N$4
namib times
SERVING THE COASTAL COMMUNITY SINCE 1958 NO 6780 FRIDAY 24 AUGUST 2018 Tel: +264 64 - 205854 / +264 64 - 461866 /Fax: +264 64 - 204813 / 064 - 461824 / Website: www.namibtimes.net
School bus stolen
inside
Long Beach No Fishing eyesore Page 2
Sewerage floods guesthouse The school minibus of Arandis Primary School was stolen from it’s storage shed on Tuesday. The Toyota Quantum (N12867S) was parked in the storage shed last Friday at 11:35 when it was used the last time. The school discovered with shock and dismay on Tuesday that an unknown person or group stole the vehicle. The Namibian Police’s crime investigation coordinator in Erongo, Deputy Commissioner Erastus Iikuyu, confirmed the incident. He urged the public to be on the lookout for the vehicle and to report to the nearest police station should any person spot the vehicle, or have any information that can lead to the location of the vehicle and the suspects. Detective Chief Inspector Viljoen (081 756 4428) is in charge of the investigation and can also be contacted directly.
Residents of Langstrand say they simply had enough of the eyesore, the partly-completed Ocean Keys multi-storey development. What should have now been a twelve storey apartment complex with commercial space at the ground level is an eyesore that decays in the harsh coastal weather. The corrugated iron fence around the building site fell over in recent days, waiting to injure someone using the seaside walkway.
Page 3
Locker vom Hocker
Community Service could now save you from a stay at “the Government Hotel” Rudi Bowe A total of 547 offenders are currently serving prison sentences of twelve months or less in various Namibian correctional facilities, and would cost Correctional Services a total of N$1,2 million. And that is exactly why the Department of Correctional Services is engaging several Government ministries now to institute a mandatory community service period for inmates serving sentences of twelve months or less for less serious offences. This system is anticipated to come into force by November in the Erongo Region. A consultative meeting took place yesterday between the Department of Correctional Services
(Ministry of Safety and Security) and the Ministries ofEducation, Arts and Culture, Health and
Social Services, and Gender Equality and Child Welfare, the Office of the Prosecutor-General and the
Office of the Judiciary, to discuss the coming to Erongo of mandatory community service for offenders sentenced to twelve months or less. In a presentation by Deputy Commissioner Natacha Booysen of the Department of Correctional Services, it cost Government an average of N$2 248-48 per month to accommodate a male inmate
in any Namibian correctional facility. The monthly cost for a female prisoner is N$2 215-01. Should offenders serving sentences of twelve months or less for less serious offences be given community service instead of a prison sentence, it could dramatically reduce cost, she explained. Apart from cost saving to Government, there
are other benefits too, explained Deputy Commissioner Booysen. The offender can continue to look after his or her household after serving the mandatory hours per day, they remain integrated in society and there is less risk of coming into contact with entrenched criminals serving sentences who could influence these “soft” Continues on page 2
Page 17
Cycling AntiDoping measures
Page 28