Friday, March 28, 2008
Keetmans Street Kids a Concern
| Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - Web posted at 6:47:29 GMT The Namibian: LUQMAN CLOETE THE growing number of children roaming the streets at the southern town of Keetmanshoop has elicited mixed responses from residents. |
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| Residents expressed different sentiments on the issue at a community meeting held last week at the town's Westdene residential area. Some of the residents demanded that the Police round up the street children. "We want action instead of excuses such as a shortage of Police vans," said one resident, Cecil Vries. But others disagreed. Councillor Arnold Losper said the rights of streets children should be respected. "They too have the right of free movement," he remarked. Another resident, Maria Konjore, argued that the cause of the problem must be identified before solutions are found. Some of the people felt that spiritual and community leaders should be involved in addressing the problem. "The way kids grow up also plays a role when children turn into street kids," resident Frikkie Mouton remarked. The community felt that the number of thefts committed by street children had increased. Attempts to obtain comment from the Ministry of Child Welfare's social worker dealing with street children were fruitless. |
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| Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - Web posted at 6:57:18 GMT VTC students to boycott classes DENVER ISAACS TRAINEES at the Windhoek Vocational Training Centre (WVTC) say they are preparing to boycott classes tomorrow after complaints against the institution's management fell on deaf ears for the past two years. |
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| The college's Trainee Representative Council (TRC) yesterday complained to the media about what they considered to be a mismanagement of funds there, and about the recent introduction of a new curriculum although infrastructure is apparently not yet up to standard and lecturers apparently not yet trained accordingly. The students last week submitted a five-page list of grievances to the college management, which was also sent to the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Education, the Namibia National Teachers' Union (Nantu) and the Namibia National Students' Organisation (Nanso). In this letter, the trainees said they had resolved "not to proceed with our daily attending lessons" from Wednesday, unless Government intervened in the meantime. It is understood that the Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, Vitalis Ankama, is scheduled to meet with the trainees today. However, TRC president Madala Shigwetha said yesterday that they were not enthusiastic about anything they might hear from him. "I know we won't get an answer. They came to see us last year also, but we didn't get any answer," he said. Among the students' complaints are that they are unable to scrutinise how management works with their money. "As an example, we are told to pay N$2 800 as registration deposit, but in the fee structure (catalogue) that amount is said to be N$2 500. Why this difference?" Shigwetha wanted to know. He added that the college was regularly late in providing trainees with textbooks, and refused to refund them when they bought these books themselves, despite the fact that the fees for these books were deducted from the students' bills. When The Namibian yesterday spoke to college principal Paulus Haukongo, he said that he was aware of the students' grievances, but not that they were planning to boycott classes. "But if they decide on that, we'll just have to record them as absent," he said. |
Govt Failed on Education, Job Creation: Gurirab
| Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - Web posted at 6:48:56 GMT The Namibian: BRIGITTE WEIDLICH The allocations to education in the 2008-09 Budget were welcome but would not solve Namibia's education crisis, a member of the opposition said yesterday. |
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| Tsudao Gurirab of the CoD group led by Ben Ulenga, the first speaker in the Budget debate, said he supported the education reform Government had embarked on. "Parents, children, churches - almost everybody knew that our education system did not deliver, but no, this Government needed foreign consultants (from the World Bank) to tell them," Gurirab criticised. The CoD welcomed the latest Government announcement to allow failed Grade 10 pupils to repeat this year, which Gurirab described as "efforts being made to reverse the ludicrous Grade 10 policy which has been responsible for cutting short the opportunities of so many sixteen- to seventeen-year-olds". "I know of no country which has acted as irresponsibly in this regard with the future of their youth," Gurirab charged. However, young Namibians faced another scourge: increasing numbers of young children orphaned and not being able to afford school fees. "About 12 per cent of Namibian children below 15 years have lost one or both parents. If this trend continues, 30 per cent of our child population or 10 per cent of Namibia's total population will most likely be orphans in a few years," Gurirab added. "The harvest of the last 18 years, over which this Government presided, increased income inequality. [We have] a society which is marginally more sick, where more children die at birth or are malnourished with a dysfunctional education system. So much for this Government's pro-poor policies," Gurirab stated. With unemployment still high at 36 per cent, the CoD MP continued, it had become clear that Government policies had failed to empower its citizens. Land reform did not bring the necessary results; neither did the agricultural Green Scheme show any success in his view. "We must employ measures which will help Namibians to help themselves," Gurirab said in his contribution to the budget debate. |
NAMCOL Ready to Roll on Grade 10s
| Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - Web posted at 6:45:08 GMT The Namibian: STAFF REPORTER THE Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol) has announced increased contact sessions - face-to-face tuition - as it starts implementing a recent directive issued by Education Minister Nangolo Mbumba. |
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| Countrywide enrolment started yesterday and will end tomorrow. Namcol spokesperson Rholene Bok also announced that the college has started registering pupils who did not qualify for admission to Grade 11 this year and who would like to repeat subjects. Mbumba has announced that the Ministry had set aside N$340 million for repeaters . Bok said students must pay N$100 per subject in addition to the non-refundable N$40 registration fee. "Those who had registered before the Ministry's directive will get a rebate of N$7 per subject before the end of April through the head of (regional) centre," Bok said. All enrolments in Windhoek will take place at the Yetu Yama Centre. |
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
National Symposium on Youth Employment Photos
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Swapo's call for 'top jobs for comrades' draws flak
Friday, June 14, 2002 - Web posted at 8:39:57 am GMT
The Namibian Newspaper
MAX HAMATA A CALL by some Swapo leaders that only ruling party loyalists should be employed in key Government positions and in parastatals is likely to run into problems, it emerged this week.
The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL), which has spearheaded the call, has argued that it is "highly important to put the cadres who know the programme of the party [into top positions]".
However, officials in Government and in parastatals interviewed by The Namibian questioned the merits of such a move, and warned of possible negative consequences.
Joseph Ithana, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Namibia (PSCN), which advises the President and Government on the appointment of suitable persons in the public service, said the Commission was an impartial and independent body and "you cannot expect us to take instructions from anyone".
Ithana said a candidate for any job in the civil service must be qualified for the position before he or she could be recruited.
"Any post has requirements and attributes. There is no government with people in their right mind which will put inefficient people in government," Ithana said.
Ithana noted that the PSCN acted only on policy of which the calls by the SPYL were not.
A CEO of a parastatal cautioned against political interference in the management of State-owned enterprises.
Tukondjelanee Nghihalwa of the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) said political interference had paralysed parastatals such as Air Namibia and TransNamib.
"Parastatals in Namibia fail because of serious political interference," said the former Works, Transport and Communication Permanent Secretary.
He said Air Namibia and TransNamib failed because their heads used to be protected and Government continued to pump money into them.
"How do you identify a loyal cadre? To me that it is difficult because that loyal cadre might not even have the skills you need," Nghihalwa said.
Acting CEO of the Road Contractor Company (RCC), Charles Mvungi, said: "It is not just a question of putting (in key positions) people who are sub-standard with patronage, but people must be appointed on merit."
He said it was also in the interest of the country to have public enterprises run by competent managers.
"They should deliver in line with the agenda of the government of the day. When they fail to deliver whether they are party loyalists or not they must be asked to give a chance to those who can deliver," Mvungi said.
Head of the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), Nghidinwa Hamunime, said: "I have not been advised otherwise and will go on with the normal procedures of appointing management cadres."
Newly appointed Managing Director of the Government-funded bi-weekly newspaper, New Era, Protasius Ndauendapo said he could not comment as no such order had been officially communicated to him in writing.
"Nothing has been presented to me and I don't know what the principle behind it is. The rationale behind it is not clear," he said.
Acting NamWater CEO, Justice Tjituka, said a requirement to employ only Swapo loyalists in key positions would also mean that the Labour Act would have to be amended to make it law.
"After all you are not appointing people to see how well they serve the party but how well they are running for the attainment of objectives of the parastatal. I would rather go for people who are competed and qualified to attain those objectives. These are business organisations run in a competitive in environment. These are not self- serving institutions," Tjituka said.
Acting NamPower CEO Imke Hoogenhout said the corporation would not change its recruitment procedures to employ only ruling party cadres.
"NamPower's procedure has been to appoint people through a transparent, short-listing and interviewing procedure and appointing them on their abilities irrespective of party loyalties," he said.
An academic at the University of Namibia (Unam), who this week co-chaired an international symposium on "Performance Contracting for Public Enterprises", Phanuel Kaapama, said politicians should not take short cuts to turn parastatals into financial burdens on the taxpayers.
Kaapama said it was important to prioritise national agendas above party politics.
"For how long are we (Namibians) going to survive on political patronage? Now it is time to empower ourselves academically before begging Government to give us jobs," he said.
George Larbi from the University of Birmingham Public Service Training Centre stressed the need to appoint people based on merit.
He said the commercialisation of public entities had proven that it was difficult to get rid of non-performing political appointees in State-owned enterprises.
Swapo Deputy Secretary General John Pandeni on Tuesday said the ruling party would push ahead with its timetable to influence Government to put loyalists in strategic Government positions.Friday, January 11, 2008
Government to formulate a national plan of action
Date: 2008-01-10
The Namibian government is to formulate a national plan of action on youth employment as a step towards ensuring employment for all young Namibians.
The development of this national plan of action would be a collaborative effort involving all representatives of local youth organizations, the Youth Employment Network (YEN), all major national stakeholders, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank.
Government, through the Ministry of Youth and National Service, announced Wednesday that it is organizing a national symposium on youth employment to be held in the Namibian capital, Windhoek on 9 February 2008 and will be preceded by a one-day workshop which would serve to prepare the youth for that symposium. The Symposium is expected to draw more than one-thousand attendees from across the country and from other countries, international agencies and non-governmental organizations. Apart from unemployment, symposium attendees are also expected to address all other challenges facing the youth to ensure that they gain improved access to health care, education and job training benefits. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, Dr Peingondjambi Shipoh, said the symposium on youth employment will jump-start the National Plan of Action on Youth Employment
formulation process, as part of Namibia's commitment as a Youth Employment Network (YEN) lead country. Namibia has an unemployment rate of nearly 37 per cent and the country became a Youth Employment Network lead country in 2002.
***** The date of the conference and the number of attendees are incorrect, but I have contacted the journalist at Nampa and he is going to send out a notification of the error *******
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
MDG-F Update
After many discussions, hours of editing and some very long days and late nights, we managed to complete a Concept Note that we all agreed upon and submitted it the day it was due. With all that hard work behind us, we now have to wait to see if our submission is approved.
Learning Business in a Fun Way
NEWS5 November 2007 Posted to the web 5 November 2007
By Frederick PhilanderWindhoek
Namibia needs at least 800 more chartered accountants, bookkeepers and auditors if it wants to compete with the leading economies in the SADC Region.
This information was given in an opening speech on Saturday morning during the opening of the third annual Entrepreneurial School Game by the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants' (ABAN) president, Patty Karuaihe-Martin. More than 33 secondary school teams countrywide have entered for the exciting financial game.
"This business school game presents an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about the accounting profession. Due to the demand and popularity of the business game, regional games will be organized next year," Karuaihe-Martin announced.
In her view, Namibian business today centres around and involves the movement or flow of money. "The purpose of the Running Business Today Simulation is to help learners understand where money comes from and where it goes to within business, as well as to understand your role in making business more successful. "It also helps learners to understand what benefits there are for individuals in being involved in a successful business or what risks there are in working for an unsuccessful business," she told the more than 100 learners.
One of the main objectives of ABAN is the development of the accounting industry in the country. "Currently of the state-owned enterprises, less than 10% are having qualified chartered accountants as part of their management teams, and this is much needed to increase better financial reporting and corporate governance.
"ABAN believes in exposing young talented learners to how business works through actual experiences through this game," she said.
ABAN has been actively engaged in encouraging and supporting learners and trainee accountants with guidance and mentorship. "At independence 17 years ago there were only three previously disadvantaged chartered accountants in the country. Today there are 53, a tremendous increase, which is still not enough in line with the country's Vision 2030. Accountants are important and are needed in all the sectors of our economy, government, commerce and industry," she said.
The main purpose of the business game is to expose learners to business and finance in a fun and educational manner.
"The game also aims to reach as many previously disadvantaged communities and introduce them to the business environment," she concluded.
Copyright © 2007 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
Namibian Bank Helps Uis Youth
NEWS5 November 2007 Posted to the web 5 November 2007
By Frederick PhilanderWindhoek
"Entrepreneurship has become a buzzword, not only in Namibia but all over and especially in developing countries. In Namibia a decision was recently taken to introduce the subject 'entrepreneurship development' in schools at tertiary level, a move which is very commendable."
This was said by Thaddius Maswahu, Acting Head of Marketing of Standard Bank at the handing over of N$60000 to Uidago Weavers last week at Uis.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Tjikero Tweya, also spoke at the occasion and handed over the cheque. Tweya said that he had visited Uis in May this year and had become acutely aware of the plight of the people living in Uis. "I was astounded at the fantastic work that the weavers do and at the same time appalled at the plight of the unemployed youth. Something had to be done and I approached Standard Bank to assist.
"The bank immediately jumped at the opportunity and wheels were put in motion. I did not want to give handouts, but rather create an opportunity for education and entrepreneurship," Tweya said. According to him, the money will be utilized to purchase materials, which in turn will be used to teach the unemployed youth the art of weaving. "This will ultimately lead to self-sufficiency, an income and hopefully keep the youth from resorting to crime, alcohol and drug abuse," he said hopefully.
Maswahu thanked the deputy minister for offering the opportunity of assisting the Uis youth to Standard Bank. "Your efforts of providing the youngsters of Uis with skills, which give them a sense of worth and the opportunity to earn a living and which will ultimately lead to self-employment, is highly commendable and we are proud of being part of this project," he said.
Copyright © 2007 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com
