Scrap water debts of communal farmers, says DTA MP

A call for government to discuss water debts owed by many communal farmers to NamWater and considering writing off these bad debts was made by DTA MP McHenry Venaani.

He tabled a motion on Wednesday in the National Assembly, asking the House to discuss the precarious water debts owed by many communal farmers to national water utility NamWater. “Our rural communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of water debts,” he said.”In the Northern Regions’ Cuvelai Supply area, the communities owe N$38,7 million in debts that are older than 2 289 days.These communities were recently confronted by a serious food shortage and the climatic calamity of floods, and many of their animals were also wiped out by a severe drought,” he stressed.”The Brandberg Supply area has an outstanding debt of N$48 million owing over 51 229 days, according to NamWater records,” Venaani said.”The Eastern Water Carrier has an outstanding amount of over N$68,45 million, and is the second-largest communal area from where beef is exported to foreign markets where we earn foreign exchange as a country,” he added.- Nampa China to buy iron ore from Mozambique * Maputo – The project to mine iron ore in Lalaua, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, is due to start in mid November, according to one of the local managers of the investor, the Indian consortium Damodor Ferro, Rui Pinto, who was quoted in Wednesday’s issue of the Maputo daily, Noticias.Pinto added that China is one of the guaranteed clients that will purchase the company’s projected production of 20 tonnes a day.It will be used in the manufacture of underwater pipes to transport highly inflammable products such as oil, from offshore sites.By mid-November the work to rehabilitate and expand the 56-­kilometre dirt road from the mines to the railway station of Iapala will be completed.From Iapala the ore can be taken by rail to the port of Nacala.The work involves adding another lane to the road, which will allow trucks to travel from the mine to the station and vice-versa at the same time.Pinto said that once the work on the road is complete, Damodor Ferro will install a laboratory and other equipments to test the quality of the ore.He added that the Lalaua deposit contains high quality iron ore, which led to the quick signing of contracts with China.Tests over an area of 24 hectares have already shown that Lalaua has a deposit that can be intensively exploited for four years, and there are signs that more such deposits can be found in the same district.Pinto said that the project is economically viable because the prices of iron on the international market are tending to rise, and this trend is expected to continue for at least for the next 10 years.- Nampa-Aim A third of US workers admit fake sick days – survey * NEW YORK – A third of US workers say they have called in sick with fake excuses at least once this year, according to a survey released on Wednesday.One in 10 said they skipped work to avoid a meeting, buy time on a project or avoid the ire of a boss or colleague, the survey found.It was conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.Other respondents cited a need to relax and recharge, visit a doctor, sleep, run errands, catch up on housework or spend time with family and friends.Most employers in the survey said they typically did not question the reasons workers gave for being absent.However, 31 per cent said they have checked up on an employee who called in sick, and 18 per cent have fired a worker for missing work without a legitimate excuse.The nationwide poll was conducted online among 3 388 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 6 842 US full-time employees between August 21 and September 9, 2008.- Nampa-Reuters Meatco’s producer of the year * Meatco’s prestigious annual Producer of the Year event is scheduled for next week Friday at Parliament Gardens in Windhoek.The aim of the event is to reward farmers who have delivered exceptional quality cattle.The company announced in a media release on Wednesday that cash prizes valued at more than N$70 000 as well as a trip for a week to the United Kingdom and a weekend for two to Cape Town worth over N$90 000 are up for grabs.In 2007, Bruwer Swanepoel scooped the award of the producer of the year, while Jasper Brand took home the award in 2006.Nampa”Our rural communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of water debts,” he said.”In the Northern Regions’ Cuvelai Supply area, the communities owe N$38,7 million in debts that are older than 2 289 days.These communities were recently confronted by a serious food shortage and the climatic calamity of floods, and many of their animals were also wiped out by a severe drought,” he stressed.”The Brandberg Supply area has an outstanding debt of N$48 million owing over 51 229 days, according to NamWater records,” Venaani said.”The Eastern Water Carrier has an outstanding amount of over N$68,45 million, and is the second-largest communal area from where beef is exported to foreign markets where we earn foreign exchange as a country,” he added.- Nampa China to buy iron ore from Mozambique * Maputo – The project to mine iron ore in Lalaua, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, is due to start in mid November, according to one of the local managers of the investor, the Indian consortium Damodor Ferro, Rui Pinto, who was quoted in Wednesday’s issue of the Maputo daily, Noticias.Pinto added that China is one of the guaranteed clients that will purchase the company’s projected production of 20 tonnes a day.It will be used in the manufacture of underwater pipes to transport highly inflammable products such as oil, from offshore sites.By mid-November the work to rehabilitate and expand the 56-­kilometre dirt road from the mines to the railway station of Iapala will be completed.From Iapala the ore can be taken by rail to the port of Nacala.The work involves adding another lane to the road, which will allow trucks to travel from the mine to the station and vice-versa at the same time.Pinto said that once the work on the road is complete, Damodor Ferro will install a laboratory and other equipments to test the quality of the ore.He added that the Lalaua deposit contains high quality iron ore, which led to the quick signing of contracts with China.Tests over an area of 24 hectares have already shown that Lalaua has a deposit that can be intensively exploited for four years, and there are signs that more such deposits can be found in the same district.Pinto said that the project is economically viable because the prices of iron on the international market are tending to rise, and this trend is expected to continue for at least for the next 10 years.- Nampa-Aim A third of US workers admit fake sick days – survey * NEW YORK – A third of US workers say they have called in sick with fake excuses at least once this year, according to a survey released on Wednesday.One in 10 said they skipped work to avoid a meeting, buy time on a project or avoid the ire of a boss or colleague, the survey found.It was conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.Other respondents cited a need to relax and recharge, visit a doctor, sleep, run errands, catch up on housework or spend time with family and friends.Most employers in the survey said they typically did not question the reasons workers gave for being absent.However, 31 per cent said they have checked up on an employee who called in sick, and 18 per cent have fired a worker for missing work without a legitimate excuse.The nationwide poll was conducted online among 3 388 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 6 842 US full-time employees between August 21 and September 9, 2008.- Nampa-Reuters Meatco’s producer of the year * Meatco’s prestigious annual Producer of the Year event is scheduled for next week Friday at Parliament Gardens in Windhoek.The aim of the event is to reward farmers who have delivered exceptional quality cattle.The company announced in a media release on Wednesday that cash prizes valued at more than N$70 000 as well as a trip for a week to the United Kingdom and a weekend for two to Cape Town worth over N$90 000 are up for grabs.In 2007, Bruwer Swanepoel scooped the award of the producer of the year, while Jasper Brand took home the award in 2006.Nampa