Day: June 22, 2023

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Sierra Leonean president pledges peace, democracy in general elections

Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, has vowed to hold peaceful and democratic general elections, scheduled for Saturday in the West African country.

In a nationwide address late Tuesday, Bio said his government is committed to ensuring that every citizen can exercise their democratic rights with confidence.

'We firmly believe that matters about electoral justice should be entrusted to our competent courts within Sierra Leone, in strict accordance with the provisions enshrined in our national constitution,' Bio said.

The president revealed that through a series of engagements and dialogues among stakeholders, the security agencies have finalized all security matters and protocols.

Bio reiterated that every citizen has the right to vote in a peaceful and secure environment. 'As the president of our great republic, I have been entrusted with the duty to uphold the democratic principles that guide our nation's progress. Free and fair elections are a legal requirement and a moral obligation.'

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Proper infrastructure needed to effectively carry out police functions: Kawana

Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security Minister, Albert Kawana, has reiterated the importance of having conducive environments for police officers to carry out all necessary police functions.

The minister made these remarks at the inauguration of the new Tutaleni Police Station in Walvis Bay on Wednesday, where he noted that this can only be achieved with the availability of modern infrastructure, proper equipment and relevant knowledge and skills.

“Government ensured that important projects such as this one are realised, which will not only add value to the day-to-day security of the surrounding communities, but will also contribute to the infrastructural map of the Erongo Region. It is important to stress that the existence of police stations alone does not mean anything if they are not supported by a sufficient number of police officers, whose conduct is beyond reproach and who are fully devoted to their career,” he said.

The minister called out corrupt officers, urging the Inspector-General of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) and its entire management to ensure that such dishonest members are relieved of their duties to make way for loyal and patriotic Namibians who will replace them, in conformity with the relevant laws.

“It is unacceptable when we learn about some police officers conniving with criminals and, in some cases, even assisting criminals to escape after other patriotic members of the police have apprehended them for the crimes they committed.”

Meanwhile, NamPol Inspector General, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo, at the same event expressed his disappointment at the discriminatory treatment of citizens due to their tribal or racial backgrounds by some police officers.

Shikongo urged all police officers to desist from all forms of discrimination based particularly on someone’s tribal or racial background.

“We should rededicate ourselves to stand for professionalism and deliver service to all people in Namibia regardless of race, tribal and ethnic linkages,” he said.

The N.dollars 127 million station consists of a charge office; eight holding cells; a boardroom; 23 offices; two blocks of barracks with 40 bedrooms; three houses; two guard houses; service building; small soccer field; parking areas doubling as parade grounds, and a petrol station

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Defeat against Burundi was a bitter pill to swallow: Benjamin

Senior national football team coach Collin Benjamin says the Burundi game is done and dusted and the focus now should be building a team and exposing younger players to more international competitions.

On Tuesday, Namibia lost 2-3 against Burundi in its last African Nations Cup qualifiers in Tanzania. With that defeat, the senior national men’s team will now have to wait for the match between Burundi and Cameroon in September to see if they will be competing at the nations cup finals in Ivory Coast.

In an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, Benjamin said conceding two early goals on Tuesday derailed them from their official plan, but nothing can be done about it now.

“The match was lost, but the battle is not over yet. We will wait for the two teams to play each other. What is left is to rectify what happened in the match at the training ground as these are the same guys that won Cameroon, and one can’t therefore say they are not good enough just two months after winning against one of the best teams on the continent,” he said.

The coach added that some of the positives picked from the match are that the local-based players brought their part, but more needs to be done to help them improve as athletes.

Benjamin further said a few changes will be made for the Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) senior cup challenge squad in order to give exposure to the young players so they can gain experience in playing football at a good level.

“If these young and local players build up international experience, we will have a good team to rely on,” he said.

Benjamin said he trusts all the players called up for national duties, and therefore, a defeat against Burundi cannot change his view on them.

He said the team has 12 days to focus on the young players who need to gain international experience. The Cosafa senior cup challenge is slated for Durban, South Africa from 05 to 16 July 2023.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Mixed results for 3×3 basketball team at World Champs

The Namibian 3x3 basketball team registered mixed results in its unified men’s games at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games underway in Berlin, Germany.

The Namibian team had an impressive performance in its divisioning games since Monday but started its play-off for silverware with an upset against Korea.

Namibia had an impressive start in their medal rankings game but as the game continued, they found it hard to contain the Koreans, who were outscoring them at any given opportunity.

After five minutes of action at the Neptunbrunnen centre, the Korean team collected maximum points with a 16-11 win.

Despite going down in their opening match of the day, the Namibian team dusted themselves off in their second match to outclass Uruguay 9-5 after five minutes of action.

Their last match of the day will be against a high-flying Cuban team who have been causing upsets in the championships with their high-scoring games.

Meanwhile, Namibian cyclist Rodney Stewe, the country’s only gold medallist at the championship thus far in the 5-kilometre (km) cycling event, found the going tough in the 25km race on Thursday.

The Namibian cyclist crossed the finish line in sixth position. Rodney had a mechanical problem in the opening lap of his race after his chain fell off and had no chance to catch up with the rest of the riders when his issue was resolved.

In an interview with Nampa on Thursday, Special Olympics Namibia Country Director Emilia Nzuzi said the athletes have been exceptional and she is happy with their performances.

“Rodney was angry when he crossed the line because of his chain that fell off. Despite all these challenges he did well and we are proud of him. Our basketball team is also doing well and we hope they can win their remaining games so they stand a chance to compete for medals,” she said.

After four days of competition, Team Namibia won three medals: one gold and two silver from athletics track and field events and road cycling. The team is competing in athletics, 3x3 basketball and road cycling.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Meat Industry Act amended to include dairy and poultry products

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, has tabled the amended Livestock and Livestock Products Bill, which aims for the inclusion of dairy and poultry-related products in the Meat Industry Act.

Tabling the amendments to the Meat Industry Act of 1981 in Parliament on Wednesday, Schlettwein said the explicit inclusion of dairy and poultry products in the Meat Industry Act would allow Namibia to develop its dairy and poultry industries through a pro-growth regulatory framework in line with the Namibia Agriculture Policy and Growth at Home Strategy.

He explained that the Act has been amended to also change the name of the Meat Board of Namibia to the proposed name Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia in resonance with the expanded mandate.

“The inclusion of dairy and poultry products in the Meat Industry Act would enable the Meat Board of Namibia to exercise effective management of the importation of dairy and dairy products, as well as poultry meat and meat products and overcome the legal challenges experienced over the past years,” he said.

Schlettwein said Namibia is a net importer of food in general and poultry, dairy and pork in particular, which are part of the basic diet of households across all incomes, stressing that the growth of these sectors in terms of production volume is critical for reducing import reliance, food self-sufficiency and food security.

He further indicated that available data indicates that Namibian consumption is able to support the poultry, dairy and pork industries if these industries can be assisted to grow on the premise that consumer prices are equal to those in the Southern African Customs Union and not to the detriment of consumers.

“The Meat Board of Namibia has already established capacity, competence and experience. Accordingly, the new ‘Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia’ will leverage on its economies of scale to employ incremental resources to facilitate the inclusion and smooth transition of dairy and poultry as controlled products of the Livestock and Livestock Products Bill,” said Schlettwein.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency