Herbert Jauch

2 months ago | africasacountry.com | Herbert Jauch |Ruth Castel-Branco |Chris Webb

The passing of Namibia’s founding president and long-time leader of the SWAPO Party, Sam Shafiishuna Nujoma, on February 8, 2025, at the age of 95, ends the era of arguably the most influential political figure in Namibia’s history. Born in the village of Etunda in the Omusati region of Northern Namibia, Nujoma became a young contract worker on the railways.

Dec 20, 2024 | namibian.com.na | Herbert Jauch

Namibia’s first woman president will face a baptism of fire when she assumes office. She will be confronted by Namibia’s long-standing structural crises of massive unemployment, widespread starvation wages, inequality, poverty and the devastating effects of climate change. Having been part of the government since independence, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (NNN) has deep insights into the workings of the executive and its shortcomings that contributed to the perpetuation of multiple crises.

Nov 16, 2024 | namibian.com.na | Herbert Jauch

Last week, political researcher Frederico Links presented a comparison of the manifestos of four political parties likely to be the leading ones in this month’s elections. Reading party manifestos with their repetitive slogans and flowery language is hardly exciting but, as Links noted, this is “what we have to start with when considering who to vote for” (The Namibian, 8 November).

Jun 9, 2024 | namibian.com.na | Herbert Jauch

After 34 years of independence, Namibia has finally announced the introduction of a national minimum wage. Although some employers will be quick to criticise the proposed minimum wage as unaffordable and may even threaten retrenchments, a national minimum wage is long overdue. Namibia’s labour market is still characterised by very low wages and widespread exploitative practices.