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Namibia’s President Hage Geingob dies at age 82

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10 months ago

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Namibian President Hage Geingob, an anti-apartheid activist turned statesman and the country’s founding prime minister, died Sunday. He was 82.

His death was announced by Acting President Nangolo Mbumba, who was sworn in hours after Geingob’s passing. Geingob died just after midnight at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek, where he was being treated for cancer, with his wife and children at his side, Mbumba said.

“The Namibian nation has lost a distinguished servant of the people, a liberation struggle icon, the chief architect of our constitution and the pillar of the Namibian house,” Mbumba wrote on X.

Geingob’s office recently announced that the president was undergoing treatment for “cancerous cells” discovered in a biopsy following a routine colonoscopy. He had flown to the U.S. for a week for treatment last month.
Born in 1941, Geingob spent 27 years in exile in Botswana and the U.S., driven out of Namibia for his anti-apartheid activism. While in the U.S. starting in 1964, he earned a politics degree at Fordham University in New York City. He also studied at The New School and in Philadelphia at Temple University.

 

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,right, and Namibian Prime Minister Hage Geingob smile during her visit to the People’s Primary School in Katutura, Namibia, on Oct. 10, 1991. (AP)

 

He returned to Namibia in 1989 as the country was on the cusp of gaining independence from South Africa. The following year, Geingob became Namibia’s first prime minister, serving from 1990 to 2002 and then again from 2008 to 2012. He was the country’s third president, elected to his first term in 2015, and was in the middle of his second term at the time of his death.

That term was slated to end later this year, with Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah replacing him on the South West Africa People’s Organization party’s ticket in upcoming elections. Mbumba will lead Namibia until March 21 of next year, when the winner will be inaugurated. On Sunday, Nandi-Naditwah paid tribute to Geingob as “a true democratic and a transformational leader who touched many lives.”

Newly elected Namibian president Hage Geingob is sworn in as Namibia’s third president at an inauguration ceremony in Windhoek, Saturday, March 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Dirk Heinrich)
AP Photo/Dirk Heinrich
Geingob is sworn in as Namibia’s third president at an inauguration ceremony in Windhoek on March 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Dirk Heinrich)
While Geingob’s administration was dogged by a scandal centering on bribes related to fishing quotas, his legacy was that of an advocate for self-determination. Condolences poured in from African leaders, as well from other nations.Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa praised Geingob’s “leadership and resilience,” while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa bemoaned “the loss of a strong, brave and iconic leader” who was a “towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid” and a close personal friend.

President Biden issued condolences as well, calling Geingob “an eloquent advocate for his country and continent, who stood up for his values and beliefs.”

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Africa

Sudan: Major cholera outbreak as heavy rains hit displacement camps and no end to fighting

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3 months ago

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September 8, 2024

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Thousands of children in eastern Sudan are at risk of cholera following a major outbreak caused by widespread flooding, contaminated water and with a decimated health system after 16 months of conflict, Save the Children said.

Nearly 2900 cases of cholera and 112 deaths have been reported between July 22 and the beginning of September with Sudan’s Ministry of Health officially declared the outbreak on August 12. However, the actual numbers may be higher as limited access to health facilities and delayed community referrals are leading to a significant underreporting, according to the latest report from Sudan’s Health Cluster— a partnership including the UN, the Federal Ministry of Health, and NGOs including Save the Children.

In El Damer in River Nile State and in Gedarif in Gedarif State, Save the Children teams are reporting a huge spike in cholera cases among children under five, who account for nearly 15% of the confirmed cases and deaths across the country.

The spike in cholera comes with no end to the fighting that started in April last year and has devastated the country’s health and sanitation systems. Cholera spreads rapidly due to inadequate sewage treatment, flooding, and unsafe drinking water—conditions worsened by relentless heavy rains that have battered much of the country for the past three months.

The flooding has already claimed at least 173 lives and injured 505 people since June, according to the National Council for Civil Defence. The downpour has also caused the collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Red Sea state on 24 August, which is the main source of drinking water for the coastal city of Port Sudan, a vital humanitarian hub.

Heavy rains and flooding have also displaced 4,300 people from displacement camps in North Darfur State, including the Zamzam camp, where famine was recently declared. The flooding has destroyed around 900 tents and washed away latrines within these camps, severely disrupting humanitarian aid efforts.

With more than 25.6 million people across the country in need of aid, the crisis has escalated food scarcity, putting children at heightened risk of malnutrition.

Mohamed Abdiladif, Interim Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:

“Children in Sudan have gone from horror to horror. Even before the conflict erupted last year the country was home to one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, with existing localised conflicts, natural disasters, disease outbreaks and economic degradation leaving 15.8 million people in need. That figure has now escalated to 25.6 million people, and diseases like cholera will only trigger a greater increase. Conflict is not just about immediate violence but is also a slow but deadly drip-feed of other grave threats to children’s lives, such as malnutrition and disease.

“We are working to ensure access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion activities to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as a cholera in conflict-affected areas. However, we urgently need a huge injection of funds to deliver the treatment needed for cholera.”

Save the Children is conducting daily water quality testing, monitoring and chlorination at 35 water sources within the Sawakin locality, Red Sea state, and has disposed of 125 tons of solid waste at designated dumping sites.

In Gedaref state, Save the Children is supporting with treatment and management of cholera cases and providing safe drinking water to cholera treatment centres. The aid agency is also providing cash assistance to vulnerable families to enable them buy basics such as food, water, and afford health care.

Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983 and is currently supporting children and their families across Sudan providing health, nutrition, education, child protection and food security and livelihoods support. Save the Children is also supporting refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan.

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Africa

Nigeria tears down Benin 3 – 0 in Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers – Highlights

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3 months ago

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September 8, 2024

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In a bittersweet first half, Nigeria took the lead in stoppage time through Ademola Lookman and went into the break on top. Benítez’s side improved in the second half, but it was not enough. Nigeria stepped on the gas in the final half and Victor Osimhen made it 2-0 in the 78th minute before Ademola Lookman doubled the advantage in the 83rd minute. Nothing else happened in the match and Nigeria ran out 3-0 winners in the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

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Could South Africa be the first-ever country to provide a no-strings-attached universal basic income?

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6 months ago

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June 9, 2024

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South Africa suffers from severe income inequality — one of the worst anywhere in the world. Its unemployment rate, meanwhile, is over 30%.

But its government thinks it has a solution: a universal basic income .

The idea has broad political support and the country’s largest political party, the African National Congress, said recently it is committed to implementing a universal basic income within two years.

Once the figment of ideological dreamers, a universal basic income — regular direct cash payments to a population with no strings attached — has grown in legitimacy, especially after the success of COVID-era stimulus checks. Tech visionaries racing to develop ever-more advanced artificial intelligence have also suggested implementing a universal basic income. They say it would help mitigate the job losses from AI .

Several other countries have experimented with versions of a universal basic income. Kenya, for instance, offers unconditional payments to about 20,000 people in 200 different towns.

In the United States, numerous cities and some states are experimenting on a small scale with guaranteed basic incomes , which offer no-strings-attached payments but only to select groups of people in need. While studies have shown these American programs to be successful, they have also run up against significant political opposition .

But in South Africa, most political parties are all for it. They just need to work out the details.

“The ANC is committed to finalizing a comprehensive policy on the basic income support grant within two years of the new ANC administration, ensuring broad consultation and expedited action,” South Africa’s ruling party said in a statement .

That statement came a week before hotly contested general elections on May 29, which saw the ANC lose its majority in parliament. The ANC is now working to form a unity government and a commitment to implementing a universal basic income will almost certainly come up in negotiations.

According to the party, a study at the University of Johannesburg showed that a majority of South African citizens “fully support the introduction of a basic income support grant.”

While South Africa provides payments to certain groups living below the poverty line through its Social Relief Distress grant program, the ANC plan would open eligibility to all South African adults, the Guardian reported .

The ANC said it is “exploring” options, like new tax measures and a new social-security tax, to fund the program. The party also says its goal for the program is not to replace existing social-security programs, but to complement them.

If it follows through, the ANC plan would make South Africa the first country to provide a universal basic income.

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