In African countries, the informal sector is an important provider of goods and services to locals in urban and rural areas. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says in Africa close to 83% of jobs and 85% in sub-Saharan Africa…

Hastening the pace of industrialisation has been on the country’s economic development agenda since the dawn of nationhood, but value-addition targets remain out of reach. As pundits frequently highlight: Namibia produces what it doesn’t consume and consumes what it doesn’t…

The signs were always there that the inevitable would happen, but Covid-19 was the disrupter that changed consumers’ buying habits. To minimise the risk of the pandemic spreading, consumers were forced to change the way they shopped. It was no…

There were earlier warnings, but when it finally arrived on 23 February, the greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was a serious wake-up call for Namibia’s public and private sectors. Greylisting exposes a country’s shortcomings in the enforcement…

In many countries family-owned enterprises (FOEs) are the backbone of the economy. Research provides ample evidence to show that globally, FOEs provide employment to millions of people, serve as financial and social anchors in many communities and generate a sizable…

She even admits to this shortcoming, but my wife, Thea, cannot give travel route directions or read a map, as I discovered early in our marriage. On an annual family holiday, we changed travel plans deviating from our route to…

Last week I wrote about two captivatingly interesting sessions I attended at this year’s Franschhoek Literary Festival (FLF). One session was with Olympic track champion Caster Semenya, who recently published her heart-wrenching memoir ‘The Race To Be Myself’. At the…

With a diverse line-up of authors and topics at this year’s edition of the Franschhoek Literary Festival (FLF) one was again spoilt for choice. Topics ranged from politics to crime and memoirs to fiction by writers from Africa and beyond…

Literacy among the youth has increased in sub-Saharan Africa, but it remains low by global standards. A survey in South Africa, the most industrialised country in Africa, on reading habits of children is an eye-opener. The deterioration over the past…

Winter and all other seasons come and go every year. And so too does graduation season in Windhoek, with the telltale sign of its arrival the vehicles congesting the southern access and exit route of the capital city. Depending on…

International workers day was celebrated in Namibia and in many other countries around the world yesterday – here even as a public holiday. Also known as May Day or Labour Day, this annual day of recognition is often erroneously connected…