Being a parliamentarian is more than just attending sessions or reviewing pieces of legislation.

The buzzword now is 'parliamentary diplomacy' and it is expected of MPs to be knowledgeable about domestic and international relationships.

It is for this reason that National Council MPs are being equipped with skills related to diplomacy, protocol, and etiquette at Swakopmund.

The training workshop is being attended by National Council MPs and law enforcement officials.

The community members of Otjimbingwe and surrounding farms hosted a meeting to address serious issues hampering socio-economic development at the settlement.

Otjimbingwe is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia, with approximately 8,000 inhabitants.

Among the issues that were discussed were the upgrading of the road between Karibibb and Otjimbingwe, the allocation of residential plots at the settlement, a shortage of water and electricity supply, high youth unemployment, and the lack of an ambulance.

Businesses in Swakopmund are being urged to improve their security measures.

The directive was issued during a safety and security meeting aimed at addressing safety concerns in the town.

The town's mayor, Dina Namubes, says that while people feel safe wherever they live, work, or spend their free time, this is not the situation in Swakopmund.

Namubes notes that gang-infested neighbourhoods are becoming a growing concern for communities, with the safety of learners, parents, teachers, and tourists at stake.

42-year-old Malakia Shipanga was denied bail during his first appearance in the Walvis Bay Magistrate's Court for the murder of a 36-year-old man in Kuisebmond, Walvis Bay, over the weekend.

According to the incident report provided by the Erongo Police, a fight broke out at a house on Kilimandjaro Street in the Tutaleni suburb of Kuisebmond around 15:20 on Sunday.

Governor Neville Andre is encouraging residents of the Erongo Region to participate and cooperate with Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) field workers in giving them complete and accurate data.

Andre added that census data plays a crucial role in decision-making across a wide range of fields and is a fundamental tool for understanding the characteristics of a population.

The public is further assured that data collected during the Census period is always anonymous and encrypted and will be used only for statistical purposes.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, has commended the achievements made by the Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT) at Ondangwa, calling on the Katima Mulilo Town Council and the City of Windhoek to provide suitable land to construct retail fish shops.

Klazen made the call during the 11th edition of the NFCPT Day gala dinner held at Walvis Bay, where N$410,000 was raised for schools in the Zambezi Region.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, has pleaded with the industry to give his ministry more time to conduct pre-licencing investigations.
 
This, Klazen says, will help to avoid the licencing of vessels linked to illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing activities or having to partake in them.

Klazen's response follows a number of complaints from would-be licensees that the ministry takes too long to issue vessel licences.

Erongo Region Education Forum Chairperson Benneth ||Khaibeb lashed out at teachers in the region, whom he said have lost passion for teaching and have instead become salary collectors.

||Khaibeb voiced his concerns during the Erongo Regional Improvement Strategic Plan review meeting at Swakopmund recently.

Earlier this year, the members of the education forum visited schools to evaluate the quality of education in the region.

||Khaibeb says one of the critical issues the forum picked up was that teachers lack an understanding of the guiding principles.

The Walvis Bay Municipality is reserving 33 hectares of land at Farm 37 for the town's Backyard Tenants Group.

This comes in the wake of the group's petition, handed over to the municipality in February this year.

Namibian Heritage Week 2023 was launched in the coastal town of Swakopmund.

This year the event will be held from September 18–24 under the theme "Heritage and Culture: A 'Rock-Solid' Foundation in Namibian Sign Language."

The Heritage Week team has decided that each year, the theme will use a local indigenous language as part of its commitment to promoting pride in Namibia's cultural diversity.