Namibia: new gravel road arandis to Areva Mine

Arandis, Namibia - A 28 kilometre gravel road is now linking Arandis to the Areva's Trekkopje Mine in the hilly tops of Erongo. "Areva has been a serious development partner and has contributed immensely to the social economic transformation of our town through the partnership that we have shared over the years," Arandis Mayor, Daniel Muhuura said at the opening last week Friday.

The road was constructed by the engineering team of Areva Resources NAmibia's and the onsite road maintenance contractor HH Schultz. Areva Namibia's Managing Director, Hilifa Mbako, said that the new road will be beneficial to the mines employees was the road will be safer and shorter in terms of travelling.

Refurbishment of Lüderitz waterfront

Refurbishment of the demolished old power station at a cost of N$230 million, which is part of the second phase of the Lüderitz Waterfront Development is on track.
The second phase of the waterfront has attracted participation of three government ministries, namely, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.

About 120 people have been employed to perform various jobs – this figure is going to rise slightly next year, as more bricklayers would be required to complete the task.

“In 2009 cabinet directed these ministries to support the Lüderitz waterfront project, to set up the institute of higher learning satellite under the auspices of the Polytechnic of Namibia (PoN). About 60 percent of this project is earmarked for the promotion of education and training under the auspices of the Polytechnic of Namibia, where about 30 percent of the space provided is for indoor and outdoor sport facilities, while the remaining 10 percent will cover the Maritime Museum,” said the CEO of the Lüderitz Waterfront, Fluksman Samuehl.

The construction of the project commenced in June 2013, and the estimated period is about 27 months at a cost of N$230 million.

Completion date for the project is expected to be the end of 2015 in line with the soon-to-be-unveiled Namibia University of Science and Technology that should start with its operations in 2016.

On 19 August stakeholders involved in the project were shown around the construction site by architect Bob Mould and the CEO of the Lüderitz waterfront with the aim to assess progress on the old power station by the multi-disciplinary team. This was done with the purpose of allowing the media to acquaint themselves with the progress of the project and seek clarity on matters of interest and also to allow TransNamib to assess the waterfront development initiative so as to render support in favour of local economic development (LED).

“The old power station is a large historical building located at the edge of the sea, established in 1911 and listed as one of the largest buildings in Namibia. And the Lüderitz waterfront second phase is also at an advanced stage of implementing Namibia’s first ever shopping centre, waterfront apartments and a new 70-room four-star waterfront hotel,” said Samuehl.

The CEO of the waterfront said they were excited with the development as it aims at growing the Lüderitz waterfront and Lüderitz as a town and not forgetting the diversity income streams which will strengthen the company’s profit margin. The Lüderitz waterfront development concept seeks to link the central business district of the town to the water’s edge, striving to bring people to the water by connecting a series of public urban spaces through attractive pedestrian routes.

This development intervention is geared towards making Lüderitz a student town by 2016, enhancing the town’s tourism appeal and to locate Luderitz as a significant commercial centre in southern Namibia.

The first phase of the Lüderitz waterfront started with construction work towards the end of 2000 and was completed in 2002.

This phase consists of general shops, offices, flats, coffee shops and a restaurant.

Government initially injected about N$35 million, and of this amount about N$7 million was utilised to build non-commercial properties such as a public square where the popular annual crayfish festival is held yearly and other events of public significance, a pedestrian jetty, walkways, paving of Hafen Street, parking facilities as well as street lighting, amenities crucial for the town. Old-Power-Station

The first phase hosts some SOEs as tenants, such as the New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC) office, Air Namibia and the Social Security Commission (SSC), as well as private institutions. Several SMEs are also housed in the modern business complex in town which tourists can access easily, while boat trips for leisure take place from the waterfront premises and passenger cruisers dock at the waterfront, among others.

As a result of the first phase, more corporations opened offices, including some ministries, at the waterfront and occupancy rate of rental space rose to 98 percent during the last few years.

About 75 people are currently permanently employed as a result of this phase.  Of these people, about 70 percent are made up of women who are either appointed as managers representing their respective organisations or SME business owners. The Lüderitz waterfront is clearly a catalyst for economic development for the town as well as for the greater //Karas Region.

New tourist train to be introduced in Botswana

Botswana Railways (BR) has announced plans to introduce a tourist train to offer both local and international tourists an opportunity to explore Botswana and the neighboring countries, privately run Yarona FM reported on Monday. Delivering a strategy aimed at positioning Francistown as the transport and logistics hub and strategic gateway into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) BR business development director said the idea is at its final stages.

Makuke said the tourist train will take tourists from Francistown in Botswana, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe before Livingstone in Zambia and back into the wildlife capital of Botswana - Kasane.

The train will be similar to the famous Shongololo train of South Africa where tourists will be served with snacks and beverages while enjoying the beauty of Southern Africa.

Veld fires season in Namibia

Windhoek with its booming population of more than 300 000 residents is a potential hot spot for devastating veld fires this time of the year and the city's fire brigade already attends to between eight and ten fires in and around the capital on a daily basis.

And the seasonal August winds could make this situation considerably worse in the days to come.

Senior station officer of the Windhoek Fire Brigade Jeffrey Mayanga yesterday appealed to every resident for full cooperation with the fire brigade and to report any veld fires in residential areas immediately.

"We are always ready and fully trained. We have the infrastructure and equipment to deal with any type of fire but we need the close cooperation of citizens to combat potentially deadly fires. We don't hunt for smoke; we put out fires," said the senior station officer.

Statistics indicate uncontrolled forest and veld fires destroy some five to seven million hectares of land in Namibia annually and these fires are now a real threat again during the driest months of the year, coupled with the ever-present threat of strong winds in August.

Mayanga says the presence of wind makes their job more difficult because a small fire in or near a neighbourhood can result in a virtually uncontrolled veld fire with devastating effects.

"Fires started close to houses with thatched roofs pose an added risk and owners of such houses should be extra careful and install sprinkler systems on those roofs. The bottom line is that every resident should adhere to standard fire regulations to avoid the risk of uncontrollable fires," said Mayanga.

Despite the National Forest and Veld Fire Management Campaign driving home this message regularly, millions of hectares of valuable grazing are continuously destroyed, while the productivity of land is compromised and even human lives are lost.

Uncontrolled veld fires are sometimes caused by lightning during the rainy season, but mostly by people in the dry season.

Namibians have been reminded again that it is the responsibility of every citizen to help curb fires. Regions most affected are usually Zambezi, the Kavangos, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa, but parts of Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Kunene and Khomas also fall prey to these fires.

Some of the reasons for poor fire control and management practices, experts indicated, are due to inadequate incentives to take control measures because of unclear property rights in communal lands, inadequate coordination and cooperation between villagers, confusion caused by overlapping laws, traditional rules and inadequate skills and resources.

Veld fires destroy valuable timber and forest products such as grass for grazing, grass for thatching, and animals. The damaged environment also has an adverse impact on the tourism sector, one of Namibia's most important earners of foreign revenue.

The fight against uncontrolled forest and veld fires has become a multi-stakeholder commitment over the years and these include the Emergency Management Unit and the various government ministries, together with the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU) and Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU).

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, every year calls on all Namibians to take precautionary measures against veld fires.

"Any irresponsible acts that may result in the outbreak of veld fires anywhere in Namibia will and must be regarded as a criminal offence and those responsible will and must be prosecuted and legally punished," Mutorwa was quoted as having said.

Precautionary measures against veld fires include the scraping of fire belts, keeping dams full and having firefighting equipment at hand.

Land owners are implored to give a plan of their farms and infrastructure to their farmer association, so that the necessary precautions can be taken.

Following the good rains this season, the NAU has also cautioned members and especially charcoal burners against veld fires.

Namibia: Evaluating Lüderitz Crayfish Festival

The Lüderitz Town Council hosted a breakfast meeting with stakeholders last week Friday to do a follow up on the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival that took place in April this year.

According to the mayor of Lüderitz, Suzan Ndjaleka, the turn out at this year's crayfish festival has once again proved that it (festival) is getting bigger and more popular, and therefore contributing to the economic upliftment of the town.

However, as the festival develops the need for bigger and permanent venues to accommodate all activities for the festival has become a challenge for the Lüderitz Town Council. The mayor said the current venue, the Waterfront Harbour Square, although a magnificent site might not have the capacity to accommodate the festival in the near future.

"Attendance at the business conference was good and with improved organisation could add more value to developments of the town," said Lüderitz Town Council Chief Executive Officer, Aunie Gebhard.

On the entertainment front, she said performances were well arranged although the festival could not attract key targeted artists, as the event dates coincided with the NAMAs.

Gebhard also reported that the launch and fundraising gala dinner for the Crayfish Festival, earlier this year, was well attended raising N$134 000 in the sale of table and dinner tickets, while N$664 152 was received through pledges and table sales.

She further reported that out of the 145 exhibitors who applied at the 2014 Lüderitz Crayfish Festival, 95 made their payments and 32 of them were corporates, 10 SMEs were from outside Lüderitz and 53 SMEs from Lüderitz.

According to the analysis, the number of exhibitors was satisfactory and complied with the aim of adding value to the festival. Different corporates added the element of information sharing, brand positioning and marketing of services and products available in different sectors.

Next year's festival is planned for the first week of May.

Employees' education at Gondwana

The Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) Secretariat and the Gondwana Collection Namibia have announced a
cooperation to deliver financial education, through a FLI Financial Wellness Workplace Programme to Gondwana employees.
The cooperation is formalised by a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 29 July. One of the key areas that have priority is monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the programme for further development.
Already 10 Gondwana Volunteers have been trained as Peer Educators at the workplace through the
Training-of-Trainers (TOT) Programme and are consequently facilitating training in their respective regions. The program covers topics ranging from basic numeracy, money and wellbeing, saving, budgeting, spending, bank accounts, borrowing, retirement, finances and children, as well as managing a side business.
The Financial Literacy Initiative was first launched in March 2012 by the Minister of Finance Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, to enhance financial education for individuals and small and medium enterprises in Namibia.
The initiative has grown in the industry and now works with more than 40 platform partners from the private,
public and civil sectors.
The financial wellness program for workplaces is also supported by print material such as posters, flyers and

booklets, translated into various Namibian langua-ges.
FLI activities also include interactive educational undertakings such as street theatre, TV and radio shows; and financial literacy training for individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises in Namibia.

Dangerous leopard put down at Spitzkoppe, Namibia

A leopard which attacked and seriously injured two communal farmers in the Spitzkoppe area near Usakos was put down on Monday.

The attack took place last Friday after the leopard had killed a donkey in the area the day before.

The owner of the donkey in the area, 67-year-old Willem Goaseb and a friend Andries Nangombe, set a trap close to the donkey's carcass.

The leopard was caught in the wire snare, but managed to break free with the wire around its neck.

When Goaseb and Nangombe trekked the leopard with the intention to kill it, the leopard attacked the two men, landing both in the Usakos State Hospital.

Confirming the incident to Nampa yesterday, the deputy Director of Parks in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in the Erongo region, Ulrich Boois, said the leopard was indeed killed.

"We decided it must be killed because it is a danger to humans and animals," he said, adding that the search for the leopard started on Saturday.

Boois said Gert van der Walt, a trophy-hunter from the #Gaingu Conservancy, managed to trek the animal and kill it.

Goaseb and Nangombe are still in hospital, but are both reported to be in stable condition.

Botswana becomes a refuge for South Africa’s rhino

Botswana is to become new home to dozens of rhinoceros from South Africa following the country’s decision to evacuate hundreds of the animals from its flagship reserve, Kruger National Park to safer places within South Africa and other countries with robust conservation systems.

In a recent story about the translocation, City Press quotes South Africa’s Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, as confirming her country’s intent.

“South Africa is considering a range of rhino strongholds, inclusive of national parks, provincial reserves, communal areas and private reserves…Part of the translocation will include the Southern African Development Community…We have already started discussions with Botswana, we are working with Zambia, we are working with other countries, but more intensely those two in particular,” she said. The paper also quotes South African National Parks’ large mammal ecologist Sam Ferreira as saying up to 500 rhino could be evacuated.

“If you want to give rhino a chance, you remove them from places where they have a high probability of being killed,” quotes City Press.

The Kruger National Park is estimated to have nearly 10,000 rhinos, having initially received 350 from Kwazulu-Natal in the 60’s.

Botswana’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and National Parks Neil Fitt confirmed South Africa had approached them seeking refuge for the animals.

“However, they have not finalised when and how many they will translocate to Botswana, but we understand most of the animals will be moved to different places within South Africa,” he said.

Fitt said notwithstanding the high cost of translocating such big mammals as rhino, Botswana was “very prepared” to receive the animals and hopes South Africa would send “a lot”.

For many years, Botswana has ensured a robust conservation system that brings together its various security organs and has to a great extent managed to keep poachers of especially large mammals such as elephant and rhino at bay.

Further collaborative efforts between government and conservation groups have ensured the success of the re-introduction of black and white rhino in Botswana. The efforts followed a1992 survey that showed only 19 white rhino remained, while the black rhino was classified as “locally extinct” in Botswana.

News from Farm Omandumba, Namibia

Some exciting news on Omandumba Farm in the Erongo Region. Omandumba has started with the building of 8 new en-suite guestrooms, situated a little off-side from the main house.
The rooms are set in 4 units with each 2 bedrooms. The farm is famous for its family friendly atmosphere where guests can enjoy true Namibian Farm hospitality, surrounded by magnificent nature, goats, chicken, cats, dogs, doves and soon cattle again. Home made specialities like smoked game meat, cheeses & jams and informative talks around the camp-fire with the owners, add to the allure of this homely farm. 
The farm  will be be open for business until construction works are finished in January 2015.

Highlights at Omandumba
Omandumba offers wild, romantic granite landscape and fantastic vistas - some of the best in the Erongo Region!
Well preserved rock engravings & paintings are Omandumba's hidden gems! Explorations on the farm offer unique rock formations and an interesting Fauna, Flora and birdlife. Nature drives & rock climbing afford visitors with attractive activities. Listen to the sound of silence and enjoy the tranquility of nature during self-guided walks in the country side.

The Living Museum of the San people
Visitors can get an interesting insight into traditional Buschman culture at a cultural village situated a mere 2 km away from Omandumba.  Guests may interact in the activities as the Ju/'Hoansi San people show their skills at arrow making and arrow shooting, teach how to make fire & jewellery and explain natural health remedies. Visitors may join in on a hunting and gathering trip or experience their song and dance. Pre-bookings are only necessary for larger groups. Self-drive customers may visit the San people at any time between 8-17h00.

Camping Facilities & Self-Catering Farmhouse
All camp sites are situated in-between sublime granite scenery, far apart from each other, thus offering privacy for each separate group.  Showers, toilets & waterpoints are available (no electricity).
Experience how it feels to stay on a Farm on your own.  The self-catering Farmhouse lies 8 km from Omandumba.  There are 2 rooms inside the house and one room outside. Shitemo and Pontianus will keep the water for the shower warm and will help you with anything you need around the house.  The Farmhouse is situated on its own at the foot of the "Grober Gottlieb Mountain".

Namibia: Statement By Minister of Health and Social Services

Republic of Namibia
Ministry of Health and Social Services

Statement

By

Dr. Richard Nchabi Kamwi, MP
Minister of Health and Social Services

PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE STATUS OF EBOLA PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE CAPACITY
MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES NAMIBIA

12 August 2014

There is no Ebola in Namibia. Indeed there is no Ebola in the SADC Region. 

Ebola is a severe acute viral illness, usually with sudden onset.  It is a zoonotic disease.  Currently the disease is reported in West Africa – Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and recently Nigeria.

There are eleven thousand, seven hundred and eleven (11711) suspected cases and one thousand and seventy (1070) have been confirmed as Ebola and nine hundred and thirty two (932) deaths are reported.
About fifty (50) Health Care workers have been infected, with eighty (80) deaths.  Most cases are reported from Guinea.

Signs and symptoms in humans are flu like illnesses, sudden fever (more than 38 degrees), general body weakness and intense muscle pain, headache, sore throat when swallowing, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting with or without blood, conjuctivitis (red eyes), skin rashes, abdominal pain, hiccups, cough, chest pains and difficulty breathing.

What are the modes of transmission?

The disease is transmitted through direct contact with infected people (person to person) – contact with infected blood, secretions and other body fluids.  The risk of a person transmitting the disease is during the late stages of illness when the patient is vomiting, having diarrhea, or bleeding and during funerals with unprotected body and burial preparations. 

The risk during the early incubation period is low.  Airborne transmission among humans has not been documented usually health care workers and families of the sick patients are regarded as contacts and are at risk of contracting the illness.

Others are mourners who have direct contact with bodies during preparation and burial.

What are the chances of importation of the disease into Namibia?

The chances of a plane from West Africa landing directly at one of our local Airports is non-existent since we have no direct flights from West Africa to Namibia.  All flights go through O.R. Thambo Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa.  The likelihood of these people being detected with thermal detectors in South Africa before proceeding to Hosea Kutako Airport is HIGH. 

Other indirect routes are Luanda, Lusaka and Cape Town.  The Port Health Authorities at ALL major Ports Of Entry are highly sensitized and will be able to link up with Ministry of Health and Social Services in their respective regional health offices.

Currently, the National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee is active and the Contingency Plan has been activated.

The focus now is on Surveillance to be able to detect any importation.
The Ministry of Health officials are ready to investigate rumors and suspected cases. Please let us avoid rumour mongering.

All risk groups such as Health workers, Traditional Healers, cleaners and Ambulance personnel will be trained to be able to deal with the importation of any viral hemorrhagic fever.

Community participation and involvement is required.

Social molibazation activities have been strengthened.  The Ministry has set aside a floor in Windhoek Central Hospital 6 East to be used for treating any importation and is ready for that purpose.
Social Mobilization and Surveillance is ongoing.

Stakeholders and partners such as NAC, AIR NAMIBIA, WHO, CDC, City of Windhoek, NIP, Directorate Customs, Excise and Immigration, Namibian Tourism Board, Port Health and the Media are involved in the response activities.

 The Ministry of Health and Social Services is prepared and the situation is under control.

I am urging the community not to panic.