The Desert Research Foundation Namibia (DRFN) will exhibit solar heaters, stoves, pumps, wind chargers etc.), Applied Electronics and Medlab Services will show science and laboratory equipment. While the trade fair is directed mainly at the public, corporate and business sectors, anyone interested in the latest scientific and technological developments is welcome. The education ministry will host several lectures, workshops and demonstrations at the Polytechnic and other venues in Windhoek from Monday, 27 June to Saturday, 2 July during the Namibian Science Week.

The Namibian public is advised of new rules applicable to all Namibian and South African cheques issued to Namibian beneficiaries and deposited at the Bank of Namibia or at Namibian banks. Since 15 June they will longer accept any previously deposited or unpaid cheques. The cheque-clearing rules have been amended accordingly to align Namibian banks with internationally acceptable best practices and to combat cheque fraud in Namibia. A previously deposited or unpaid cheque is one, which has been deposited in a bank, has been stamped by the bank and has subsequently been referred back to the depositor for various reasons. If a cheque is returned to a depositor from a bank, the depositor must now obtain a new cheque from the drawer before depositing at a bank. The returned cheque will be stamped on the face of the cheque by the bank "Cannot be re-deposited" before the cheque is returned to the depositor.

Following many reports in the media in recent months about the bad conditions of the rest camps in the Etosha National Park and other state tourism resorts, the NWR wants to finally act. In an internal memo the management of Namibia Wildlife Resorts allegedly blamed the "unhelpful attitude of some NWR employees" for the demise and bad reputation of the government tourism spots.

The memo, which allegedly was circulated to each staff, who had to sign for it,

threatened that the resorts would have to raise the standards or face closure. The internal shake up of NWR followed apparently after Gideon Shilongo, the boss of the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) publicly stated in Swakopmund last weekend that "either the NWR comes up to standard or we will have to close down the resorts". Shilongo spoke during a one-day tourism forum at the coast last weekend.

According to the internal memo distributed on Tuesday, the NWR situation had become so bad that some of the tour operators are refusing to include NWR resorts in their itinerary, because of too many complaints from tourists.

Senior staff were ordered by the NWR management to produce urgent "action plans" to the head office by Friday, 24 June. Harsh disciplinary actions would follow if staff would not cooperate to turn the parastatal around "immediately", the memo threatened.

Namibia will be falling under the international spotlight soon when it hosts a large conference for investors for the electricity supply industry. Mines and energy minister Erkki Nghimtina announced that from 19 to 21 September regional and international exports would convene in Windhoek together with all 14 energy ministers of the SADC regions and the private sector to discuss the regional electricity supply of the future and how to overcome shortages of electricity supply. Experts say that by 2007, the region’s largest supplier, Eskom in South Africa will not have enough capacity for exports to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Large projects like the Kudu gas field power station and unlocking the vast hydropower potential of the Congo River along the Inga rapids will be topics under discussion. An industrial exhibition will run parallel to the conference.