SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR. HAGE GEINGOB, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA AT THE OCCASION OF THE MAY DAY COMMEMORATION, KUISEBMUND SPORT STADIUM/WALVIS BAY, MAY 1, 2015
It is my privilege to join you, today here in one of our hardest working towns, the Town of Walvis Bay. This is a day we celebrate and honour those men and women whose hard work and labour drives our economic development.
"No society has any right to forget it's workers, because they are the real heroes of society!" Those are the words once uttered by novelist Mehmet Murat Ildan.
So we are here today because Namibia does not forget its workers. We do not forget your sacrifice, discipline, perseverance, commitment and most importantly your patriotism and commitment to a better future not only for your families but for the family of the Namibian House. It is with this in mind that I accepted this invitation from the National Union of Namibian Workers to join our workers here today to celebrate and emphasize the importance and value of May Day or Workers Day.
During his intervention at the Extra-Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, President Geingob thanked the people and Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe for the warm hospitality accorded to him and his delegation.
He also thanked those SADC leaders present who attended Namibia's Jubilee Celebration of Independence and his inauguration as the third President of Namibia.
President Geingob emphasized the importance for delegates to do justice to the work of the SADC Secretariat by taking the documents back to their countries and disseminating the information to relevant stakeholders in order to preempt immediate action and implementation. In this regard, the President informed the meeting that he will ensure that seminars featuring relevant institutions are organized upon his return to Namibia in order to ensure that the decisions taken at the Summit are implemented.
photo source: New Era
(...) I would like to commence my address, by extending my warmest congratulations to you, Honorable Katjavivi, on your election as Speaker of our sixth Parliament. Let me also use this opportunity to thank our foremost diplomat and former Speaker, Dr. Theo Ben Gurirab, who has acquitted himself exceptionally well in all the roles assigned to him. Equally, allow me to mention the former Prime Minister, Honourable Nahas Angula, who has left Parliament after helping to draft the constitution and serving Parliament since Namibia‟s independence. In the same vein, I bid farewell to the former Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Marco Hausiku and Honourable Katutiire Kaura, two founding Parliamentarians who have retired from this august house.
I am pleased to note that the State of the Nation Address is coinciding with the 1st session of the sixth Parliament. I would also like to extend a warm word of congratulations to the newly elected members of Parliament, especially first time Parliamentarians. It is gratifying to note that this Parliament is the most diverse since Independence. The number of first time MPs is 49% percent. We look forward to fresh perspectives and robust debate. Click here to read the full address
For easy reference, please click on the below titel to access Namibia's Industrial Policy and the Growth at Home Strategy, referred to in the President's speech.
Namibia's Budget 2015
Southern Times, 01/04/2015, by Magreth Nunuhe
Windhoek – Parents will no longer have to pay school fees for their children attending Namibian public schools as from next year, the new Minister of Finance, Calle Schlettwein revealed in Parliament yesterday to a resounding applause when he tabled the national budget for 2015/2016.
This welcoming news comes just two years after the Namibian government introduced free primary education for Grades 1 to 7 in 2013, as from next year Grades 8 to 12 will also not have to pay school fees.
"For basic education, we shall be able to provide both primary and secondary education for free with this allocation. Access to tertiary education will be further expanded through a formula based funding and enhanced financial assistance to students," Schlettwein
Schlettwein made the announcement just on the heels of an earlier surprise by President Hage Geingob who revealed at State House that government has increased old-age pension from N$600 (US$50) to N$1000 (approximately U$83 at current exchange rate).