Preparations for the 34th Independence Day celebrations are progressing well at the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex. 

The event will be hosted in the town for the first time since independence.

The usual mood in the capital city of the Zambezi Region is now hyped by the activities and the arrival of people coming from other towns and regions.

Residents are grateful for the decision to finally celebrate the national celebration in their town. 

Members of the Namibian Defence Force were reminded not to involve themselves in politics, apart from exercising their civic duty to vote.

This reminder came from the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs, Frans Kapofi, during the annual staff meeting at the defence headquarters in Windhoek.

President Hage Geingob has cautioned against ill-discipline in the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), saying such incidents need to be addressed as soon as they occur.

''Discipline is the catalyst for professionalism. It is the soul of the Defence Force. I am informed that there are several cases of indiscipline being reported in the Namibian Defence Force. Some of these cases have appeared in the media. It is imperative that we summarily nip these type of incidences in the bud.''

The Otjiwarongo mayor has called on residents to refrain from littering.

Gottlieb Shivute made this call during the Otjiwarongo clean-up campaign.

As part of the efforts to make Otjiwarongo the cleanest town in Namibia, residents, including the Namibian Defence Force and other cooperating companies, joined the Otjiwarongo Municipality in cleaning up the town.

With the amount of dirt lying around Otjiwarongo, having all hands on deck during the campaign makes all the difference.

The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) has participated in several international peacekeeping missions this year.

The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Frans Kapofi, spoke about these during a briefing at the Government Information Centre, where he presented the ministry's activities carried out this year.

As part of its international obligations, Namibia is currently participating in the UN Mission in South Sudan and Mozambique and has visited the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on a reconnaissance mission to observe the volatile situation there.

The Keetmanshoop Municipality has initiated a two-day clean-up campaign at Extension 7 Area.

The cleanup campaign is part of World Cleanup Day, when communities across the globe stand up against litter and clean up waste annually on September 16.

Members of the Namibian Defence Force as well as the public took part in the cleanup exercise.

The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) is happy with the preparedness of the contingent for the upcoming Joint Peace Support Operation exercise, code-named Hanganee II, with their Botswana counterpart in the Omaheke Region.

This was said by the NDF chief, Air Marshal Martin Pinehas.

Air Marshal Pinehas conducted an inspection to assess the readiness of the participating troops and the necessary equipment for the exercise, which is scheduled to take place from the 15th to the 30th of June in the Omaheke Region.

The newly appointed Army Commander, Major General Aktofel Nambahu, has vowed to march the army towards being a reputable and technologically advanced force.

Major General Nambahu was promoted and sworn in as Army commander, taking over the reins from Major General Matheus Alueendo.

Nambahu accepted the new responsibility with all due consideration for upholding the principles established by his predecessors.

Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs, Frans Kapofi, has told the latest Namibian Defense Force (NDF) recruits to work hard and maintain discipline and teamwork for them to be good soldiers.

Kapofi addressed the recruits on Christmas Eve at Osona Military Base, where he was accompanied by the Chief of Defense, Martin Phineas.

In a speech availed to Nampa on Saturday, Kapofi told the 1,400 recruits that they were privileged to be selected out of over 100,000 other Namibians who had applied to join the army.

The Namibian Defense Force has begun training its 1,458 cadet officers and recruits.

The opening ceremony took place at the Namibia Defense Force Training Establishment, also known as the Osona Military School, outside of Okahandja.

The opening of the 10th intake regular commissioning course and the 16th intake recruit training saw both cadet officers and recruits warned about the difficult road ahead.

Chief of the Namibian Defense Force, Air Marshal Martin Pinehas, says the group will be trained under the NDF's motto, "Train hard, fight easy."