Day: January 16, 2024

WINDHOEK: The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has cancelled the spectrum licences granted to UCOM Mobile Namibia, previously known as Mobile Telephone Networks Business Solutions Namibia (MTN).

CRAN in a statement on Monday said the High Court granted a default judgement against UCOM Mobile Namibia on 16 November 2023 as a result of its inability to settle over N.dollars 19.3 million in licence fees following fruitless mediation efforts.

CRAN Chief Executive Officer Emilia Nghikembua in the statement said UCOM Mobile Namibia also failed to efficiently use the allotted spectrum, resulting in spectrum hoarding.

She said non-payment of spectrum fees and hoarding of spectrum constitute a material infringement of the licence requirements and are grounds for licence revocation.

‘Notably, CRAN held extensive conversations with UCOM Mobile Namibia over a period of time to find a durable solution to the compliance issues, but such interactions did not yield any remedial outcomes,’ she added.

C
onsidering the impact of this decision on consumers and UCOM Mobile Namibia, CRAN has granted UCOM a period of six months until June 2024 to facilitate the migration of their approximately 1 000 customers and to conduct an orderly wind-up of their operations. After the stipulated period, all services will be terminated.

‘The authority remains committed to ensure a viable telecommunications market that generates consumer benefits, through the promotion of competition. This commitment will, amongst others, be executed through ensuring regulatory compliance to license conditions and operating parameters, which is the backbone of consumer protection,’ Nghikembua concluded.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

KEETMANSHOOP: The Keetmanshoop Municipality on Tuesday unveiled its budget of N.dollars 296 million for the 2023/2024 financial year, which had received approval from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development.

Presenting the sanctioned budget to residents and councillors, Lee Mwemba, the head of the information and communication technology division at the municipality’s Electricity Business Unit, stated that in comparison to the previous financial year (2022/2023), the budget had increased from N.dollars 255 million to N.dollars 296 million, reflecting a 13.8 per cent increase.

Mwemba went on to explain that approximately N.dollars 291 million would be sourced from residents for the services provided, while N.dollars 5.8 million constitutes a grant from the line ministry. He detailed that out of the N.dollars 296 million, 42.2 per cent, equivalent to over N.dollars 26 million, is allocated to the electricity budget, and 27.5 per cent, equivalent to N.dollars 79 million, is designated for salaries.

Among
the projects slated for completion in the 2023/2024 financial year are the provision of water, sewage, and electricity services to extension 7, construction of 48 houses through the build-together project, the decommissioning of the town’s dumpsite and the establishment of a landfill, and the enhancement of the water network in the Kronlien residential area.

Mwemba highlighted that factors influencing the approved budget include an increase in bunk tariffs, the town’s growing population, aging infrastructure in the electricity, water, and sewage networks, unemployment, and inflation rates, among other considerations.

As the outgoing municipal acting chief executive officer, Mwemba urged residents to persist in paying their municipal bills, emphasizing that this is crucial for the municipality to fulfill its commitments.

‘What we are presenting here is not actual funds; we are just projecting what we will do if we get the money. So, if all these are not done, do not blame the municipality because we need th
e money from you to deliver all these services,’ he clarified.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

KATIMA MULILO: State Prosecutor in the Zambezi Region, Bruna Mukoya, said there are many cases of domestic violence and elderly abuse which need to be addressed urgently in the region.

Speaking at the public hearings on the petition on sexual, gender-based violence and femicide at Katima Mulilo on Monday, Mukoya stressed that some domestic violence cases have received undeserving verdicts due to a lack of human resources and proper investigations, which at the end of the day sees them being thrown out.

‘We don’t have victim-friendly facilities to house and protect these victims,’ Mukoya stated.

Giving statistics from the police’s records, Namibian Police Force (NamPol) Detective, Warrant Officer Harris Mwangu, revealed that over 700 cases of domestic violence, dating back to January 2022, are yet to be resolved in the Zambezi Region. Mwangu added that most of the reported cases are between boyfriend and girlfriend or spouses, and that alcohol is usually involved.

‘Our bars and alcohol outlets operate unti
l late, mostly from morning to next morning. This also contributes to alcohol abuse and domestic abuse,’ Mwangu added

Other causes of domestic violence and sexual abuse, according to the police report, include child maintenance and drug abuse.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare registered cases of child neglect and baby dumping to be on the rise in the region, with five cases of baby dumping having been reported in 2023 in Katima Mulilo alone. One of the main reasons for this, according to a social worker In the ministry, Memory Matengu, is due to a lack of emotional and financial support from the father’s side. Matengu also highlighted that the issue of street kids remains an area of concern.

‘The ministry has been addressing the issue but these are children that have adapted to the lifestyle on the street, which means that they go to school in the morning and go back on the streets in the afternoon,’ she said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency