Month: March 2024

OSHAKATI: Eemhunda residents in the Okalongo Constituency were left destitute after a strong storm and rain destroyed their homes, business premises and mahangu fields on Wednesday night. Rafael Eduardo, 67, told Nampa on Thursday that the storm destroyed many of their properties and mahangu fields. According to Eduardo, many of the zinc sheets that were blown off buildings were found a distance from the houses. 'I was left now fixing the zinc sheets back that were blown away by the storm even though they are really damaged,' he said. He added that with their mahangu fields completely destroyed, they are worried that they will not have a harvest. Another resident, Pendukeni Hifindako, 38, indicated that the storm affected his business badly resulting in damage of materials and equipment that will be costly for him. 'My welding machines and other materials were damaged and getting my business off the ground once again will be costly for me,' he said. At this stage, Hifindako said the total value of the damage is unknown as he will have to assess the matter. 'I do not know what to do now, this business was my livelihood and I have lost everything in the blink of a night,' he said. Okalongo Constituency councillor, Laurentius Iipinge, said he is aware of the matter and will be writing a report to the Office of the Omusati Region Governor, which will then be sent to the Office of the Prime Minister for further intervention. At this stage, Iipinge indicated that his office has no aid to help the affected residents. 'We are waiting for the traditional authority to provide us with a detailed report as to how many homesteads were destroyed,' he said. Iipinge said that once the report is issued they will know how many people were already registered for drought relief and the rest will be added on the list as their mahangu field was destroyed. Source: Namibia Press Agency

OTJIWARONGO: Learners of the Orwetoveni Primary School, Karundu Junior Secondary School and Monica Geingos Junior Secondary School on Friday afternoon gathered at Otjiwarongo's central businesses district to celebrate World Wildlife Day. The 2024 World Wildlife Day at Otjiwarongo was jointly organised by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and Otjikoto B2Gold Mine's environmental department. The three institutions each asked learners questions about the general environment, positions of charging carnivores, relaxed herbivores and names of various trees and animals. CCF lead environmental educator, Ignatius Davids at the event said World Wildlife Day is an important annual occasion at CCF as this provides an opportunity for them to celebrate and raise awareness about the world's fauna and flora. 'Therefore, this day is very important as most of the environmentalists across the world and staff members of CCF who look after a total of about 30 wild cheetahs at the farm would come together yearly and celebrate their achievements in conservations,' he said. The school learners then held dancing competitions under the theme 'Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation.' The three schools also had poster competitions, interactive exhibitions and community engagement initiatives with a purpose to help educate and inspire the local community members here about the importance of preserving and protecting wildlife. Source: Namibia Press Agency

RUNDU: The suspected food poisoning incident at Rundu that claimed the lives of two children and left five hospitalised has claimed another life as a 12-year-old boy died at the Rundu State Hospital on Thursday. This was confirmed in an update by Namibian Police Force (NamPol) acting commander for the Kavango East Region, Deputy Commissioner Eino Nambahu, on Friday. 'One of the children from the suspected food poisoning passed on last night as his two siblings remain in critical condition,' stated Nambahu. It is alleged that the family prepared porridge with traditional spinach known as mutete for lunch. After lunch, one of the elder kids reportedly complained of stomach ache. Later around 19h00 that day, seven-year-old Elfriede Nangombe Shinyemba started vomiting, felt weak and died. Nambahu said police from Ndiyona Constituency, where the incident happened, together with medical personnel from the Nyangana District Hospital, departed to the scene and found Shinyemba deceased, while others were vomiting and in a weak state. 'The medical personnel started giving first aid to try and stabilise their condition,' he said. The seven kids were immediately rushed to the Nyangana District Hospital and later transferred to the Rundu State Hospital. While being transferred to the Rundu State Hospital, the youngest of the seven kids, one-year-old Melania Nahambo Likuwa died. Nambahu indicated that a team from NamPol and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in the region departed to the homestead of the eight children in Ndiyona to assess the situation. He said all the necessary samples were collected and taken for laboratory tests. Source: Namibia Press Agency