In a bid to empower underprivileged residents of Keetmanshoop to become self-reliant, the local ZTT AME Church congregation formed an initiative dubbed the EMEME Partnership.

The initiative, registered as a non-profit organisation, was officially launched during a fundraising gala dinner at Keetmanshoop.

Reverend Leslie Leukes, spiritual leader of ZTT AME Church Congregation, says the name EMEME is based on the pillars of education, mission, evangelism, management, and economic empowerment.

About 29 reed houses have been destroyed in a fire at Aussenkehr settlement in ||Kharas Region this week.

The acting Police Regional Crime Coordinator for ||Kharas, Detective Chief Inspector Jochobetha Angukku, confirmed the fire incident that broke out on Tuesday morning.

She said the cause of the fire is not yet known.

But, according to an eyewitness, the fire started burning from the roof of a reed house that was locked and quickly spread to other makeshift structures.

A family of eight at Keetmanshoop in the ||Kharas Region had a narrow escape after the roof of their house was blown off by heavy winds accompanied by rain on Saturday.

Speaking to nbc News after the incident, Johannes Brandt, the owner of the house, says that although no one was injured, the estimated damage could be in the thousands. He says his entire family is in shock, as no one expected this.

Brandt says that the Keetmanshoop Municipality immediately cut off the electricity supply to the house as much of the electrical wiring was exposed.

The Education Director in ||Kharas Region, Jesmine Magermann, has called on school principals to put in concerted efforts to improve learner performance in the region.

She made the call at the annual principals meeting at Keetmanshoop.

The principals gathering analysed the performance of learners in the region, from Grade 1 to AS level, and came up with interventions to improve on the previous academic year examination results and learner performance.

The ||Kharas Region has recorded a 37% decrease in crime since the start of the festive season.

Police Regional Commander, Commissioner Marius Katamila, attributed the crime reduction to police visibility, quick response time, and public collaboration.

Three hundred and 78 crimes were reported this year, compared to six hundred during the same period last year.

Only nine housebreaking cases were reported, which is less than the thirty-nine reported the previous year.

There were only two murder cases reported throughout the region.

The Galz and Goals Football Development Programme in the Karasburg District of the ||Kharas region recently hosted the FIFA Grassroots Festival, aimed at nurturing young girls and equipping them with the skills to potentially represent the national team in the future.

The festival, which took place over the weekend, not only promotes healthy lifestyles among girls but also encourages their development into professional football players.

The Police Inspector General, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo, has appealed to the community of Berseba Village in the ||Kharas Region to join hands with the police in fighting crime. 

Speaking at the Berseba Boer Goat Expo, NamPol's top cop revealed that crime has shown a steady increase in the village over the years. 

In 2020, a total of 42 crimes were recorded in the village, while forty-five crimes have already been reported since the start of 2023.

Residents of the ||Kharas Region have welcomed the objectives of the draft Credit Consumer Bill (CCB) but called for wider control measures to be introduced.

They shared their sentiments during a consultation meeting with the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) at Keetmanshoop.

Those in attendance at the consultative meeting raised concerns about debt collectors, credit bureaus, and credit agreements, among other things.

Residents of Grunau Settlement in the ||Kharas Region now have uninterrupted access to water, thanks to the NamWater Reservoir. Before, residents had been subjected to a mandatory rationing of water for years.

Water was rationed between half past seven in the morning and nine o'clock in the morning. The water shortages at the settlement, which is home to around 900 residents, were blamed on inadequate underground water.

Close to 100 vulnerable households in the Grunua settlement and surrounding farms in the ||Kharas Region can now put food on their tables, thanks to government drought relief food assistance. Each of these households has received two 12.5 kg bags of maize meal, along with fish tins and cooking oil, as part of the relief efforts.