The University of Namibia (UNAM) Athletics Club held a successful inter-club track and field competition at Independence Stadium on Tuesday.
The event saw a total of 11 clubs participate with over 90 athletes competing under rainy and windy conditions.
UNAM Club secretary, Meriam Minin said the event was a success despite the wet and windy conditions, which the organisers feared would scare the athletes away.
“The event was well-attended by clubs from the Khomas Region. No new records were set but quite a few athletes did manage to set their own personal best times during the meeting,” she said.
She added that they are looking forward to the next event, which should take place in March, where athletics clubs from all over the country will participate.
In the women’s 100 metre (m) dash, Johanna Ludgerus of Namibian Correctional Service clocked 12.68 seconds to beat national under-20 4x100m team member Nandi Vass of UNAM AC, who came in second in a time of 12.74s.
The third place went to Hanganeni Fikunawa of UNAM AC whose time was 12.78s.
Vass won the 200m event (26.05s) ahead of Fikunawa (26.91) and another UNAM teammate, Jade Nangula (26.96).
In the men’s 100m dash, Gilbert Hainuca of NUST Welwitschia 77 AC (10.66s) won ahead of Onesmus Nekundi of UNAM (10.83s) and Even Tjiuiju of NCS (10.90s) in third.
In the 200m, Tjiuiju won the event (22.05s) ahead of Mahmad Bock (22.15s) and Nekundi (22.25s).
Below are some of the results from the event
400m Men race
Festus Kandimba 51.05s UNAM AC
Mathew Angula 51.35s UNAM AC
Andreas Kakeje 52.74s UNAM AC
Wheelchair athletes
Roodly Gowaseb 1 minute (m):10.99s Namib Lions
Nico Kharuxab 1m:13.76s Namib Lions
400m Women event
Salmi Nduviteko 1m:03.92s Namibian Police AC
Kaekua Hengua (Para Athlete T13) 1:05.11s Namib Lions
Cornelia Goreses 1:05.34s UNAM AC
Women Long Jump
Finals
Frieda Iithete 5.42m UNAM
Fabiola Rukoro 4.55m UNAM
Lilie Kasheeta 4.33m Lions
Men Shot Put
Andre van Zyl 10.10m Eran Athletics
Hope Katjihingua 8.52m UNAM
Simon Shihepo 7.91m Lions
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
Annual housing production a drop in the ocean: Uutoni
Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, said the high cost of land servicing and slow implementation of housing delivery have caused the annual housing production to be a drop in the ocean.
Uutoni made these remarks on Wednesday during a stakeholder’s consultative workshop for the revision of the national housing policy and the development of the national strategy for informal settlement upgrading in Windhoek.
He said the slow pace and cost of land servicing, capacity shortages at all levels of implementation, coupled with high input costs in the formal housing sector, result in a low annual housing output, while the larger crisis of affordability is compounded by the continued economic downturn and fiscal constraint further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government’s commitment towards increasing opportunities for and scaling up the provision of affordable urban land and housing and access to proper sanitation has been re-emphasised, seeking to consolidate and expand the gains made in achieving the HPP I Social Progression Pillar targets, said Uutoni.
“Long- standing government initiatives have yielded some results, such as the Mass Housing Development Programme launched under the leadership of former President Hifikepunye Pohamba in November 2013 as an intervention aimed at reducing the housing backlog in the country,” he noted.
He added that despite positive initiatives, the challenges of affordability and scale remain formidable while the government is expected to take the lead in creating the enabling environment towards the realisation of the Harambee Prosperity Plan II and National Development Plan targets, as well as the larger Vision 2030.
“It is a known fact that government alone will not be able to address the housing shortage in the country. Firstly, this requires a team effort in the spirit of Harambee, where government, the private sector and civil society put all hands on deck. Secondly, it requires re-thinking and broadening our strategies in ways that enable the delivery of serviced land and housing initiatives for the largest possible majority,” stated Uutoni.
He further said that developing sound policy instruments is not the end in itself but an important way of aligning efforts and responsibilities that need to be timeously monitored and evaluated to ensure effectiveness and allow for continuous learning and improvement of strategies.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
