Day: July 3, 2024

When Onelago village resident Andreas Nduutapo recently left his home to watch a soccer match at a nearby bar, little did he know his night would take an unexpected turn.

The 29-year-old was on his way back home around 23h00 when he decided to take a shortcut near a local cemetery and heard the piercing cry of a baby.

‘The first thing that came into my mind was saving the baby from the cold,’ he said.

Upon closer inspection, Nduutapo realised that someone had abandoned their baby in the cemetery.

Despite his fear of the unknown, Nduupato took her into his arms and walked to a nearby house to ask if anyone knew the baby, but no one could identify her.

He then went back to the bar where he watched soccer, desperately searching for someone who might know the baby or her family, but to no avail.

‘We then called the police’s toll-free number with the hope of being directed to the nearest police station for the baby to be rescued and receive medical attention,’ he said.

While waiting for the police to arrive
, all he could think of was keeping the baby warm.

Nduupato stressed that his goal was to save the baby as she was left in the cemetery without blankets or food, only the clothes she was wearing at the time – a blue babygrow, pink shirt, and blue beanie.

The Namibian Police Force’s Head of Community Policing for Oshana, Chief Inspector Thomas Aiyambo, revealed that the baby girl is believed to be eight months old, is the second case of baby dumping in the region this year.

The first incident involved a 21-year-old woman employed as a nanny who gave birth to a baby boy in March, wrapped the infant in a yellow dress and plastic bag and placed him in a dust bin.

In that case, the baby was found by employees of the Oshakati Town Council.

Aiyambo said the baby girl found last week is safe and sound and the police are working around the clock to locate her mother. If the mother is not found, the baby will be left in the care of her grandmother, who was recently traced.

These are but two babies out of many dum
ped in Namibia yearly.

Approached for comment, Chief Social Worker in the Oshana Region, Monika Erasmus indicated that most baby dumping cases are a result of social, economic and cultural factors.

‘In many cases, women dump their newborn babies because of rejection from the babies’ fathers, fear of responsibility due to financial limitations and beliefs that they are not supposed to bear children before marriage,’ she said.

She said that back in the days, being pregnant before marriage was seen as taboo and this belief persists.

She then advised mothers who are unable to take care of their newborn babies to take them to the Oshakati State Hospital, police stations, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, or to hand them over to family members who are in a better position to take care of the babies. She explained that officials have no right to refuse taking in the babies.

She further said women should be educated on how to prevent unwanted pregnancies to avoid more baby dumping cases.

‘Women
must be educated to prevent incidents of baby dumping. We must encourage our women to abstain from sex or protect themselves. Sex will always be there,’ she added.

She stressed that parents should also start having conversations with their children on sex education to ensure that awareness is raised in the home.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Social media giant, Meta, has officially announced the expansion of its monetization features to Ghana to provide opportunities for content creators to rake in money from their talents.

This follows days of rumours about Meta’s decision to expand its monetization features and include Ghana on the list of countries eligible for monetisation.

In a statement issued by Ghana’s Minister of Information, Ms Fatimatu Abubakar in Accra on Tuesday, said the new monetisation strategy would allow content creators in Ghana to earn a share of the revenue from Facebook’s in-stream ads, providing an opportunity for financial gains when Meta places ads alongside their content.

Additionally, Meta plans to introduce ads on Facebook reels, further expanding revenue options for content creators, the statement added.

‘Later this year, these monetisation features will also be extended to Instagram, offering a broader platform for creators to benefit from their digital content, ‘it stated.

To participate in this programme, the
statement said content creators must comply with Meta’s stringent Partner Monetization Policies and Content Monetization Policies.

The initiative aims to enable Ghanaian content creators to generate income locally from their online activities, enhancing their ability to effectively manage digital businesses/

The Ministry of Information lauded Meta’s investment and recognised it as a significant milestone in advancing Ghana’s digital economy.

The statement indicated that the expansion of these monetization tools would create new opportunities for Ghanaian talented creators and support the growth of Ghana’s digital economy.

The Ministry had expressed optimism about the potential impact of Meta’s expanded features, emphasising the importance of continued collaboration to promote digital innovation in Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Social media giant, Meta, has officially announced the expansion of its monetization features to Ghana to provide opportunities for content creators to rake in money from their talents.

This follows days of rumours about Meta’s decision to expand its monetization features and include Ghana on the list of countries eligible for monetisation.

In a statement issued by Ghana’s Minister of Information, Ms Fatimatu Abubakar in Accra on Tuesday, said the new monetisation strategy would allow content creators in Ghana to earn a share of the revenue from Facebook’s in-stream ads, providing an opportunity for financial gains when Meta places ads alongside their content.

Additionally, Meta plans to introduce ads on Facebook reels, further expanding revenue options for content creators, the statement added.

‘Later this year, these monetisation features will also be extended to Instagram, offering a broader platform for creators to benefit from their digital content, ‘it stated.

To participate in this programme, the
statement said content creators must comply with Meta’s stringent Partner Monetization Policies and Content Monetization Policies.

The initiative aims to enable Ghanaian content creators to generate income locally from their online activities, enhancing their ability to effectively manage digital businesses/

The Ministry of Information lauded Meta’s investment and recognised it as a significant milestone in advancing Ghana’s digital economy.

The statement indicated that the expansion of these monetization tools would create new opportunities for Ghanaian talented creators and support the growth of Ghana’s digital economy.

The Ministry had expressed optimism about the potential impact of Meta’s expanded features, emphasising the importance of continued collaboration to promote digital innovation in Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The two employees of the Central Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Cenored) who were arrested on Tuesday on allegations of fraud and forgery appeared in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court Wednesday morning.

The accused are Rusten Kahuure, 43, and 50-year-old Dominikus Ndumba.

Kahuure works as a procurement officer for the company, while Ndumba is a debtors clerk.

Both appeared before Otjiwarongo Magistrate, Tuandamuje Mukumbo, who explained their legal rights to apply for a lawyer through the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Aid Directorate; acquire the services of a private lawyer or defend themselves in court.

Kahuure indicated that he would engage a private lawyer, while Ndumba opted for self defence.

Public prosecutor Joas Neemwatja, who represented State in the matter, did not oppose any bail application as long as it was in the amount of N.dollars 10 000.

Both accused said the proposed N.dollars 10 000 was unaffordable for them, and asked for a reduction.

Magistrate Mukumbo then granted them
bail of N.dollars 5 000 each.

Their case was postponed to 05 September 2024 to allow for further police investigations.

The court was informed that Kahuure and Ndumba allegedly played a major role in a fraud syndicate at Cenored in between 2021 and 2022, where several company managers were implicated, and were suspended.

Some of the managers have so far returned to work, while the 36-year-old Mateus Fungo, suspected to be the key figure in the fraud, resigned from the company in 2023.

Fungo also appeared before the court on Wednesday, alongside Kahuure and Ndumba.

He told the court that his private lawyer based in Windhoek will attend court on 05 September this year during their next court appearance.

Fungo was employed as a systems administrator and allegedly played a key role in defrauding Cenored of about N.dollars 12 million between September 2021 and December 2022.

He resigned in January 2023 and now runs his own companies in the Kavango East, Zambezi and Otjozondjupa regions.

Fungo is also out o
n N.dollars 5 000 bail.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The two employees of the Central Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Cenored) who were arrested on Tuesday on allegations of fraud and forgery appeared in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court Wednesday morning.

The accused are Rusten Kahuure, 43, and 50-year-old Dominikus Ndumba.

Kahuure works as a procurement officer for the company, while Ndumba is a debtors clerk.

Both appeared before Otjiwarongo Magistrate, Tuandamuje Mukumbo, who explained their legal rights to apply for a lawyer through the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Aid Directorate; acquire the services of a private lawyer or defend themselves in court.

Kahuure indicated that he would engage a private lawyer, while Ndumba opted for self defence.

Public prosecutor Joas Neemwatja, who represented State in the matter, did not oppose any bail application as long as it was in the amount of N.dollars 10 000.

Both accused said the proposed N.dollars 10 000 was unaffordable for them, and asked for a reduction.

Magistrate Mukumbo then granted them
bail of N.dollars 5 000 each.

Their case was postponed to 05 September 2024 to allow for further police investigations.

The court was informed that Kahuure and Ndumba allegedly played a major role in a fraud syndicate at Cenored in between 2021 and 2022, where several company managers were implicated, and were suspended.

Some of the managers have so far returned to work, while the 36-year-old Mateus Fungo, suspected to be the key figure in the fraud, resigned from the company in 2023.

Fungo also appeared before the court on Wednesday, alongside Kahuure and Ndumba.

He told the court that his private lawyer based in Windhoek will attend court on 05 September this year during their next court appearance.

Fungo was employed as a systems administrator and allegedly played a key role in defrauding Cenored of about N.dollars 12 million between September 2021 and December 2022.

He resigned in January 2023 and now runs his own companies in the Kavango East, Zambezi and Otjozondjupa regions.

Fungo is also out o
n N.dollars 5 000 bail.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Mr Richard Jakpa, a Businessman in the Ambulance trial, involving Dr Ato Forson, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, says the ambulance contract was tailor made to meet the government specifications.

He said this was because the contract was drafted by the government and not Big Sea Trading LLC, the suppliers of the ambulance.

Answering questions in a cross-examination led by Mr Godfred Dame Yeboah, the Attorney General, Mr Jakpa said the contract was reviewed by the then Office of the Attorney-General and approved for the government to go ahead.

Dr Forson, Dr. Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health and Jakpa are charged with causing financial loss to the State.

The State later filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the charges leveled against Dr Anemana, who is currently out of the country for medical treatment.

Dr Forson was granted a self-recognisance bail of GHS3million for allegedly wilfully causing financial loss of 2,370,000 euros to the State.

He is also facing an a
dditional charge of ‘Intentionally misapplying public property contrary to section 1 (2) of the Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD140).’

He said so for the AG to now say that a portion of the contract does not confer with the specifications should not be blamed on Big Sea but rather if there is any problem, AG should take the blame.

The accused person said the contract went through all the approvals, including both Cabinet and Parliament all through to the Public Procurement Authority.

He said all those approval processes went through due diligence to ensure that the contract adhered to all specifications.

But the AG disagreed with the accused person showing some documentation to indicate that approval was not given to Big Sea Trading LLC by both Cabinet and Parliament.

Mr Jakpa said the contract was drafted by the government and the evaluation for the cost was done by the government and after the Ministry of Health had satisfied itself that they were getting value for their money.

‘That Parliam
ent both NPP and NDC voted for the project according to their conscience after approving the technical specifications,’ he added.

The Prosecution said 2.3million euros of the total same as profit was paid under the Ambulance contract to Jakpa and Big Sea that was why they did not deliver to the State the right Ambulances, but the accused person disagreed.

‘What the AG is saying is false because the project went through various approvals, negotiations and the first proposal submitted to the government was in 2010,’ he added.

Mr Jakpa said it was not true that Big Sea General Trading LLC received payment before the delivery of the Ambulances at the port of entry, adding that there was no payment made to Big Sea General Trading LLC on November 26, 2014.

He said the Attorney-General was interpreting the technical issues in the contract wrongly.

He said the letter from Madam Sherry Ayittey,a former Minister for Health of Ghana, stopping the production of the ambulances was followed by Big Sea General Trading
LLC letter, informing the government of causing financial loss to the State.

The Prosecution said the Ministry of Health never requested from the Ministry of Finance authorizing the establishment of a Letter of Credit, but the accused person said there was an authorization through the legal opinion by the AG.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Richard Jakpa, a Businessman in the Ambulance trial, involving Dr Ato Forson, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, says the ambulance contract was tailor made to meet the government specifications.

He said this was because the contract was drafted by the government and not Big Sea Trading LLC, the suppliers of the ambulance.

Answering questions in a cross-examination led by Mr Godfred Dame Yeboah, the Attorney General, Mr Jakpa said the contract was reviewed by the then Office of the Attorney-General and approved for the government to go ahead.

Dr Forson, Dr. Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health and Jakpa are charged with causing financial loss to the State.

The State later filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the charges leveled against Dr Anemana, who is currently out of the country for medical treatment.

Dr Forson was granted a self-recognisance bail of GHS3million for allegedly wilfully causing financial loss of 2,370,000 euros to the State.

He is also facing an a
dditional charge of ‘Intentionally misapplying public property contrary to section 1 (2) of the Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD140).’

He said so for the AG to now say that a portion of the contract does not confer with the specifications should not be blamed on Big Sea but rather if there is any problem, AG should take the blame.

The accused person said the contract went through all the approvals, including both Cabinet and Parliament all through to the Public Procurement Authority.

He said all those approval processes went through due diligence to ensure that the contract adhered to all specifications.

But the AG disagreed with the accused person showing some documentation to indicate that approval was not given to Big Sea Trading LLC by both Cabinet and Parliament.

Mr Jakpa said the contract was drafted by the government and the evaluation for the cost was done by the government and after the Ministry of Health had satisfied itself that they were getting value for their money.

‘That Parliam
ent both NPP and NDC voted for the project according to their conscience after approving the technical specifications,’ he added.

The Prosecution said 2.3million euros of the total same as profit was paid under the Ambulance contract to Jakpa and Big Sea that was why they did not deliver to the State the right Ambulances, but the accused person disagreed.

‘What the AG is saying is false because the project went through various approvals, negotiations and the first proposal submitted to the government was in 2010,’ he added.

Mr Jakpa said it was not true that Big Sea General Trading LLC received payment before the delivery of the Ambulances at the port of entry, adding that there was no payment made to Big Sea General Trading LLC on November 26, 2014.

He said the Attorney-General was interpreting the technical issues in the contract wrongly.

He said the letter from Madam Sherry Ayittey,a former Minister for Health of Ghana, stopping the production of the ambulances was followed by Big Sea General Trading
LLC letter, informing the government of causing financial loss to the State.

The Prosecution said the Ministry of Health never requested from the Ministry of Finance authorizing the establishment of a Letter of Credit, but the accused person said there was an authorization through the legal opinion by the AG.

Source: Ghana News Agency

WINDHOEK: Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Albert Kawana on Wednesday stated that Namibia will not recognise same-sex marriages, as the country’s values, traditions and customs are anchored in Christianity.

Kawana was motivating the Marriage Bill in the National Assembly, following the passing of two private members bills by Swapo parliamentarian, Jerry Ekandjo, addressing same sex marriage. This is after the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, ordered for the recognition of same sex marriages contracted outside Namibia.

‘Therefore, it is imperative that legislative reforms must be put in place in order to make it categorically clear and beyond any shadow of doubt that same sex marriages should not be recognised in Namibia because they are contrary to the cultural norms, tradition, ideology and religious beliefs of the Namibian people. A number of laws will have to be amended or repealed in order to clearly define the words marriage and spouse,’ Kawana told lawmakers on Tuesday
.

Kawana stressed the need for a new law to regulate civil marriages in Namibia and to repeal the Marriage Act of 1961 (Act No. 25 of 1961), including all its subsequent amendments.

The proposed Bill will also introduce a pre-solemnisation process, which will compel couples intending to marry to give a three-month notice to government. This process will enable government to confirm if the couple is eligible to marry.

Reacting to the minister’s speech, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and Queer (LGBTQ) activist, Linda Baumann, in an interview with Nampa said that the Bill, if enacted, would be a setback for the community as it would overturn a significant legal recognition of the Supreme Court ruling.

‘The minister’s position appears to be driven by a combination of political, social and cultural factors. They are basically setting aside the rights of same sex couples. The Bill will definitely foster increased marginalisation and discrimination against the LGBTQ community,’ she said.

Source: The Namibi
a Press Agency