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namib times
SERVING THE COASTAL COMMUNITY SINCE 1958 NO 6890 FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2020 Tel: +264 64 - 205854 / +264 64 - 461866 /Fax: +264 64 - 204813 / 064 - 461824 / Website: www.namibtimes.net
inside Hake industry a source of pride
Election day not a public holiday 25 November 2020, election day, will not be a public holiday, a senior official of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) confirmed this week. Voters are urged to plan ahead to be able to vote next Wednesday in the Regional Council and Local Authority Elections. Employers are also urged to allow employees on Wednesday to take time off and vote. Fixed voting stations open at 07:00 to 21:00. Voters are advised to take along a hat and water. Find in today’s edition an insert on the complete list of voting points (and their opening and closing times). as well as other crucial information regarding the elections.
Opposition parties heckle proceedings:
Mayor’s farewell speech turns into embarassing questions for Swapo For the Walvis Bay Town Council, business will never be the same again. That is if things are judged by the unprecedented events that marked the last council meeting at the Kuisebmond Council Chambers on Tuesday night. The meeting started on its familiar tone, but when the Mayor Alderman Immanuel Wilfried delivered his farewell statement, members of the public started to heckle him from the public gallery. Mayor Wilfried has not made himself available for re-election and bids the town council farewell after more than two decades as Councillor and also a five year period serving as citizen number one. No one seemed interested to listen the mayor’s farewell speech. Instead, the members of the public demanded answers over N$24 million that has gone missing during a housing scheme the municipality had to carry out on behalf of Government. Others shouted questions to the mayor over the Swapo majority Council’s failure to provide people with decent housing. Others accused Council of only managing Walvis Bay for the pockets of Swapo cronies, who are the only ones to benefit from public tenders, high value land and lucrative public projects. One man was overheard shouting to the mayor the upcoming elections will see opposition parties entering Council and that it would spell the end of
Swapo’s way of “managing Walvis Bay’s affairs from behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny”. The heckling interrupted proceedings several times, and at one stage both mayor Wilfried and Councillors made errors of judgment by replying to the hecklers and trying to get into counter arguments with the people on the gallery. After the Council meeting, Namib Times posed questions to some of the members of the public who attended the proceedings. “Things will never be the same again in the governance of Walvis Bay. For too long the Walvis Bay Town Council operated as an exclusive club for Swapo cronies. That came at the expense of our rate payers and at the expense of the development of our town”, summed up a member of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC). Other parties seen on the public galleries were the Affirmative Repositioning Movement (AR), Landless People’s Movement (LPM), the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Joint Walvis Bay Residents Association (JWRA), all taking part in next Wednesday’s elections. Also see article in today’s edition: “AR lays criminal charges against Walvis Municipality.”
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Critical shortage of blood - Namibians called upon to become donors The Namibian Blood Transfusion Services (NAMBTS) is calling upon Namibians to come out in numbers to donate blood, as the country is facing a severe shortage. NAMBTS says the critical shortage of blood can mainly be laid at the doorstep of Covid-19, as during the lockdowns and restrictions, blood collections countrywide were severely influenced. NAMBTS issued the following statement: “The blood donation ecosystem has been affected by COVID-19. Blood collections have dropped significantly, with NAMBTS currently only having three days of bloodstock throughout the whole country. With December fast approaching and blood levels being low, it is a crucial time for the service to collect enough blood to be able to meet demand. “The December period leading into January is always a difficult time to collect blood as donors are busy preparing for holidays and then start traveling. This year has presented even more challenges as that there is a significant decline in blood collections even before the holidays have commenced. Blood stock levels are already low leading into this crucial time of the year when we synonymously experience blood shortages and trauma incidents rise across the country”, said Zita Tobin, Manager: Donor Recruitment and PR for Continues on page 2
World PreMaturity Day
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Criminal case opened against Municipality
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