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President Sam Nujoma on Monday showered praise on his former deputy transport and ex-mining minister, Dr Klaus Dierks. The German engineer, who has lived in Namibia for decades and acquired Namibian citizenship, retired in 2000. This gave him time to complete a long-term project - his book called "Chronology of Namibian History", published by the Namibia Scientific Society. It covered the vast time span from the prehistoric era to 1990. A German edition followed suit. Early this year, a second edition was completed up to and including the year 2000, first published in German, with the English version to follow in a few weeks. It is the first time that the country's history has been recorded in detailed chronological form. Receiving the books (English and German version) from Dr Dierks at State House, President Nujoma said the country's history was now written by a "genuine Namibian" and not by one "of our adversaries". The President, himself an ardent reader, proposed that copies of the Chronology should got to school libraries. He even advised journalists to make frequent use of the book. Photo: Brigitte Weidlich