The European Union this week extended for another 12 months a series of sanctions against Zimbabwe, including an arms embargo, travel bans on certain officials and a freezing of their assets. The list of visa bans and freezing of assets includes the President Robert Mugabe and over 100 ministers and officials who the EU accuses of human rights violations, and violations of freedom of speech and assembly in Zimbabwe. The sanctions were now extended until 20 February 2007 EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. The sanctions were initially triggered by the controversial handing of white-owned commercial farms to mainly landless black peasants and Mugabe’s disputed re-election in 2002.

Over 120 Namibians have joined the recently founded Namibia United States Alumni Association (Nusaa) and they will hold an inaugural conference on 17 February at the Polytechnic. NUSAA will discuss "Role of NUSAA in national Development." The conference will deal with democracy, economic growth, good governance, HIV/AIDS and education. Participants will include prominent Namibian alumni of American universities, as well as Namibians like Dr Hage Geingob and Americans who have participated in U.S. Government sponsored academic and professional exchanges, the US embassy in Namibia said this week. The chairman of Nusaa is Dr Tangeni Iijambo, a Fulbright scholar who got his PhD in Education from Michigan State University. Iijambo is a lecturer at UNAM.

A session on democratization and economic growth will include as
speakers Dr Geingob and Dr Joseph Diescho, a consultant to the African Leadership Development Project who got is PhD in Political Science from Columbia University. Justice Minister Pendukeni Ivula-Ithana, will lead a discussion on good governance. NUSAA was formed last September to bring together alumni of the US government sponsored exchange programs and alumni of American universities, as a brain trust to contribute ideas for Namibia’s development and to promote ties between Namibia and the US.

The Namibian government will soon come up with a 5-year master plan to push the use of renewable energies like solar and wind power as well as biogas. The establishment of an institute for reneweables is also on the drawing cards. About 40 energy experts and development officials met outside Windhoek for 3 days this week to find ways how to train solar technicians, raise awareness among the public to install solar water geysers and photovoltaic panels for electricity supply, give loans to small entrepreneurs who want to embark on a career as solar technician and to reduce the hefty import taxes on solar panels and geysers.

The UN development programme (UNDP) has since 2004 joined up with the ministry of mines and energy to embark on a broad-based awareness and barrier removal project (NAMREP). Though the ministerial officials did not dislcose the amount of funds coming for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to increase the use of reneweables, it is several millions of Namibia dollars for the next few years, PLUS reliably learnt. Indian expert Prof. Prem Jain is the chief expert on renewable energies assigned to the ministry since 2004. To the surprise of the delegates, Mr Joseph Iitah, permanent secretary in the ministry of mines and energy disclosed that the Namibian government had recently decided to also look into the use of nuclear power for energy generation.

The Minister of regional and Local government, housing and rural development has subsequent to a Cabinet decision appointed a Local Authorities Reform Committee (LARC) to look at ways to reform the Local Authorities Act, 23 of 1992 as amended, and other legislations with a bearing on local authority governance.

Walvis Bay mayor Mandume Muatunga announced this on Tuesday during the first town council meeting in the New Year.

This committee comprises of several persons with legal, political, technical and other expertise in local governance and reform. "To date the committee has written letters to various stakeholders and role-players asking them to furnish the Committee before an appointed date all their comments on aspects that they feel needed reforming", Muatunga said.

These stakeholders are ranging from the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN), the Namibian Association of Local Authorities Officials (NALAO) the Namibia National Mayors’ Forum (NNMF), all Municipalities, Towns and Villages, Regional Councils, Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs). The committee will submit its findings to Cabinet in April.