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Bigger and better fistball league returns

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Bigger and better fistball league returnsBigger and better fistball league returnsTeams put on their best show The Bank Windhoek Fistball League kicked off successfully over the weekend. Nikanor Nangolo







Swakopmund

After being put on hold, the Bank Windhoek Fistball League returned over the weekend with more teams than last year at the Swakopmund Fistball Club Grounds.

The president of the Fistball Association, Kristof Lerch, said they didn’t expect the number of teams which registered for the tournament, especially the youth teams.

There were nine senior teams from three clubs: Cohen Fistball Club (CFC) and Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) from Windhoek and Swakopmund Fistball Club (SFC) from the.

The tournament also saw six youth teams participating for the first time, making this year’s event even bigger and better.

All teams performed well, but only the elite made it to the semi-final A category. CFC 1 took on CFC 2 and emerged victorious with a 34-20 score. For the second semi-finals, SKW 1 went against SFC, with the former winning 24:21.

In the A category final, CFC 1 took on SKW 1 and won with an outstanding 3-0 in sets and were crowned winners.

The B category semi-final saw rivals CFC 3 and SKW 2 facing each other. Both teams showed great strength and ball skills but CFC 3 had the upper hand and won. For the second semi-finals, CFC 2 showed amazing game play and thus emerged victorious against SKW 3.

In the nail-biting final, rivals SFC 2 and SKW 3 battled, with both teams showing great strength, but only one team was going to walk away with the trophy. SFC 2 won 3-2 in sets against SFC 3 and were crowned the champions.

“All the supporters and fans here makes things more interesting, to be honest. The atmosphere is better than the past years,” Helmo Minz, the Fistball Association’s media officer, said.
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Consumers face years of high energy prices

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Consumers face years of high energy pricesConsumers face years of high energy pricesBig Oil CEOs warn Oil and gas prices have rocketed in recent months as a result of a rapid recovery in global economic activity as Covid-19 restrictions have eased. What we can expect is volatility over the coming months and years. Bernard Looney, CEO: BP RON BOUSSO AND NERIJUS ADOMAITIS

Consumers should brace for years of high energy prices, heads of top oil and gas companies said, in what would pile pressure on governments struggling with spiralling inflation.

Oil and gas prices have rocketed in recent months as a result of a rapid recovery in global economic activity as Covid-19 restrictions have eased, as well as a drop in investment in new energy supplies.

While oil and gas companies reported bumper earnings in 2021, consumers, particularly in Europe, have faced sharp rises in petrol, heating and electricity bills, which in turn have led several governments to introduce subsidies to ease the pressure.

"I've no good news to deliver, oil prices will remain high", Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive of France's TotalEnergies, told RTL Radio.

TotalEnergies will hand out a 100-euro (US$114.20) voucher to help some of its lower-income clients deal with high energy bills, Pouyanne said.

European natural gas, prices have more than tripled over the past year, after hitting record highs late last year amid low seasonal inventories.

"What we can expect is volatility over the coming months and years," BP CEO Bernard Looney told Reuters on Tuesday after the British company reported its highest annual profit in eight years, prompting calls for the government to impose more taxes on oil and gas companies to help deal with energy bills.

Oil markets could see supplies tighten more this year and further support prices which remain above US$90 a barrel, their highest since 2014, Looney said.

Equinor, Europe's second-largest pipeline gas supplier after Russia's Gazprom, posted record quarterly profits on Wednesday.

Its Chief Executive Anders Opedal said he expected the European gas market to remain tight, with demand to remain strong this year as below-normal storage needed replenishing.

"We expect a tight gas market going forward and we expect volatility in power price development," Opedal told a news conference.

Europe's top energy companies plan to shift their businesses away from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy and renewables and have slowed down investments in new oil and gas projects in recent years, partly contributing to current supply shortages.

Equinor expects its total oil and gas production to increase by 2% in 2022. BP's production is expected to remain flat this year compared to 2021.-Reuters
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NIDA a beacon for agro-industrialisation

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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NIDA a beacon for agro-industrialisationNIDA a beacon for agro-industrialisationAn opportunity for import substitution Digitalisation presents opportunities for NIDA to enable cross-border trade on agro-produce to neighbouring SADC economies. STAFF REPORTER

The global supply-chain disruptions due to Covid-19 can be seen as a window of opportunity for industrialisation in Africa and in particular Namibia. There is an opportunity for import substitution on essential goods where production would be focused on essential goods with a clear export competitiveness goal in smart partnership with the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), Team Namibia, Namibia Trade Forum (NTF), Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit of the Ministry of Finance.

Namibia, although hugely rich in natural resource endowment is challenged by expanding its industrial capacity in the country. These challenges are soon to be overcome by its policy discourse on green hydrogen and fourth industrialisation revolution (4IR) initiatives in the country.

The Namibian Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) in its asset-rich formation over the years of its predecessors even before independence, have a crucial mandate to lead industrialisation initiatives through the creation of new industries, provision of affordable business premises and creating future of work opportunities in technologically enabled and agro-processing oriented value chains.

The mandate of NIDA in terms of its enabling legislation ushers in a new dynamic of the agency been in a position of tapping into its existing agro and industrial schemes by creating an integrated agro-industrial capacity that can assist through the commercialization of the agricultural sector the establishment of agro-industrial parks with a defined focus on the transformation of agricultural produce and livestock products in the country, thereby contributing to poverty reduction by generating employment and essential income especially for communities where the business infrastructure are currently residing.

With the overall government transformative agenda to diversify its economy, NIDA is well placed under its public enterprise governance framework from the Ministry of Public Enterprise (MPE) and policy discourse from the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) to actively re-orient its rich asset infrastructure base to create agro-industrial parks given its naturally endowed productive land and historic institutional advantages

NIDA is poised to use the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrial Upgrading and Modernisation Programme sectors as Industrial Drivers that include agro-food processing, aquaculture fisheries, aquaponics, mineral beneficiation, and essential goods such as chemicals manufacturing, automotive and digital services.

Digitalisation presents further opportunities for NIDA to enable cross-border trade on agro-produce to neighbouring SADC economies and with its improved customs border processes through the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), and digital payments through the payment systems of Bank of Namibia (BON), and increasing manufacturing productivity through a smart private sector engagement, NIDA can all support growth and trade for Namibia as it is on a strategic threshold to achieve this and contribute its part towards 4IR with the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) in investments in digital skills, internet access with an evolving supportive regulatory framework in cyberspace and innovative renewable technologies spearheaded by the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) and the National Planning Commission (NPC), all of which can be achieved at scale using the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Investments

NIDA has adequate industrial land available for private sector development. To support growing agro-industries, NIDA has ample hectares of land for innovative investments in the agro- industry and it manages about 280 000 hectares of farmland spread across arable commercial farms and currently harvests grapes, dates, pomegranates, prickly pears and many more.

NIDA Manages 148 industrial estates and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) business parks and with shovel-ready sites, and a trainable and youthful human capital available in Namibia, NIDA is primed to serve the needs of climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, value-addition and manufacturing clients, investors and promoters and to lead Namibia towards industrialisation.

NIDA is therefore poised to contribute to that role of economic diversification to harness its existing and future agro-industrial portfolio by the creation of the infrastructure required for agro-industrial activities and developing the requisite agro-industrial capacity in terms of its existing value chain, property and industrial sites and premises and leveraging on its local marketing outreach in order to ensure competitiveness, productivity and inclusivity for the surrounding communities starting with its own operations where it is currently located.

The underscoring of a realisation of an agro-industrial park has recently been commissioned in Ethiopia in 2021 with the involvement of the technical support provided by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and funded by the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The African Development Bank has also been credited widely for supporting agro-industrial parks in African economies through its flagship program of “Feed Africa” by accelerated industrial financing schemes on the continent. NIDA aims to innovatively take advantage of such continental and global avenues to contribute to the development of the agro-industrial sector and the creation of decent jobs and economic opportunities for Namibians, especially where its sites and premises, agriculture produce and property and small business infrastructure are located.

NIDA will further develop an Enterprise Mapping with the above mentioned global and continental institutions to ascertain on Namibia’s ‘Value Chain and sectoral linkages and to explore on local development finance institutions (DFIs) on industrial financing in Namibia.

NIDA aims to ensure that its project activities will concentrate on increasing private sector involvement in agro-industry, improving food quality, safety and traceability, and promoting social inclusion and environmental sustainability once its strategic blueprint kicks off the ground during the course of the year 2022.
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Afcon can be a reality

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Afcon can be a realityAfcon can be a reality Limba Mupetami

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how far-fetched it was for Namibia to think about co-hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with Botswana in 2027. I highlighted that we were not prepared for such a grand affair.

But after doing some introspection, I withdraw my words and will gladly explain why.

Just recently, Cameroon hosted the Afcon tournament successfully. The very tournament which they took upon themselves to host even after they were told that they were not ready for it.

Now, I haven’t been to Cameroon, but speaking to those who have, and those who have equally visited Namibia, I must say that Cameroon presented many challenges.

Cameroon is a poor central African country of 27 million people. Currently, they are faced with domestic unrest , security issues and a lack of national unity, which is still continuing even after the tournament.

Now, before the tournament, Cameroon lacked the infrastructure to host the tournament.

Their roads were terrible, riddled with potholes, and their telecommunication network is not stable.

For example, the flagship Olembe complex in the capital Yaounde was not fully completed before kick-off.

A few days before, separatist fighters set off an improvised explosive device in Limbe, the coastal city due to host Afcon matches. Six were injured and property was destroyed. But Cameroon forged ahead. Hosting the tournament, I believe, compelled the government to fix some basic infrastructure such as roads and stadiums.

A student interviewed in Cameroon said many things the government had previously ignored were fixed.

He said the road to Japoma Stadium was terrible and, all of a sudden, the government fixed it. Even the road from Yassa that leads to this stadium was so terrible and there used to be traffic, but this reduced and the road was expanded.

Now, these are just some of the problems the country experienced. When you look at Namibia alone, we have one of the best road networks in Africa; we have some of the best infrastructure and even though we attempt to grab one another’s throats here and there, I can gratefully say we don’t have political unrest.

Our stadiums need an urgent overhaul, but just like Cameroon, I think we have time to do that. With Botswana’s support, I really believe we can make a run for this bid and bring some sort of unity to our football structures.

Yes, we have so many boxes to tick off, but we can challenge ourselves to use this opportunity to, just like Cameroon, fix some of the facilities we have to bring these types of tournaments to Namibia for our children to witness and perhaps fill themselves with hope of one day playing at this level.

limba@namibiansun.com
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Sharks end Loftus drought

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Sharks end Loftus drought Sharks end Loftus drought …As Steyn sees red Sharks scrumhalf replacement Grant Williams was red-carded just beyond the hour mark to make it 14 against 14. SuperSport







A red card shown to Vodacom Bulls flyhalf Morne Steyn in the 10th minute was the defining moment of the game as the Cell C Sharks ended their Loftus drought with a hard fought 29-22 win in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.

The Bulls trailed 19-5 at halftime but fought back to 26-22 with three minutes to go after the Sharks’ scrumhalf replacement Grant Williams was red-carded just beyond the hour mark to make it 14 against 14.

But replacement flyhalf Curwin Bosch stepped up to clinch the win with a penalty kick on the hooter.

Both sides scored four tries so the Sharks get five points for their win while the Bulls were rewarded for their fightback with two bonus points courtesy of their tries and the bonus point they secured by losing by seven or less.

First since 2011

When a red card has such an impact on a game, particularly one that happens so early, it leaves viewers struggling to come to terms with what they should think. The final whistle would have come as both a great relief and sparked a wave of celebration among Sharks supporters, but the Bulls showed in the last quarter when the numbers were evened by the Williams card that they would probably have retained their long unbeaten run against the Sharks in franchise rugby had it not been for the red card. This was the first Sharks win in Pretoria in franchise rugby since 2011.
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Greg’s Motor Spares denies ‘wrongdoing’

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Greg’s Motor Spares denies ‘wrongdoing’Greg’s Motor Spares denies ‘wrongdoing’ STAFF REPORTER

Greg’s Motor Spares, who agreed to pay the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) a full and final settlement of N$1.25 million after the watchdog investigated it for anti-competitive behaviour, continues to deny wrongdoing.

The Windhoek-based company with branches countrywide on Saturday issued this statement through its lawyers, Engling, Stritter and Partners, saying: “Greg’s Motor Spares continues to deny wrongdoing as alleged by the Namibian Competition Commission, but nevertheless elected to settle on the basis of an unintended contravention for various reasons, including the time wasted by its executive by trying to resolve the issue – to date and in subsequent litigation, the exorbitant costs of litigation, and an honest desire not to be engaged in litigation.”

The NaCC investigated Greg’s Motor Spares and found it entered into exclusive agreements which affords preferential rights, sole distribution rights, waiving of excess fees and rebates. As such the company contravened section 23(1) of the Competition Act.

Greg’s Motors Spares admitted that its conduct constituted “an unintended contravention” of the act, according to a Government Gazette published last Wednesday. Market Watch reported on the matter in its Friday edition.

According to the document, both parties agreed on 20 January 2022 to settle the investigation and high court proceedings in a full and final settlement.

Greg’s Motors Spares has ceased its conduct and shall take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not engage in such conduct in future.

Although Market Watch gave Greg’s Motor Spares an opportunity to comment, the company “may disagree whether such opportunity was adequate given the timeframe and circumstances at play on the very day”, Engling, Stritter and Partners said.
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Financing, market access crucial for MSME’s

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Financing, market access crucial for MSME’sFinancing, market access crucial for MSME’sNIPDB launches ‘Know2Grow’ campaign The initiative will focus on textile manufacturing, agriculture, horticulture, food processing, aquaculture, electronics, ICT, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and green hydrogen. This will ensure that we achieve our development agenda as enshrined in short and long-term development plans. Lucia Iipumbu, Trade and industrialisation Minister. PHILLEPUS UUSIKU

Having access to sufficient information on financing and market access plays a crucial role in ensuring that micro, small, medium enterprises (MSME’s) thrive both locally and internationally.

The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) on Friday, launched a 'Know2Grow' campaign to capacitate Namibian MSME’s across the country. The campaign will commence in the //Kharas region because of the low participation observed in many funding and training initiatives rolled out for the past two years.

The initiative will focus on sectors such as textile manufacturing, agriculture, horticulture and food processing.

It will further consider aquaculture, electronics, information communication and technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and green hydrogen.

Speaking at the launch, Lucia Iipumbu, minister of industrialisation and trade, notes that the initiative will compliment the pivotal role played by the ministry during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic when businesses were undergoing massive challenges.

The ministry and NIPDB will strive to improve the business environment and conditions for businesses through initiatives covering policy, legislative, regulatory, institutional and programmes, she said.

“Through the 2016 MSME national policy, we ensure appropriate definition of the sectors as well as providing guidance on how the country should support MSME’s.”

However, given the economic dynamics and current realities, the ministry will soon commence with the review of the SME policy in consultation with other stakeholders once it secures the necessary funding mechanism to do so, she said.

Economic growth

Government and private sector at all levels, must collaborate to ensure that businesses take full advantage of various available opportunities and the thus boost economic growth.

“This will ensure that we achieve our development agenda as enshrined in short and long-term development plans such as the Harambee Prosperity plan, National Development Plans (NDP’s) and Vision 2030,” Iipumbu pointed out.

Namibia’s economic growth has improved remarkably since independence, however, much still need to be done to address the numerous social and economic challenges facing the country, the minister added.

Economic growth is partly inhibited by Namibia’s overreliance on the primary sectors such as textile, manufacturing, agro-processing, aquaculture, ICT, renewable energy, green hydrogen and pharmaceuticals. “I am happy to note that these are specific sectors of focus by this campaign, Iipumbu concluded.-phillep@nmh.com.na
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Miller, Looser take 100km

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Miller, Looser take 100kmMiller, Looser take 100kmCome rain or shine Namibian cyclists Alex Miller and Vera Looser were crowned the winners of the 2022 Nedbank Cycle Challenge in the men's and women's races respectively. Limba Mupetami – Elite cyclists Alex Miller and Vera Looser stole the show in the 100km men’s and women’s races at yesterday’s 2022 Nedbank Cycle Challenge in Windhoek.

Competition was tighter than ever before, with both the men’s and women’s races won by a single second.

In the men’s race, Miller clocked two hours, 22 minutes and 15 seconds, bagging the win with a second to spare with Paralympic athlete Abraham Daniel from the Netherlands hot on his heels. The third place was taken by Gerhard Mans in a time of two hours, 24 minutes and 43 seconds.

In the women’s 100 km race, Looser won in a time of two hours, 52 minutes and 29 seconds and was followed by Melissa Hinz, whom she beat by just a second. The third place went to Genevieve Weber, who was also just a second behind Hinz.

The event started off with rain in the early hours of the morning, but the weather gods gave the cyclists an opportunity to compete when the downpour stopped just before the race got going.

Miller said the weather was just perfect for his race, adding that he had tough competition from the cyclists in the leading pack, but that he was happy to prevail.
“It was an awesome race. The pace was hard from the beginning. I saw Daniel attack with 25 km left, so I decided to attack with him.
“My form is good. I used December and January to train and will continue to compete this coming weekend in the Tour de Windhoek,” he said.

Looser echoed Miller’s sentiments, saying that the overcast weather the capital has been enjoying was perfect. She added that she too faced very tough competition.

For all the results and footage from the event, visit the Sport Wrap Facebook page.
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No stopping Unam in season opener

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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No stopping Unam in season openerNo stopping Unam in season opener Andrew Poolman – The local rugby season for 2022 was kicked off in style as the FNB University of Namibia (Unam) first team won the Trustco United 10-a-side tournament in Olympia on Saturday, beating FNB Wanderers 35-7 in the final.

Playing a gruelling fourth match for the afternoon proved too much for Wanderers against the slick student side led by centre Alcino Izaacs, who showed great early-season conditioning, having already won their opening match against FNB Western Suburbs the previous evening.

With an uneven seven entries in the premier division, Unam also had to play one more pool match than Wanderers on their way to winning the title.

Unam led 14-0 by halftime thanks to tries by Lesley Klim, who had powerfully bumped off Warren Ludwig close to the goalline before industrious loose forward Peter Diergaardt crashed over despite being held by a number of tacklers.

Ludwig redeemed himself with a try after chasing down a kick ahead by André van der Berg, which the former Windhoek High School and Pukke flyhalf converted.

Powerful loose forward Oderich Mouton crashed over for try number three before agile fullback Lorenzo Louis danced away from the tiring defence to score the next one.

FITNESS, OPPORTUNISM AND RESILIENCE

In the dying seconds of the 20th minute of the final, Unam’s fifth try exemplified their fitness, opportunism and resilience as scrumhalf Aljearreau Zaahl took a quick tap-penalty on his own 22-line and set off on a run. He found inside support from Gilad Plaatjies and Berry Gande, both tackled by the last Wanderers defenders, before Louis could jog through unchallenged.

Zaahl converted every Unam try in the final as the students lifted the inaugural Winmar Rust United 10-a-side trophy following the exciting two-day tournament sponsored by Castle Lite.

Wanderers and Unam earlier won their respective semi-finals against FNB Grootfontein (24-10) and host team United (21-0).

OTHER DIVISIONS

Meanwhile, Wanderers’ second team came back from a 0-7 deficit to clinch the reserve final against Unam II.

Wing Quinn Malander put Unam ahead before a Wanderers forward scored a converted try just before the final whistle to force a sudden-death extra time.

Flyhalf Johan Zaayman came up with a line break and sent wing Patrick Karsten away on the winning run, which resulted in a penalty try when he was impeded.

The Wanderers women’s team won their final 17-0 against Unam, walking away with the N$7 500 prize money. Try scorers for the winners were Pauline Joel, Shanaaz de Wee and Waemy Haindongo, with one conversion by Ida Visagie.
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Buy-a-Brick hockey excites

February 13, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Buy-a-Brick hockey excitesBuy-a-Brick hockey excites Precious Nghitaunapo

The Standard Bank Buy-a-Brick Foundation, along with Beyond Sports Namibia (BSN), hosted the Buy-a-Brick Hockey Champions League, the first of its kind, on Saturday at DTS.

The league consisted of four groups - Kanaan, Havana, Twaloloka and DRC, participating, with both boasting male and female teams.

CEO and co-founder of BSN, Neville Gora, said the league is the first of its kind and runs over the course of two weekends. He explained that the initiative is to help players prepare for the official hockey season, which is set to kick off soon.

The teams have been drafted from eight hockey clubs to form four teams. “Overall, the clubs are looking good and the competition is tight,” Gorasaid .

Playing for the Kanaan team, Simaneka Antindi said they were fairly challenged but enjoyed the experience of indoor hockey, with his team winning 2-1 against DRC in one of the legs.

The weekend leg ended with the Kanaan men’s leading in the log, followed by Havana , Twaloloka and DRC. The women’s division is led by the Twaloloka team, followed by Kanaan, DRC and Havana . The games continue again next Saturday at the DTS indoor hockey grounds from 08:00.

The league aims to raise funds for the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia.
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Gladiators in jovial mood

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Gladiators in jovial moodGladiators in jovial moodTraining on top level The Brave Gladiators of Namibia are in good spirits, having had their first practice session yesterday afternoon in Lusaka as they added the final touches ahead of the AWCON clash against Zambia on Wednesday. LIMBA MUPETAMI

The Brave Gladiators of Namibia landed safely in Lusaka and had a training session with head coach Woody Jacobs yesterday.

The squad is to face Zambia in the first-leg qualifiers of the Africa Women Cup of Nations on Wednesday, with the return leg slated for 22 February in Johannesburg.

Veweziwe Kotjipati, who is based in Germany, joined the squad yesterday morning. Kotjipati will add experience to the team, with another player, poster girl Zenatha Coleman, also expected to join the squad ahead of the much-anticipated clash.

Upon arrival in Zambia, the team was welcomed by the acting high commissioner of Namibia to Zambia, Stanley Tsandib.

The marketing officer of the Namibia Football Association, Cassius Moetie, who is also acting as communication officer for the Gladiators, said he was certain that the team would collect three points against the Copper-Queens.

“As the voice and face of the Gladiators, a product of the NFA, take it from me, the Gladiators will collect three points on Wednesday, rest assured,” he said.
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Soldier on, it will be worth it in the end!

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Soldier on, it will be worth it in the end! Soldier on, it will be worth it in the end! Desiree Gases



Merlyn Jagger is a 22-year-old young woman born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia. She has been studying informatics, the study of the structure, behaviour and interactions of natural and engineered computational systems, and is currently pursuing her honours degree. She started at the Namibian University of Science and Technology in 2018.

Informatics is a three-year course for the bachelor's degree, while for honours degree, it’s an extra year.

When Varsity Corner asked Jagger why she chose to study informatics, she said: “I wanted to challenge myself and choose something way out of my comfort zone as I've never had anything related to computing in high school”. This course is everything and more Jagger expected it to be. “It was a good gamble,” she added. Informatics as a course demands your problem-solving skills and critical thinking to be at its peak as it needs you to think outside of the box to find solutions to problems, she said.

When it comes to her experience in the course so far, Jagger said: “It was good. Information was always readily available; people were eager to assist. Campus life was great, meeting new people every day led to learning something new even when Covid-19 hit us, the transition to online platforms has been seamless and efficient”. On the challenges she faced, time was one of them. “I didn't always have time to give proper individual attention to each module, but now that's a skill I have acquired: Time management,” she said.

Varsity Corner asked Jagger what advice she would give to first years doing the same course hoping to graduate one day. She said: “Don't go in with the ‘it's difficult’ mindset, but rather be open to learning and understanding. Always look for assistance immediately when you start struggling to prevent falling behind and, lastly, soldier on, it will be worth it in the end!”
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Academic transformation from secondary to tertiary education

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Academic transformation from secondary to tertiary education Academic transformation from secondary to tertiary education Making sure the transition goes smoothly Desiree Gases

The leaking of 32 examination papers involving 10 grade 11 and 12 subjects will cause further disruptions to a system which is already experiencing challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The leak led to the disruption of national examinations, which were rewritten early this year, and led to the early closure of schools and late registration to tertiary institutions. The ministry of information and communication technology hosted an information center online, where they dissected the academic transformation from secondary to tertiary education.

The academic calendar of institutions like Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) were already approved last year but re-strategized to accommodate the learners with delayed results, Wynand Diergaardt, the acting registrar for NUST, said.

“We have a special registration for the learners from the 1 to 11 March. We will also keep our late applications open until the end of February,” added Diergaardt.

Meanwhile, the University of Namibia (Unam) already predicted late registration, so they made provision in their calendar.

“We will not be leaving the learners out in the cold, and we will be waiting for them as soon as the results come out,” said professor Erica Maass, the Unam registrar.

However, the grade 12 legacy results are still being made provision for and the institution will wait for those learners.

The International University of Management (IUM) has the same system in place for the learners awaiting their results.

“Students who are already admitted and waiting for their results are sort of reserved, therefore they will not be disadvantaged,” said Aquilinus Nashilundo, the IUM registrar said. A specific date for registration still needs to be put in place and communicated and for those who haven’t applied and are still waiting to apply, application has been extended to the end of February.

A lot of learners have been concerned about getting into tertiary institutions with their results being delayed, but most - if not all - Namibian institutions have made provision for special registration and application. Annual registration fees can sometimes be a burden on parents and students considering the fact that the past two years have taken a financial toll on everyone, but the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) is always there to assist. In that regard, institutions have also made provision.

The NSFAF application process has already started on the 27 January, and will run until the end of March. “We have about 1 900 students who have applied, Olavi Hamwele, the chief human capital and corporate affairs officer at NSFAF, said. “We have reached out to local institutions to make an arrangement regarding the registration process and the current arrangement is the students who will register with an acknowledgment letter from NSFAF will be getting a reduced registration fee.”

At IUM, students who are NSFAF funded do not pay registration fees. However, in the past, IUM would ask non-NSFAF students for a deposit fee as well as the registration fee, but now they only ask for the registration fee and the deposit is payable later in the year. At Unam, students with bursaries don’t have to pay registration fees depending on the conditions of the particular sponsorship/bursary.

“The biggest problem is the non-bursary holders and that is why we divided the tuition fees in instalments of 25% so the non-bursary holders still have to pay 25% of their tuition fees during registration,” Maass added.
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Together for a better internet

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Together for a better internetTogether for a better internet Celebrated on the second day of the second week of the second month, safer internet day is organised by the joint insafe/INHOPE network of safer internet centres in Europe, with the support of the European commission, to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology. Flavia Shangala, KAYEC representative: “Parents and teachers, I think, while children are still young, should teach them to have confidence and high self-esteem.” Junior Kapofi



This year’s safer internet day commemoration was held at the Windhoek Country Club on the 10 February under the theme ‘together for a better internet’. The event was attended by children from the Namibian Children’s Home, Katutura Youth Enterprise Center (KAYEC), the Children’s Parliament, Lifeline/Childline Namibia as well as the deputy minister of gender equality, poverty eradication and social welfare, Bernadette Jagger.

The deputy minister, in her opening remarks, mentioned that the purpose of this campaign is to reach out to all children and young people, parents, teachers, caregivers as well as industry decision-makers and politicians to play their part in creating a safer internet. Furthermore, she mentioned that the use of technology is on the rise and the accessibility to internet has increased, including for children.

There was also a panel discussion lead by Sarah Edward from the children’s parliament where six children came together to discuss the internet. When panellists were asked what the government can do to make the internet a safer place for children, they mentioned that government is already doing enough, seeing as this event is being held, but they added that there is room for improvement.

“What the government should do is provide more awareness campaigns within communities because I hardly see this happening in the communities,” Eliakim Helao, one of the panellists, said.

Representative from the children’s parliament Maria Iikali mentioned that she feels that government should create geo-location software where parents are able to track their children because many times children meet up with strangers from the internet and parents will not know where they are at times, so this will just make that much easier.

A representative from KAYEC, Flavia Shanghala, mentioned that this event should be broken down into smaller events to reach especially those who need this information. Furthermore, she said that during these events, IT technicians should be brought in to teach and show children about all these new gadgets.

A representative from the Namibian Children’s Home Joyce Waandja mentioned that internet or computer literacy programmes can be created for parents, so that they too can be educated on the use of the internet and better monitor their children online. The panellists also spoke on the importance of teaching children confidence from a young age as this will make it a little easier for them to not be an easy target for bullies. “Parents and teachers, I think, while children are still young, should teach them to have confidence and high self-esteem,” Shanghala said.
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Peet Ngairo

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Peet NgairoPeet Ngairo When did your journey as a teacher start?

The wonderful journey as a teacher started on 14 February 1999 at my former high school and current duty station Okahandja Secondary School.

Was teaching always something you wanted to do?

Not really, in fact, I wanted to study accounting, but after getting a bursary from the government, I had no choice but to go for teaching, specialising in commerce.

What are the most challenging things as a teacher?

Indiscipline of learners, the low-level of commitment and the surge in the use of drugs remain limiting factors in the education sector.

What would you have done if you had not become a teacher?

Over the past few years, I developed a passion for law. So, I guess I could or would make a good lawyer.

What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep on teaching?

Working with independent and committed learners despite their intellectual capacity just gives me that extra push.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

During my free time, I run errands looking for business opportunities, attend to farming activities and spend time with family and friends.

What is the greatest thing you have ever achieved?

I would say, a multi-task loaded balanced lifestyle and academically my results over the years have been very sound, my latest being my NSSCAS level learners achieving a 100% pass rate with As in entrepreneurship in the recently published results for the 2021 external examination.

Do you have any motivation for prospective teachers?

Here we put egos aside and work tirelessly for the sake of the Namibian child.
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Broer en suster maak tuisonderrig lekker

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Broer en suster maak tuisonderrig lekkerBroer en suster maak tuisonderrig lekkerEric en Anja het groot toekomsplanne Duo begin ’n atletiek- en sosiale klub vir leerlinge wat tuisonderrig ontvang. Jeanette Diergaardt



Eran is die meesterplan van Eric en Anja Kramber.

Die naam bestaan uit die eerste letters van Eric en Anja se name.

Dié broer en suster het onlangs besluit om uit die skolestelsel weg te beweeg en is nou deel van die aanlyn CambriLearn-stelsel.

Hulle het die inisiatief geneem om ’n meer sosiale lewe vir hulself en ander tuisonderrigleerlinge te skep.

Volgens Eric is Eran meestal op atletiekbyeenkomste gefokus en hulle beplan om meer sosiale geleenthede vir tuisonderrig leerlinge te skep, sowel as minderbevoorregte kinders.

Eric en Anja het klaar ’n veldskool agter die rug en sien daarna uit om Maart weer een te hou waar ouers en leerlinge betrokke sal wees.

Eran gaan in die toekoms ook tradisionele skolesport aanbied.

“Eric en Anja hou van sport en geniet dit om sosiaal te verkeer. Hulle is op soek na ’n gesonde platform,” sê pa, Alex, wat sy kinders se grootste ondersteuner is.

Volgens Eric hou Eran matriekafskeidfunksies, sokkies, veldskole en tradisionele skoolbyeenkomste.

“Ek hoop nóg mense wil betrokke raak sodat ons gesonde sosiale funksies na nog tuisonderrigleerlinge en minderbevoorregte kinders kan uitbrei,” sê Eric.

Eran is ook tans besig om atletiek en sport by die Hoërskool Academia ’n hupstoot te gee.

Volgens die Krambers het Academia vir die afgelope ses jaar geen atletiek aangebied nie.

Die 17-jarige Eric beman Eran se sportafdeling en is ’n geregistreerde afrigter.

Anja (15) is in beheer van die reëlings vir sosiale geleenthede en bied ook ondersteuning aan haar broer.

Anja beplan om onderwys te studeer en sien Eran as ’n geleentheid om haar toekomsplanne te komplementeer.

“Oor ’n paar jaar wil ek graag hê dat 500 kinders deel van Eran moet wees,” sê Anja.

Dié jong dame wil ook boeresport deel van Eran maak, sowel as pretdae vir ouers en kinders.

Hulle teruggetrokkenheid keer nie dié broer en suster om ’n dapper glimlag op te sit en hul eie geluk te skep nie.
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Athletics with a difference

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Athletics with a differenceAthletics with a difference The Eran Track and Field 2022 Epic Games, the first of its kind, proved to be a success and promises to be an annual event. Jeanette Diergaardt



With various schools concluding their athletic season, homeschooled children are not left behind this year. The Epic Games, an initiative created by Erick and Anja Kramber to provide a platform for homeschooled and disadvantaged children to develop their athletic capabilities, kicked off on Saturday at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek, and saw a number of children partaking.

According to Eric, more than 280 children competed on Saturday. The results of the track and field day will only be announced today at the Independence Stadium. The event saw children partaking in most track and field disciplines. Athletes from as far as Oshivelo and Gobabis competed alongside those from Swakopmund and some farms.

Although homeschooled children can partake in schools’ athletics, Eric experienced that these children did not get the same treatment as the athletes originally from the school. “The homeschooled children would come first, second and third but would not make it to the National Zonal Athletics,” he said on what motivated him to establish a platform for homeschooled children.

According to Leoni van Rensburg, one of the officials at the games and a coach at the Quinton Steele Botes Athletics Club, the event was a success. She called on more homeschooled children to partake.

“There are more younger children here today, but I want to call on all the older children to come around as you are never too old to start,” she said, adding that the stars of Namibian athletics, Frank Fredericks and Beatrice Masilingi, started at the age of 17 and 16 years respectively.

With not only homeschooled children who partook in the athletics, learners came as far as the Omaheke Region and were accompanied by Suzette Swartz. According to Swartz, she accompanied 11 children to Windhoek to give them more exposure to athletics in the country.

“A lot of the children have talent but they often get lost in the system,” Swartz, who started to coach young talent in the north in 2017, said. According to her, she started coaching more seriously when she witnessed Masilingi at Noordgrens and motivated the young athlete, who also played rugby under Swartz’s tutelage.
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Buy-a-Brick Hockey Bonanza

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Buy-a-Brick Hockey Bonanza Buy-a-Brick Hockey Bonanza Champions League fixtures:

Men’s

Kanaan 10 points

Havana 7 points

Twaloloka 5 points

DRC 5 points

Women’s

Twaloloka 6 points

Kanaan 5 points

DRC 5 points

Havana 5 points

The Standard Bank Buy-a-Brick Hockey Champions League kicked off over the weekend at the DTS Sports Grounds in Windhoek, with four teams in both the male and female divisions from eight clubs competing. This event is the first of its kind and will run over two weekends.
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Swapo gunning to reclaim Rundu Rural

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Swapo gunning to reclaim Rundu RuralSwapo gunning to reclaim Rundu Rural KENYA KAMBOWE

DIVUNDU

Swapo’s Mukwe Constituency coordinator, Christian Muriki, says the party should reclaim its dominance in the Kavango East region, starting with winning back the Rundu Rural Constituency that it lost to an independent candidate in the 2020 elections.

Muriki made the remark at Divundu on Saturday during the official opening of the region’s Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) political year, where he called on the youth wing to ensure that the party regains control of the Rundu Rural Constituency.

“We need to retain our region, especially Rundu Rural,” he said.

“When it comes to the next election, we need to be number one and not number two.”

Muriki’s statement demonstrates the party’s disappointment at the outcome of the Rundu Rural Constituency election in November 2020.

For years, the ruling party enjoyed total control of the Kavango regions, where the electorate made the opposition parties feel unwelcome.

This changed in November 2020 when voters in the Rundu Rural Constituency chose former Swapo member Paulus Mbangu, who stood as an independent candidate.

Mbangu had resigned from Swapo after he lost confidence in the Swapo Kavango East regional leadership for supporting Michael Shikongo as their preferred candidate for that year’s election.

Mbangu scooped 1 846 of the 2 638 votes cast in that election.

Mountain to climb

Swapo will have to hope for a miracle as far as reclaiming Rundu Rural is concerned.

This is because since Mbangu occupied office, he has delivered on the promises he made to the voters, which included drilling boreholes for communities and spearheading rural electrification projects.

Mbangu had promised that during his tenure, people would not have to fetch water from the crocodile-infested Kavango River.

kenya@namibiansun.com
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Mutorwa urges road contractors to finish jobs on time

February 14, 2022, 2:00 pm
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Mutorwa urges road contractors to finish jobs on timeMutorwa urges road contractors to finish jobs on time Six kilometres to be completed by AprilPhase one of the Onhuno-Eenhana road rehabilitation project has started and is expected to be completed in April this year.TUNOHOLE MUNGOBAThe Roads Authority handed over the rehabilitation of phase one of the Onhuno-Eenhana road to ministry of works and transport on Friday. Transport minister John Mutorwa also inspected road conditions in the Ohangwena Region last week. “The Onhuno-Eenhana road is in bad shape, as we all know, but we would like to address the condition of the road in phases due to annual budget constraints. “The entire road is 47 kilometres. The first phase of the road is about six kilometres and the projected date of completion is April 2022,” said Mex Muatjrtjeja, acting manager of network maintenance for the Roads Authority. Accompanied by the governor of Ohangwena region, Walde Ndevashiya, and senior officials from the ministry and the Roads Authority, Mutorwa also met with regional councillors and community members to discuss road conditions in the region. Residents of the Epembe constituency complained about limited access to health facilities and schools during the rainy season. “If there are no bakkies available, one would die at home because the roads are not fit for small cars,” said one of the community members. Mutorwa stated during these meetings that political leaders have a responsibility to listen to the complaints of community members and they should make use of the right channels to have their voices heard. “Members of the public should hold their councillors accountable to make sure they communicate with contractors to convey the messages. Contractors should also work together to ensure work is completed on time,” he said.
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