Among the many contributions of Namibia's late Founding President, Dr. Sam Nujoma, one of the most notable was the establishment of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (nbc) Television Services in July 1992.
This momentous occasion marked a significant milestone in the country's media landscape, ushering in a new era of television broadcasting in an independent Namibia.
Accompanied by the then Broadcast Minister and Prime Minister, Dr. Hage Geingob, along with other dignitaries, President Nujoma inaugurated the national broadcaster, underscoring the importance of a national broadcaster in fostering transparency, accountability, nation-building, unity, and reconciliation.
"And a nation can only be said to exist when such diverse groups have acquired through the process of continuous and intense communication a sense of collective identity and common assumptions as well as shared interest, stability, and adaptation, and this is the process of nation-building in which the nbc is called upon to play a key and active role."
Nahum Gorlick, the Director General of the nbc at the time, had the honour of escorting President Nujoma around the newly established TV centre.
The first stop was the newsroom, where the President met a young Stanley Similo, who is now the current Director General and veteran journalist Norah Appolus
"It symbolically marked a new beginning, in other words, the transition from the apartheid propaganda mouthpiece, which was the SWABC, to a new national broadcaster to inform, educate, and entertain an entire Namibian nation using the best ethical and professional broadcasting. So basically, in a sense, that was the importance and significance of this day when he inaugurated the new nbc building," said Appolus, reflecting on the transition.
The atmosphere was charged with excitement as the team showcased the newsroom's capabilities and its potential to shape the country's broadcasting future.
The broadcaster's TV production centre had been completed a year prior, in 1991, and soon after, the news department for both television and radio was integrated into the facility.
This integration aimed to streamline operations and ensure the effective dissemination of news and information to the Namibian public.
Today, more than three decades later, the nbc remains a leading and credible news source in Namibia. With advancements in technology and broadcasting, the corporation continues to uphold its founding principles while adapting to the evolving media landscape.