth with 700 points from the two races he competed in. In the elite women's category, Michelle Vorster continued with her dominance after winning all three races. She now leads with 1 050 points.

Vorster completed the third race in a time of 34:49 while Michelle Doman, who is ranked second in the overall standing with 950 points, was four minutes and 33 seconds behind her, finishing in a time of 38:16.

Irene Steyn, who overall is ranked sixth with 580 points, finished third in a time of 38:33.

Melissa Hinz, who was in fourth place with a time of 38:40, is ranked third overall with 910 points. In the junior men's category Hugo Hahn won the third race in a time of 30:50. He is ranked fourth with 700 points. Bergran Jensen, who is leading the standing with 1 050 points, came second with 31:30, while Jurgen van Wyk, who is ranked second with 950 points, came third in 31:30.

Rayven Olivier is ranked third overall with 890 points and finished fourth in a time of 47:04.

Monique du Plessis was the only rider who competed in the junior women's category. She completed the race in a time of 42:15. Corrilly Yates, who is the other rider, did not compete in the third race but she is second with 660 points while Du Plessis has 1 050 points.

The last race series of the FLM TT series is scheduled for 15 July at Döbra.

NPL expulsion would be dangerous - Mbidi• Former president calls for peace Former Namibia Football Association (NFA) president Frans Mbidi has described plans to expel the league as “damaging and dangerous” for Namibian football.

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

WINDHOEK

Cosafa vice-president and former president of the NFA Frans Mbidi has warned that expelling the league from the NFA would be a terrible mistake.

Mbidi was responding to an announcement this week that the expulsion of the league was on the NFA extraordinary congress agenda.

The former president, who was at the helm of the league for only one term before being removed, advised that the two parties should rather come to an agreement through an independent mediator.

Not wise enough

“Well, I would not advise that the current NFA executive decide to expel the league as it would have lasting consequences.

“At the end of the day, it was not entirely the league's fault that the first divisions did not take place, which caused all this drama.

“I believe that the two parties must go out of their way to solve this matter through an independent mediator,” Mbidi said.

The former president insisted that the league plays a critical role in Namibia's football structures and expelling it would take Namibia a step back.

It is a move Mbidi believes would tarnish the reputation of the current NFA executive and its president.

Mbidi advised the NFA to restructure the first-division structures before making any harsh decisions with lasting consequences.

As things stand, the league has already lost its long sponsorship partner MTC and several football clubs have folded.

Some football players have moved on with their lives and may never return to the beautiful game.

“The sad part is that football players have struggled enough and there is a huge outcry for their pride to be restored.

“If the expulsion happens, it is going to create an even bigger mess than what is already on the ground,” Mbidi added.

The fights

The NPL was officially suspended by the NFA in February for persistently disregarding the association's directives.

This happened after the league had initially been suspended by the Normalisation Committee (NC) in October 2019 after they had requested the NC to send them league promotion/relegation rules for the new season.

The NC refused to entertain the NPL's request and slapped them with a suspension which was later confirmed by the NFA congress in February.

The suspension ensued after a lengthy stand-off between the two parties.

The league management wanted to go ahead and start the new season with only 13 clubs, despite the NC's disapproval.

The NPL has relegated Orlando Pirates and Civics, while Young African's demotion came after they fielded a foreign player registered under a fake name.

Court Cases

Following unsuccessful bids to be reinstated by orders of ordinary courts, the league filed a case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in which it continues fight for its reinstatement.

Covid, labour and the court judgment

HERBERT JAUCH

WINDHOEK

The coronavirus pandemic has caused havoc in labour markets around the world and Namibia was not spared. In order to avoid a massive health crisis, and knowing the limitation of public healthcare services, the Namibian government made the containment of the virus and the protection of lives its immediate priority.

Through the introduction of the lockdown Namibia managed to contain infections for several months while the most effective social intervention during that time was the payment of an 'Emergency Income Grant'. As retrenchments set in, it became clear that households cannot rely merely on wage labour for their survival and that they needed direct cash transfers as a means for survival.

The Covid-19 pandemic was, however, not the cause of our socio-economic problems but merely worsened an already existing crisis. A look at our employment and unemployment figures before Covid already paints a bleak picture. In 2018, the unemployment rate stood at around 34% with the vast majority of employed persons earning below N$5 000 per month. Young people and women were particularly harshly affected by unemployment and low wages.

Although there are no accurate data available yet, it is possible to sketch the likely impact of Covid-19 and the lockdown. During stage one of the lockdown, virtually all sectors of the economy were affected, albeit to different degrees. The least affected sectors in terms of loss of income and employment were the public sector (civil service and state-owned enterprises-SOEs), the financial sector, agriculture and the food supply stores, but even here retrenchments took place.

Job losses

Losses of jobs and income were particularly severe in sectors such as hospitality and tourism, construction, work in private households and informal trading where the effects of the lockdown were immediately visible. This affected Namibia's 72 000 household employees (domestic workers) as well as around 100 000 people working in aviation, hospitality and tourism. Hotels, restaurants, tour operators and airlines either had to suspend activities partially or in total. Similarly, construction, which employed about 45 000 people in 2018, was severely affected by the lockdown while informal traders experienced huge losses of income. Overall, thousands of jobs have been lost in these sectors but the ripple effects of the economic crisis have also reached other sectors such as fishing, mining, hardware stores and even the media houses, which resorted to reduced working hours and salaries, as well as retrenchments.

The official figure of 4 460 retrenchments between 27 March and 12 June 2020 (New Era, 2 July 2020) is likely to only represent a fraction of the actual retrenchments that took place.

The Namibian Labour Act states that prior to any retrenchments, employers have to discuss with the affected employees and their trade unions how to avoid or at least minimise retrenchments. This is meant to explore alternative options and to resort to retrenchments only as a last option. However, this provision is frequently violated in practice as many employers choose to merely notify their employees about retrenchments without making any serious attempts to avoid them. It is against this background that the Namibian President's State of Emergency Regulation 19 has to be seen. It was introduced to protect workers against dismissals and forced leave during the lockdown and although it was unlikely to halt all dismissals, it was expected to at least slow them down.

Court case

Employers' organisations and some individual companies took the government to court and argued that Regulation 19 was unconstitutional. In their judgment of 23 June 2020, the judges declared that the president had not been properly advised and that he should have personally presented the rationale for the regulations in court. The judges were not open to the argument that the lockdown was essential to stop the spread of the virus and that during the lockdown in March/April employees could not go to work but still needed their income to survive.

Instead, the judges argued that the regulations were not justified to deal with the situation that has given rise to the state of emergency, namely the coronavirus.

The judges conceded that during a state of emergency, the president can make regulation to protect national security, public safety and law and order but they interpreted this provision very narrowly and stated that it does not include the right to protect livelihoods as a result of the lockdown.

This begs the question: how can public safety be protected without safeguarding incomes and livelihoods?

This judgment directly serves employers' interests and will make the enforcement of the provisions of the Labour Act even more difficult. Poor enforcement capacity, coupled with weakened trade unions and the inherent power imbalances between workers and their employers, have already resulted in a desperate situation for many Namibian workers. The court judgment will embolden employers to dismiss and they are now even less likely to seriously consider other options.

*Herbert Jauch is a labour researcher and chairperson of the Economic and Social Justice Trust (ESJT).

I owe my being to Kuisebmond

KNOWLEDGE KATTI

I want to begin by thanking the community of Kuisebmond for shaping my future.

I appreciate you all for the support and allowing me and my team to help recently with food parcels, but more importantly, the presence of the volunteers who participated in collecting data in order to make an informed decision that led to the food distribution.

It's been heart-warming to see how our community has come together and share in the little I could provide.

As we navigate our way through this coronavirus pandemic, I'm happy that we came back to assist our community, approximately 2 000 people.

This was done while ensuring the safety of our staff, volunteers and the beneficiaries.

Stone-cold desperate

It's also sad to know that we have so many people going to sleep without food in Namibia.

Many of our young people are stone-cold desperate because of a lack of work, low wages, escalating rent and no benefits. They're surrounded on all sides by pressure and it is our responsibility as responsible citizens to unite and come up with everlasting solutions that include job creation, among many others, without sacrificing the dignity of our people.

I want to take this opportunity to also call on the private sector to come up with solutions instead of some hiding behind greed and politics of patronage while the people are suffering. Of course, there are many factors to be considered when scrutinising what led to the current socio-economic challenges, which are now exacerbated by the Covid-19 scourge.

Complex, but soluble

The solutions of all these factors are complex, but soluble. Demonising government is definitely not part of a solution.

And until or unless Namibians of goodwill concede that there is a role for both government and the private sector to play in bringing about long-term solutions, and that the best path for economic health is a cooperative partnership between both entities, then the amelioration of tensions that are damaging our economic recovery will not be forthcoming, and further decline appears inevitable.

In the meantime, we will continue to motivate more companies to step up and help our nation.

* Last weekend businessman Knowledge Katti donated food items to about 2 000 residents of Kuisebmond in Walvis Bay, where he was born and bred.

Hope in the midst of political and economic storms

LIBOLLY L. HAUFIKU

After a two-year economic crisis and now the declaration of a public health emergency, which could see Namibia spiral into extreme poverty with no economic prospects, the government and the private sector need to take hands and plan a way forward.

To combat diseases and poverty, one needs food and medicine; to get food and medicine, people need jobs; to get jobs, we need to give all people (foreign and local) reason to invest.

The short-term and medium-term collapse of some industries is putting more strain on the rest of the economy.

Tourism alone represented 10.9% of GDP.

To plug this gap, other industries would need to expand drastically, but no stimulus package or crisis fund will be sufficient, we need to incentivise international and local investors to create industries.

By having jobs, we could ensure more for all Namibians and especially the middle-class citizens, which would ensure healthier people with better quality of life, also ensuring social and political stability.

To achieve this in the next three years is possible but we need to boldly safeguard current jobs and ensure new jobs are created.

This can all be done with a close working relationship between government and private sector.

Here are some action plans to combat economic and social disasters:

Temporary reduction in PAYE and company tax (32% to 22%) to stimulate spending and investment. The proof will be in the pudding; if the economy grows more in that time than what was lost in tax revenue, change the temporary reduction into long-term tax measure;

Immediate and indefinite freeze on anti-investment policies, (e.g. manufacturing incentives repeal, dividend tax proposal, etc.), only possible to table after three years and detailed economic impact study. Re: Rwanda example, private sector (chosen through private sector bodies) representative to sit in cabinet and advise on economic effects of decisions made;

Private sector committee to sit with parastatals, i.e. NamPower Board and NamWater Board monthly to discuss expansion on supply options and how to decrease prices;

Private sector to give recommendations to ministry of labour to increase productivity;

Ministry of industrialisation and trade investigates areas where duties on inputs are making local produced products less competitive locally or international;

Outreach programme to embassies and form committee (private sector and government) to investigate types of industries that can be based in Namibia;

Special citizenship incentive for high investments, for example, every 1 000 applicants who invest U$ 1 million and upwards in Namibia (must prove job creation).

In the final analysis, if we as a nation are serious about changing Namibia for the better by ensuring long-term job and wealth creation, more middle-class people and a prosperous economy, we will need to work much more closely together.

Extreme actions are needed to safeguard our children's futures. We are at a crossroads and we need to stand up for our future.

It is doable and the current challenges must teach us that we cannot continue to preach stability amidst poverty and hopelessness.

Let us together create hope for our people and Namibia can be a shining example on the continent.

More than 200 000 benefit from EIF projects• New board appointed Since 2015, the Environmental Investment Fund has mobilised about N$560 million in grants for projects helping Namibia adapt to the impact of climate change.

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

A total of 238 000 people are expected to benefit from current projects funded by the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF).

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said this at the appointment of the new board of the EIF.

The EIF was established in 2011 to manage an endowment fund that will generate income in perpetuity and to allocate this income to projects relating to the sustainable use and management of natural resources.

In 2015, the EIF was accredited by the Green Climate Fund and has since been able to mobilise approximately N$560 million in grants, mainly for projects relating to climate-change adaptation.

Green credit

The EIF has also been instrumental in the establishment of a credit facility known as the Sustainable Utilisation of Natural Resources and Energy Financing programme (SUNREF Namibia).

This facility is worth approximately N$800 million at the current exchange rate and is supported by the French Development Agency.

It is being implemented through three commercial banks to support entrepreneurs in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and tourism development, with the EIF providing technical support.

Shifeta further said that following the introduction of environmental taxes on harmful products the EIF now receives 30% of all environmental taxes on incandescent bulbs, tyres, and carbon emissions.

New taxes were also introduced last year on plastic bags, lubricant oils and batteries.

To date the EIF has received approximately N$31 million worth of environmental taxes from the finance ministry.

Shifeta said through the fund's mix of projects and programmes 44 natural resource-based enterprises were created in 23 communal conservancies, 120 boreholes were rehabilitated to the benefit of more than 60 000 people and 950 jobs were created, mainly in rural areas.

Staying relevant

Shifeta stressed that the new board should upgrade the EIF's accreditation status with the Green Climate Fund so that the EIF can access larger-scale projects.

He said linked to this is a need to ensure that the EIF is adequately capitalised so that it can plan and execute its projects efficiently and effectively.

This should also allow the EIF to expand its portfolio of financial products beyond grants and concessional lending.

Shifeta said there is also a need to amend the Environmental Investment Fund Act, which has become outdated.

The new board members are Titus Ndove (chair), Karen Knot (deputy chair), Desire Theunissen, Kisco Sinvual and Olavi Hamutumwa.

Anti-poaching dog unit given teeth• Detecting, tracking and arresting poachers Four new dogs will be imported from the Netherlands to beef up the environment ministry's anti-poaching dog unit, which has helped arrest suspects in 52 poaching cases so far.

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

The environment ministry has purchased four more dogs for to expand its anti-poaching dog unit.

Currently the dog unit has four dogs, Alex, Benno, Baron and Nora, stationed at the Waterberg Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement Training Centre and a fifth dog, Alvero, at the Etosha National Park.

The four new dogs will be flown from the Netherlands to Namibia as soon as borders reopen.

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said the four new dogs will be trained at the Waterberg Wildlife Protection and Law Enforcement Training Centre before they are permanently deployed at Bwabwata National Park to cover the north-eastern regions of Zambezi, Kavango East, Kavango West and parts of the Otjozondjupa Region.

Three regional units

Shifeta said the four dogs at Waterberg have been trained and fully equipped together with their handlers and will be transferred to Etosha soon.

From there they will support anti-poaching operations in the park, as well as surrounding conservancies and game farms in the Kunene, Omusati, Erongo, Oshana, Oshikoto, Ohangwena and Otjozondjupa regions.

According to Shifeta a third dog unit will be deployed in central Namibia to cover the Khomas, Hardap, Omaheke and //Karas regions.

Shifeta was speaking at the handover of a Toyota Land Cruiser by Standard Bank and donations by other organisations to the ministry's anti-poaching dog unit.

He said various tools have been utilised to curb the onslaught on species such as rhino, elephant and pangolin that are especially sought after by poaching syndicates due to the value of their products.

Multiskilled

One of these tools is the deployment of anti-poaching dogs which offer a combination of detection, tracking and apprehension capabilities.

The four dogs at Waterberg are trained to search buildings, vehicles, luggage and open areas for firearms, ammunition and illegal wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and bush meat.

All four dogs are also capable of tracking human scent in a variety of terrains during day and night.

The dog currently in Etosha specialises in investigations, said Shifeta.

“Since their employment in 2017, the dogs have been successful in 52 cases or incidents all over the country, the most recent one being the arrest of suspected rhino poachers on a farm neighbouring the Waterberg Plateau Park,” Shifeta said.

Industry support

Thanking Standard Bank for the donated vehicle, Shifeta added that KCJN Trading in partnership with Brown Davis Africa fully equipped the vehicle with accessories which include a complete uprated EFS suspension, front replacement bull bar, LED driving lamp, an EFS winch and 185 litre long-range fuel tank.

Furthermore, Swavet, MDS Animal Health and Rhino Park Private Hospital donated veterinary drugs and food for the dogs.

Tractor driver jobs not just for Omusati residents

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

The agriculture ministry has clarified that a recent advert for tractor operators or drivers for the Omusati Region was not meant for applicants from that region only.

According to a statement, a vacancy advert was circulated on social media on 1 July for tractor operators or drivers to be employed by the agriculture ministry's regional office in Omusati. The advert however implied that only applicants from Omusati would be considered for employment.

“The ministry hereby wishes to apologise to the public for the misleading content in the advert.”

Namsip

The ministry said the Namibia Agricultural Mechanisation and Seed System Improvement Project (Namsip) is a new government initiative, co-funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and executed by the ministry.

Under the project, 350 tractors will be procured, of which 250 will be bought during the 2020/21 financial year.

These tractors will be used to provide subsidised agricultural services, such as ripping, ploughing, disc harrowing, planting, fertiliser application, mechanical weeding, pesticide application, harvesting, threshing and the baling of grass, including mowing, cutting and hay-raking.

Namsip complements the Dry Crop Production Programme (DCPP), which is an ongoing agronomic initiative being implemented in 10 crop-growing regions.

The ministry said it is therefore required to recruit 250 seasonal/contractual tractor operators or drivers to operate the tractors and provide services to both rain-fed and irrigation crop and fodder producers during the cultivation period, or when the need arises.

The tractor operators need to be recruited in advance to facilitate the procurement of protective gear, which cannot be done without knowing the particulars of the drivers in terms of height and size, the ministry said.

This will also give the ministry ample time to conduct training before their deployment to the regions.

The operators or drivers will be recruited in accordance with the number of tractors allocated per region, which will be allocated based on the type of agricultural activities and total number of households involved in crop production in each region.

All vacancies will be advertised both in print media and at regional ministry offices before the end of the month, the ministry said.

COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Airbus deliveries hit 16-yr low

Airbus deliveries rose 50% in June compared with May and reached their highest level since the coronavirus crisis spread to Europe in March, but the accelerating recovery failed to prevent first-half deliveries from sliding to a 16-year low.

Figures released by the European plane maker late on Wednesday underscored a collapse in aerospace industry fortunes since early this year, hours after Airbus workers facing job cuts staged their first strike in 12 years.

Deliveries rose to 36 aircraft in June from 24 in May and a low of 14 in April. For the first half, deliveries fell by 49% to 196 planes compared with 389 in the same period last year.

Airbus has said it faces an average 40% drop in business over the next two years, forcing it to cut 15 000 jobs, or 11%, of its workforce. Unions oppose compulsory cuts.

Facing a slump in demand, plane makers have been urging airlines to take planes that have already been built in return for agreement to defer others due at later dates. Some aircraft, however, are going straight into storage because travel demand is recovering slowly, experts say. -Nampa/Reuters

Google shuts down cloud project

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday it has shut down its cloud project named Isolated Region and added that it was not weighing options to offer its cloud platform in China.

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg News reported, citing two employees, that Google had shelved the project in China and other politically sensitive countries in May, partly due to rising geopolitical tensions and the pandemic.

The search engine giant, however, said that the project's shutdown was not due to either of those two reasons and that it has not offered cloud platform services in China.

"Isolated Region" was just one of the paths explored by the company to address requirements related to adoption of cloud technology, a company spokesperson said.

The project aimed to provide cloud services to customers and regulatory bodies around the world. – Nampa/Reuters

Amazon removes Redskins merchandise

Amazon.com Inc is pulling Washington Redskins merchandise from its website, with sellers given 48 hours to review and remove any products flagged by the e-commerce giant, according to a note sent to sellers by the company.

An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the move by the company. Under mounting pressure from sponsors and Native American rights groups, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder said last week he would consider changing the name of the National Football League team whose roots date back to the 1930s.

Controversy over the team's name, which is widely seen as a racial slur against Native Americans, resurfaced in recent weeks amid widespread racial and social justice protests across the United States after the death of George Floyd in police custody.

Amazon's action follows that of other retailers such as Walmart Inc, Target Corp and Nike Inc. Top sponsors, including PepsiCo Inc and FedEx Corp, who have the naming rights to the NFL team's Landover, Maryland, stadium, called for a change last week. – Nampa/Reuters

Facebook suspends disinformation network

Facebook Inc on Wednesday suspended a network of social media accounts it said were used to spread divisive political messages online by employees of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and two of his sons.

The company said that despite efforts to disguise who was behind the activity, it had found links to the staff of two Brazilian lawmakers, as well as the president and his sons, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, said the accounts were removed for using fake personas and other types of "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" which violated the company's rules.

He said there was no evidence the politicians themselves had operated the accounts. "What we can prove is that employees of those offices are engaged on our platforms in this type of behaviour," he told Reuters ahead of the announcement on the company's blog.

Facebook said it has also suspended three other networks on Wednesday, including one it attributed to Roger Stone, a long-time friend and adviser of US President Donald Trump. The Brazilian president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – Nampa/Reuters

Total secures US$15.8 bln

French oil major Total has secured US$15.8 billion in funding for its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northern Mozambique, according to South African lender FirstRand's local unit, FNB Mozambique.

In a press release published on Wednesday, FNB Mozambique said the financing contracts for Total's blockbuster development had been signed on Friday. While this was widely reported in local media at the time, Total has not confirmed the signing.

"FNB... intends to enter other large natural gas projects in Mozambique, just as it entered into Total's financing, in a consortium of 20 banking institutions that granted US$15.8 billion, for which the last contracts were signed last Friday," it said.

FirstRand's corporate and investment banking unit, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), has previously said it was part of the consortium.

The project, Mozambique LNG, is one of several being developed in the country's extreme north following one of the largest gas finds in a decade off its coast. – Nampa/Reuters