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June 10, 2023
Technology (119)
Telecom Namibia CEO, Dr. Stanley Shanapinda is set to be appointed as the new Chairman of the Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA).
Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) is exploring digital transformative opportunities in Oranjemund through talks with the Orangemund OMDis leadership.
Information Minister Dr. Peya Mushelenga has appointed a new board of directors for the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN).
Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) has donated four Automated Weather Stations and one Automated Rain Station to the Namibia Meteorological Service Centre.
The stations, valued at a total cost of N$ 800,000, will serve as Early Warning Weather systems and are earmarked for the Kunene region - in Sesfontein, Fransfontein, and Warmquelle areas, respectively.
The donation, which demonstrates MTC’s ESG commitment, particularly the socio-environmental sustainability element, was effected in partnership with Environmental Investment Fund (EIF), Green Climate Fund, IREMA Project, and the Ministry of Works and Transport.
“Namibia is susceptible to natural disasters, particularly flood and drought. Hence the need to use the latest technology to accelerate our resilience, innovation, and adaptation against recurring and other possible climate calamities. These Early Warning Weather stations will thus be instrumental, especially to farmers in the Kunene region. We must design and employ smart interventions and transitions from traditional ways of farming to more innovative smart ways that accommodate technology-driven solutions,” said MTC’s Executive, Tim Ekandjo, highlighting that the country needs to leverage technology to mitigate climate change effects.
Pauline Mugore of EIF said Namibia's commitment to implementing early warning systems is a crucial means of alerting our communities to climate changes and enabling them to respond effectively.
“Early warning information empowers communities to take timely action in the face of potential disasters such as droughts and floods. It serves as a safety net, allowing communities to proactively plan for disasters, thereby saving lives,” she said.
The Meteorological Services of Namibia will be the custodian managing the highly technical Automated Weather Stations donated.
The Early Warning System will be instrumental specifically in helping to address adaptation needs of smallholder farmers through access to accurate and up-to-date information on climate to enhance adaptation responses; alerting the people of an imminent disaster; hazard detection; monitoring and forecasting; analyzing risks and incorporation of risk information in emergency planning and warnings; disseminating timely and “authoritative” warnings; and community planning and preparedness.
While thanking MTC for the donation, Acting Executive Director in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Joyce Mukubi said, “In order to achieve the development of Early Warning System, there is a need for meteorological equipment to enable the Namibia Meteorological Service to provide weather and climate information well in advance to communities for preparation and planning purposes.
When it comes to financial planning and management, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming one of the most important tools at our disposal.
In a bid to enhance collaboration, a Namibian company, Jabu Logistics and Estonian business delegation comprising Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts recently came together under the theme, "A Night with Estonia."
The establishment of a Cyber Incident Response Team in the country ranks high among the priority areas contained in a three-year Integrated Business Strategic Plan (ISBP) of the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), which was launched on Thursday.
The authority is set to make provision of resources to operationalise the Cyber Incident Response Team, whose responsibility is to prevent, detect, monitor, and respond to security threats, thereby ensuring security and stability to critical information infrastructures.
This comes hot on the heels of a security breach that occurred on the national system in 2021, which affected websites, including banking services.
"CRAN’s 2023 to 2026 ISBP aims to improve service provision to customers and address the affordability of ICT services in the sector. Enhancement of legislative services also features prominently in areas of electronic transactions, postal, data protection, cybersecurity laws, implementation of Part 6 of the Communications Act (No. 8 of 2009), as well as the establishment of the Cyber Incident Response Team in the country with provision for resources to operationalise it," said CRAN's Head of Communications Katrina Sikeni.
CRAN launched its IBSP for the period 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2026 in line with the provisions of the Communications Act (No. 8 of 2009) and the Public Enterprises Governance Act (No. 1 of 2019).
According to CRAN, the strategic plan is necessitated by the need to build on the preceding plan (2020-2023), hence putting more emphasis on the execution of the core mandates of the Regulatory Authority through the added strategic themes of 'Digital Transformation and Market Development and Consumer Protection.'
"CRAN has an important role in terms of advising and supporting the government and the provisions of sustainable socio-economic development through telecommunications, broadcasting, and postal services. It is thus important that CRAN analyses international trends to ensure the development of a forward-looking regulatory environment that serves the national agenda for current and future needs," said Sikeni.
Minister of Information and Communication Technology Dr. Peya Mushelenga stressed that CRAN has a mandate and a strategic goal of expanding coverage for ICT as well as improving performance and service delivery through various efforts.
"One of such efforts is digitalisation, and to promote infrastructure development as a catalyst for economic growth, social progression, and a contributor to global competitiveness and investment attraction,” Mushelenga added.
CRAN’s Chief Executive Officer Emilia Nghikembua reiterated Mushelenga's sentiments, saying: “We at CRAN are placing emphasis on our strategic priorities, namely, Organisational Sustainability, Strategic Partnering and Collaborations, Digital Transformation, and Market Development and Consumer Protection, in order to be consistent and in sync with the Ministerial and governmental objectives as outlined in the MICT strategic plan and various national policies and agendas, such as the HHP II, Vision 2030, Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), and subsequent Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6).”
Nghikembua added that CRAN will continue to contribute to the implementation of Vision 2030 through various ICT strategies by developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the ICT and Postal sectors. Another pillar is contributing to the provision of access to quality, reliable, and affordable ICT and postal services for the economic benefits of the nation.
CRAN Chairperson Heinrich Mihe Gaomab II said: "It is CRAN’s responsibility as a Regulator of the ICT sector to ensure that service providers stretch their products and services to underserved and unserved areas. This should be done to expand on universal access, which in turn offers many benefits such as building a knowledge-based society, as communities have access to information.”
The rise of digital technologies has been nothing short of transformative, changing the way we live and work in ways that would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.
This week International Women’s Day is celebrated, on March 8th, to be precise. However, we cannot just focus on that singular day, all month, in fact all year we should be celebrating women and their contribution.
Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) and the World Food Program (WFP) have partnered to launch a digital Food Voucher Programme in Tsintsabis, aimed at supporting vulnerable people in the Oshikoto, Omaheke and Kunene regions.
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Puma Energy plans to partner with car dealerships in Namibia to provide charging points for Electric Vehicles (EV) in the country.
Local ride-hailing company, LEFA, has announced its milestone of clocking up more than 200,000 successful App rides.
The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) says it is investigating a tripartite deal signed between Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower), Telecom Namibia Limited (Telecom), and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) more than 10 years ago.
Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed technology company, Altron, has been forced to defer the sale of its automated teller machine (ATM) business to US firm NCR due to outstanding regulatory approval in Namibia.
