Namib Independent Issue 125

Nam

ib IndependentGreat news for the coast!

[email protected] Issue 125 - Thursday, 13 November 2014 to Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Where to, WalvisCyCle 4 Damian event Winner of samsung s5 suiCiDe By CroCoDile

free!

Tel: 064 200497

06 09 1411

Continued on Page 3

Woman Murdered on Beach

Controversial N$8 Billion “Desert Rose” Centre Revealed

Continued on Page 3

Tanya Calitz

A 24-year-old woman from the coast tragically lost her life this week after she was allegedly shot by her boyfriend, who in a failed suicide

attempt turned the pistol on himself after killing her.

Within hours of her death, ms louise roxey alupe’s community came together in utter shock and sadness, sharing their condolences and grief

with each other and on social media. according to acting regional Crime investigations co-ordinator, Detective Chief inspector erastus iikuyu, the incident took place on independence Beach in Walvis near the dunes between

4 and 6pm on monday. People from the public heard the

gunshot and informed police of the incident. upon arrival, ms alupe was found blind-folded, already lifeless. her boyfriend, the accused, was found next

to her, also blindfolded with deep cuts on his wrists.

“from what we have gathered, the accused shot his girlfriend in the head at close range, before turning the pistol on himself in a suicide bid. the weapon jammed

Thursday, 13 November 20142 | News

Tel (+264 64) 200 497 Email [email protected]

Sales Lorna Bock 081 350 0346 [email protected]

Gareth Amos 081 128 2197 [email protected]

Editorial Tanya Calitz [email protected]

Design Maggie’s Attic Graphic Design [email protected]

Address 127TheoBenGurirabStreet(MVAOfficeComplex),POBox5085,WalvisBay,Namibia

DiSCLAiMEr:Namib Independent is published by Halfround Communications CC. All rights arereserved.Whilsteverycarehasbeentakentoensuretheaccuracyoftheinformationcontainedwithin,noliabilitycanbeacceptedbythepublishersorcontributorsforanyerrors,misstatementsoromissionswhichmayhaveoccurred.Theopinionsexpressedin the publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Also, the publishersaccept no legal liability regarding copyright ownership for material which was supplied directlytothepublishersbyanyoftheadvertisersorcontributors.

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West Coast FM’s Eighth Birthday Extravaganza

Changing Colours for the Cause

Staff Reporter

Namib Independent Managing Editor, Gareth Amos, does the unconceivable by adorning the colours and brand of Team Times at a recent and very successful charity event organised and hosted by the Namib Times in aid of young Damien, whose cause the paper has been fervently keeping at the forefront of the coastal community’s collective consciousness.

amos stated, “i have not come to cycle today as i am yet to recover from my 50km race a year ago, but am here to cover the event for our paper and when i saw the t-shirts on display i could not resist wearing one (although ever so briefly) to show solidarity to the cause and event. team independent would like to congratulate the namib times and its sponsors for continually lending a voice to the strife faced by the sagner family and for organising a successful cycling event.”

Tara van Eck

West Coast FM celebrated their eighth birthday on Friday at the Swakopmund indoor Sport Centre. Our host at the coast pulled out all the stops with over 140 VIP guests who supported the Station throughout the years attending in chic attire.

guests walked the red carpet welcomed by champagne and oysters on ice. With a full program of local artists performing guests sat down by candlelight enjoying food themes from around the world including traditional mopane worms, french baguettes, jalapeno poppers from mexico, burgers from america, sushi from asia and so much more delicious cuisine on offer.

During the evening team members accompanied guests down to their new premises proudly

showing off West Coast fm’s new home.

you might wonder what makes this birthday so special. eight years ago the talented radio host mr scharl moller recognised the need for a station at the coast so he took the initiative and created West Coast fm. mr scharl moller later attracted mr Clinton lang to invest with West Coast fm becoming the managing partner of the station. What started in a small garage room with a table and two chairs grew into a 17 team member company with premises in the prestigious swakopmund indoor sport centre “dome”.

according to one of the team members, “Joining the West Coast fm team is a privilege. i can truly say i am surrounded by my family every day. We cannot call this work, it is too much fun. i am so proud of our radio station.”

During the evening mr C lang and mr s moller expressed gratitude towards the West Coast team by calling them all by name on to the stage and saying thank you. the heartfelt love, respect and care expressed by team WCfm spread throughout the room and filled guests with nostalgic sentiment.

so what is next for this dynamic radio station? West Coast fm is the fastest growing radio station in namibia. the station has a long history of supporting our local artists and will now be able to sign and produce local music with their new state of the art production studio. the sky is the limt, we cannot wait to see what the future holds for our host at the cost. Well done West Coast fm!

from all of us at the namib independent we wish you a happy eighth Birthday West Coast fm!

Thursday, 13 November 2014 | 3 News

and did not release any further bullets. then, in another suicide attempt, the accused cut his wrists with a broken glass bottle,” the police stated.

the 30-year-old accused (who cannot be named until his court appearance) is currently at the state hospital receiving treatment for his self-inflicted wounds. the accused is under arrest and his room is guarded by police. he will appear on a murder charge as soon as he is released from hospital. Chief inspector iikuyu told the paper that they believe the pistol used at the crime scene belongs to the suspect’s uncle.

many took to social media, quick to judge both the deceased and accused of violence, cheating, fighting and lying; also asking why such a senseless killing happened, what the motives were, and whether this was just yet another gender based violence killing?

Comments streamed in, stating that the incident happened because of infidelity on Alupe’s side, but many who knew the couple immediately refuted these claims. others used this as an opportunity to get their personal views across, saying that women should stop cheating, and that they should find one man and stick with him.

many propagated bible verses in an attempt to make some sense of this pointless death. a relative close to the deceased quickly debunked claims of cheating and said that louise never cheated, but wanted to break-up with the accused for a while already, and that it could have been a case of possessiveness.

her friends and family described louise as a fun-loving lady, who was kind and always had a happy smile on her face. many knew louise from her time working at the popular lagoon restaurant in Walvis Bay.

Continued from Page 1

Lavrenty Repin

A mammoth “ant-heap” centre, golf course and casino to be located close to the Swakop Bridge

the project is advertised as the “ideal platform to introduce namibia to the rest of the world” and will include three hotels (one 5 star), a casino, a cinema, entertainment activities, a shopping centre, office parks, restaurants, low and high density accommodation, single and general residential properties, a golf course, public beaches and jetties into the ocean.

the project will also “feature a man-made inland marina with [a] yacht harbour” and an ambassador's Park, which is “a high security profile park where ambassadors and international delegates can own residences and offices in order to represent their respective countries in namibia.”

this was revealed in three reports released by sand rose investments, a 100% namibian owned company, which lists Paragon’s giants Desmond amunyela and lazarus Jacobs as well as Brynard Kotze, the man behind the controversial “namib eco village” at Dolphin Park, among its shareholders. When earlier this year the area was proposed in the media, the coastal community let out a huge outcry against the project, because of its location: about seven kilometres from swakopmund on the B2 road. until now there was no further information.

the scale of the project is immense in both ambition and infrastructure: the architecture of the main centre is modelled on the unique namibian desert rose as the name amply implies, while the second part of the building “is inspired by the typical structure of the ant heap”, adding that the “ant heap structure is one of the best natural ventilated systems to be known,” which is meant to save energy costs. in support of these architectural aspirations, the report boldly states that “there are none of these iconic structures in africa (except for the pyramids in egypt, which are only historic symbols) and Namibia should be the first to introduce this concept in africa.”

the projected site for the conventional centre is a conservation area; a delicate environment for sea and shore birds, which has been chosen by the developers because of its proximity to the two coastal towns. the location “represents two of namibia's major natural features i.e. the namib Desert and the atlantic ocean” and was also chosen because of the projected growth of the coast.

Controversial N$8 Billion “Desert Rose” Centre Revealed

the developers, as indicated by the scoping report, are fully aware of the conservation area, and the dangers of development, specifically for Damara tern breeding. however, the report points out that in 2005 the area was “ear-marked for ‘low-impact eco-tourism’ thus ideal for the proposed project.”

the full name of the development is the “namibia international Convention and exhibition Centre (NICC) and village project”, and the report claims that the convention centre’s “contribution to the namibia gDP in year one will be N$455 million, an amount that in five years cumulates to a total of n$4.8 billion”. While the construction period for the first of its kind centre will create employment for over 700 workers; by year 2021 indirect and direct jobs at the centre will surpass the 1500 mark, the report further stipulates, claiming later that overall “the project could generate up to 3500 job opportunities.”

however, the company will not be footing the n$8 billion price tag alone and is relying on government support, both local and national, to help fund and run the centre.

“it is a unique opportunity to create a modern icon that will draw international attention and demonstrate how a city or country wants to be seen by the international community,” the report explained.

environmental concerns for the project are widespread, especially within the swakopmund community; the project, however, falls under the Walvis Bay district and municipality. one way that the scoping report proposes to mitigate the conservational concerns is to introduce “demarcated areas for breeding with no access at all”. a large portion of the project will consist of a golf course, the scoping report further says, which will use primarily indigenous vegetation and, it is envisioned, can support the natural species within the area. the infrastructure is to be located a safe distance from the shoreline in anticipation of spring tide, “this will also ensure that the biodiversity of the intertidal zone is not affected.” the short shoreline is one of the richest in bird density: the stretch between swakopmund and Walvis Bay has up to 450 birds per kilometre, the highest linear count of

Woman Murdered on Beach

birds anywhere in southern africa.speaking in his personal capacity,

ecologist rod Braby in an interview with namib independent explained

how the fragile ecosystem that supports these and other species of animals is being boxed in by development. With construction of

the harbour extension in the south, the stretch from langstrand to swakopmund is the last place for sea-bird conservation.

the most fragile of these birds are the Damara terns, as demonstrated by the recent scenario where, mr Braby said, following the construction of the “namib eco-village” at afrodite beach about 40 marked breeding pairs of the bird vanished; presumably, Mr Braby asserted, the particular colony is extinct. there are between 1000 and 2000 breeding pairs of Damara tern left in the wild, although some figures are less optimistic. responding to the solutions proposed by the final scoping report, mr Braby said that there is no “win-win solution”.

“the golf course is not a natural habitat, no matter what they do,” he stated, “the grass will be imported and anyway, there will be golf balls flying in all directions; you can’t compare the two.”

in south africa, the Damara tern is a critically endangered species, and namibia is its primary breeding ground. other shore and sea birds will also be impacted, including flamingos and pelicans; and if they relocate, the probability is that they will die in unknown environments, mr Braby pointed out.

Presently the beach is popular with tourists and fishermen and, as Mr Braby explained, is also popular with people collecting shells for oneyaka, lobster catching and an influx of tourists who want to “experience nature”.

mr Braby’s views on the development are dire: “We don’t need another convention centre, another golf course or more residential houses,” he lamented, “this project will make namibia look very silly. this is a conservation area and if we allow this to happen, then what next? Where will it stop?”

Continued from Page 1


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Enough Is Enough!Walvis Bay Youth Plan to Land Grab

N$110 Million Cold Storage Facility Coming Soon

Lana Groenewald

Following the recent news reports about land grabbing in the capital city of Namibia, the trend is quickly gaining momentum amongst the young generation of Namibia. With spiking house prices that can now only be afforded by the rich, Walvis Bay youth have decided to take a stand, using social media to organise land grabbing events around town this weekend.

it only took one person to spark the thought, after which it caught quickly and spread like wildfire.

“We shall rise against Walvis municipality for land. Join us for land grab at narraville and meersig,” the post on facebook read. more than twenty supporters agreed - it is worrying that there were hardly any anti-landgrabbers. the only concern was about what the police might do.

however, this was quickly suffocated by those who strongly expressed their frustration with the impossible rates of land prices. “Be afraid of the police? What for,” one replied. “We are not going to fight,” he added. “Better to die than to suffer,” another person commented, after having considered

Tanya Calitz

The gigantic Zambian cold storage facility planned for Walvis Bay is in its final stages of getting approval, and the developers envision construction to commence soon.

the company behind this big project is Africa Union Financial Services (AUFS) namibia and africa union Cargo namibia with its investor partner. the purpose of the proposed facility will be to provide high density storage for up to 10 000 tonnes of frozen fish products. It will consist of a temperature controlled warehouse, together with additional facilities including a reception area, an office, ablution facilities, workshop and packing material storage.

a single storey building is proposed due to its lighter construction; increased span and pillar height; and improved transport of materials within the structure. it will be about 1 860m2 in area and 15m in height; whereas the reception and loading areas will be about 2 900m2 in size. the remainder of the site will be interlocked and used for the manoeuvring and parking of vehicles. the project is expected to promote trade development with the Zambian government. according to media reports, namport intends to install a noise barrier along its new ring road within the Port of Walvis Bay and has budgeted n$10 million for its construction.

According to Chief Executive Officer of african union Cargo, mr naeem fortune,

the project creates about 40 jobs directly during the construction phase and employs about 30 permanent staff by the operation phase.

“our intention is to start with construction after the eia process. We were awarded with the clearance certificate and Namport has issued us with a building permit. Construction is dependent on the tender document. the average period for this level of construction could be 15 months. our prediction is middle 2016,” fortune explained. once the facility is up and running, fortune said that they aim for the Zambian community, namibian quota holders and clients who require the storage facility on request.

what legal actions might be taken. “it will only end if we stand together as

one. in the end it will ask pain and blood. I will fight against corruption until I die,” another commentator stated boldly.

“the time has come for poor people to get ourselves a piece of land through affirmative actions. enough is enough. Come this saturday i will have erf 2014 as my own,” another local resident exclaimed.


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Cheaper Building Alternative for Coast

6 Million in Library Books Fail to Reach Swakop

Siglinde de Villiers

The innovative design of a new building trend by a local resident, has turned the tide of construction from an highly expensive endeavor to an affordable project for any home owner. The unique angle mould systems is unconventional and unique, utilizing cardboard moulds for cement brick wall construction.

an innovative idea from a local resident has changed the building industry from an highly expensive endeavor to an affordable plan. angle mould systems where recycled used cardboard is utilized for building construction. unconventional and unique, turn the tide on construction methods. new building trend.

“i started the design of the angle mould building system in 2000,” andre Dirsuwei told the namib independent in an exclusive interview. after having spent 42 years in the construction industry, Dirsuwei wanted to make construction easier and more affordable. “my system is a total new building trend, suitable for the construction of any cement brick wall and is much cheaper than any of the current construction methods,” Dirsuwei explained. Consequently, even the poor can now afford to build, especially in rural areas or on farms where people often have to


The Swakopmund Library lost out on N$6 million of library books when a contractor failed to deliver on time. The books were part of a compact signed by the Namibian government and an agency from the Unites States of America, who have been assisting Namibia to reach educational objectives within a five year period.

in 2008, namibia signed a grand funding agreement, the millenium Challenge Account Namibia (MCAN) with the millenium Challenge Corporation, an agency of the united states, to enable namibia to achieve the objectives of the compact.

according to education Director mCa tulimevava nghiyoonanye, the mCan compact programme was passed in parliament in 2008 and only made provision for deliveries by contractors in the time period between september 2008 and 16 september 2014.

“anything we do must be done within that period. items ordered before but not delivered on time will not even be considered,” she said.

the mCan implemented the programme and used the funding for the acquisition of goods, works and services. one of the services was the acquisition of library books for local

manufacture their own bricks. What a turn in the tide for the construction industry, which used to be tantamount to with the wealthy. so how are these bricks different?

Basically, Dirsuwei’s bricks are cardboard sheets that can be folded into moulds, stapled together and filled with cement mortar. Once the wall is finished and the cement mortar has cured, the cardboard is torn off, after which the wall can be plastered and painted as normal. Wont the cardboard become soggy from the water in the cement, you may ask. the secret lies in how these bricks are produced.

“there are two ways for making these bricks,” Dirsuwei explained. “either, the cardboard sheets are mass produced by a local factory for big brick sizes or through the recycling of all kinds of other cardboard boxes, where a template is used to cut and fold smaller brick sizes,” Dirsuwei said. the factory produced cardboard moulds are impregnated with a wax lining on the inside. “for recycled cardboard bricks, the cement mixture may not be too soggy. it might sound controversial, however, it can and has been done,” Dirsuwei added while displaying photographs of such walls from all over town.

the cardboard brick boasts a unique shape. unlike the rectangular conventional bricks, these bricks are triangular and slot tightly into each other. thus, mortar between bricks and layers of bricks as well as brickforce is rendered unnecessary,

saving building costs. is this angle mould system structurally sound though? “Conventional bricks exert a downward force and one needs to use brickforce to distribute the weight across the wall,” Dirsuwei answered. “in contrast, the triangular shapes of the cardboard bricks allows the walls weight to be distributed evenly across the wall without brickforce,” Dirsuwei continued. “Wherever the cement inside each cardboard brick meets with its neighbour, it fuses, forming one unit. When the cardboard is torn off after the wall has completed some of it remains in the wall. this gives the wall the needed space to expand and contract without cracking as temperatures change,” Dirsuwei said.

according to Dirsuwei, once cement is mixed with water, a chemical reaction is set off which takes approximately 28 days to cure, provided there is enough water to keep the reaction going. thus builders often hose down a wall to keep it moist, however, since the cardboard bricks effectively lock in moisture, they essentially save water.

the fact that moulds can now be folded out of cardboard boxes has many benefits. “The whole building process becomes one,” Dirsuwei elaborated. “One does not first have to manufacture bricks and transport them to the building site, instead, one can make the bricks as you build the wall,” Dirsuwei said. neither does one need to organize for large trucks

to deliver these bricks, the lightweight cardboxes would fit into any small car. The simple method of ‘stack and fill ‘em up’ makes D.i.y building easy and since there is zero waste, its environmentally friendly.

“We all know how expensive building operations are. if one really needs to build, there now is a way to cut large

costs, the very reason why these bricks have been designed: to help those who need houses but cannot afford the conventional building method,” Dirsuwei concluded.

for price enquiries, any interested persons are welcome to contact andre Dirsuwei, details are found on the advertisement in this issue.

libraries. the mCan set the deadline for 16 September for all contractors to finish their deliveries.

“no further deliveries of goods or other services will be accepted by mCan after the cutoff date,” an mCan notice said that went out to all contractors ahead of time. however, a contractor from Botswana failed to heed the deadline and thus the tender for n$6 million for library books was cancelled at the last minute.

“the books were meant to arrive before 16 september at the swakopmund library, but the late delivery by the contractor from Botswana forced us to reject all the books that arrived after the cutoff date,” Penny akwenye, the Ceo of mCan commented. “as a result, only a handful of books were distributed.”

according to the Ceo, the books were part of the organisation’s last batch of books to be delivered to state libraries and it is very sad that the contractor failed to understand mCan’s policies and proved ignorant of the deadline. “We advised the contractor where to find the books, but she failed to deliver most of them and only managed to find a few,” Akwenye added.

mCan did not reveal the total number of books that they have received, however, the books were meant to total a value of n$6 million.

During the five years that MCAN has been in the country, they have worked closely with the namibian government to upgrade and renovate schools by supplying study materials and library books.


A toast to success

www.namport.com

The Namport Board of Directors, Chief Executive O�cer, Bisey /Uirab and the entire team would

like to congratulate the WBCG Chief Executive, Johny Smith, for being named the Continental

Winner in the Logistics Sector by the CEO Magazine's Titan Awards. Johny and his team have

been instrumental in positioning the Port of Walvis Bay as SADC's logistical hub.

Walvis Bay Goes Green in Cycle 4 Damian Event


Last weekend, new and old cyclists supported the Cycle 4 Damian event, organised and sponsored by Eminent Blue Star and the Namib Times. Apart from raising funds for Damian Sagner, who was diagnosed with major heart complications early in 2013 and had recently undergone open heart surgery, the three cycling events were also a step towards a Go Green initiative in Walvis Bay.

from obtaining the sponsors, getting permissions, organising t-shirts and medals as well as

planning the route and putting up signs, the Cycle 4 Damian event was organised over a period of two months.

“there was stacks of paperwork involved in getting everything ready,” said Danny Beukes from eminent Blue star, the main organiser and initiator of the event. Cycle 4 Damian started on friday evening and ended on saturday morning, integrating three different tracks.

“in total there were three events,” Beukes explained. “the night-ride took place on friday evening and covered a distance of 10km. even though it was a bit misty, it was a really beautiful evening, with not so much as a breeze,” Beukes said. the second event comprised a 45 km route along the back road passing Dune 7 up to the rossmund golf course. this was then followed by a third event: a 5km kiddie’s fun ride in rossmund itself.

the organisers were quite surprised by the turnout, with many first timers as well as experienced cyclists taking part. according to Beukes, there was a total of 155 entrants for all three events, of which 70 cyclists participated in the main 45km event.

“the fastest time for the main event was one hour and 18 minutes,” Beukes shared, while the last person completed the route in about three hours. Cyclists had to organise their own transport in order to return to their homes. “When everybody was done some went home, but to no surprise, the Desert Dash cyclists

completed an additional circuit of 120 km.”

one of the main challenges in organising the event is the weather. “since the event has to be planned long ahead of time, we can never be sure of the weather. if the weather is bad, is does not motivate cyclists to partake,” Beukes said. fortunately, the weather gave its full support to the Cycle 4 Damian event last weekend.

another challenge is to get more cyclists to participate. “even though the main purpose of the event was to raise money for Damian, we also wanted to start a go green initiative, raising more awareness about cycling and encouraging it in Walvis Bay,” Beukes said.

unfortunately, Walvis Bay is not a cycle friendly town, considering that local malls, most shops and even banks hardly have bicycle stands.

“if we compare, swakopmund is a very cycle friendly town, which motivates people to go green. it’s not the same here, though, and should definitely be promoted more,” said marshallino Beukes, senior journalist from the namib times.

according to Beukes, Damian had undergone open heart surgery in germany at the end of october and is recovering well.

at the time of going to print, the total amount raised had not yet been finalised. However, Beukes did indicate that they did not reach their n$100 000 target.


Value Adding… For Who Exactly? Part 2Opinion by Gareth Amos

Following the hoopla surrounding the very recent “opening” of a value addition factory by Gendev, this is the second instalment looking into the matter of the Fisheries Minister’s call and insistence on creating value on our shores instead of shipping jobs overseas where foreigners benefit from the value adding process. This makes perfect sense - in some instances, though most definitely not in others.

no person that was raised in Walvis and whose people were fed from the sea, could deny the opportunity for the local economy to benefit from the value adding process of our town’s primary resource. in the case of much sought after products such as hake (and pilchards) internationally, this makes perfect sense and the government’s insistence that the value addition be carried on our shores and not in the faraway factories of spain can only do good.

markets are mature and the demand, at a premium for value added products, is deeply entrenched

in these markets. With the shift to value adding at home, our harvesters are not only able realise greater profits from the process but real jobs that were not available in namibia are created on account of increasing the product value at home. all the while, the shift in service enjoys an added benefit (value) in terms of generating foreign income.

the same however, cannot be said of the lowly horse mackerel, which in its own right enjoys the demands of a very lucrative and substantial south and Central african market, including our own country.

there is, it must be noted, a not too insignificant difference between this market and the one enjoyed by products such as hake… horse mackerel is a staple, incredibly cost effective source of protein not bought as a luxury item, but as a necessary means of survival, period. from our own northern region up to the Congo, the purchasers of the product are folk living on paltry incomes as low as n$300 per month, per household.

the call for pretty packaging, jam-packed with crunchy coated, ready battered fillets is silent for a

Image for illustrative purposed only

reason. repackaging the product in even the slightest manner so that a few hundred people may be employed in the process represents to the poor a death knoll, from which the bullet, in the form of increased prices, is able to inflict its crippling blow.

in its current form the supply chain, irrespective of where, how and by whom the product is packed, is a crude, though cost effective process in which the product is shipped in relative bulk and broken down into ever smaller increments on its journey from harvester to consumer in a shanti town lento in Kinshasa or Brazzaville in the DrC, who is in all likelihood buying five or less fish filtered down from a 20kg box that originally left the factory. for households on less than a us dollar a day, a very cheap handful of fish in a jiffy bag trumps (in all circumstances and on every occasion) sourced, sauté or sliced fish in a beautifully branded bag or box.

the fact is that the economics has no stead in this model and on account of this our government is forcing our harvesters to implement sleight-of-hand strategies designed to misdirect the public and electorate. the jobs created are precarious at best with employment figures bandied about, misleading on account of their part time nature, no work no pay policies and indeed the fact that most of the workers in the factory (in gendev’s case specifically) have been employed by the very same company for some time already as packers and sorters for their other products anyway.

so, in terms of value adding, horse mackerel is to hake as are apples to oranges. it is for this reason that it matters not in the greater scheme of things if the product receives the value add treatment or not, because market forces demand that

our harvesters stick to business as usual for 99% of the annual harvest anyway. nothing has really changed, except that companies complicit with the political agenda are naturally rewarded with larger quotas - bear in mind that a corporation in any industry has one responsibility only (when stripped of its PR veil), which is to increase shareholder value, period.

if the government really wants to

spread the wealth of this specific resource to all namibians it should put into practice policies that see schools and teachers or hospitals and nurses benefiting from every tonne trawled.

(note: gendev was contacted on numerous occasions for an interview, however declined to acknowledge any such invitation or request)

Adopt a Child Campaign Tanya Calitz

The JJ’s Care Centre based in Walvis Bay recently launched a very worthy campaign, which allows community members or companies to ‘adopt’ a child at the Edu-Therapy Day Care facility for children with physical and mental disabilities.

“We have about 15 special needs children we care for daily, but are constantly running out of funds,” Kim flanagan shares with the paper. the centre provides a safe haven for

children who cannot adapt well in a regular school.

“the centre believes that all children should be given the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. We provide the children with all meals and snacks, stimulation, education as well as much needed therapy, and unfortunately many of these children come from financially strained backgrounds,” Kim explains.

having a special needs child herself, Kim understand all too well what it takes to care for these children

every day. if anyone is interested in adopting a child financially, they can go to the centre and take a look at the facility, the children and what the needs are.

“our goal is to reach 100 committed people each donating a minimum of $200 per month – this will be sufficient financial support to provide all the needs for all the children,” Kim says. for more information contact Kim on 081 479 0725 or email to: [email protected]


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Curves Swakopmund Donate To Breast Cancer Awareness

Tara van Eck

In October 2014, Curves Swakopmund pledged to give support to the Cancer

Association of Namibia (CAN) to raise funds for research and support programmes to educate woman on breast cancer issues.

they now have raised almost n$1700 for the Breast Cancer awareness Campaign.

“fundraising for breast cancer charities is something that unites the Curves community globally and we’re delighted to be able to support the Cancer association of namibia, whose goals of caring for and strengthening women match Curves’ core values perfectly well,” said the owner of Curves, ruth venter.

mrs venter thanked all those who joined the club in support of this campaign when she presented the cheque to anita Korf, a volunteer for Can. the Can project coordinator, lizelle van schalkwyk, commented: “thank you so much for your support! it is only with the help from fellow namibians like you that we can continue to assist cancer patients in namibia.”

for more information, please visit www.curves.co.za or call Curves swakopmund on 064 46 2001.

Staff Reporter

A month ago, Samsung Store Walvis Bay and the Namib Independent joined forces in an effort to test the creativity of the coastal community and beyond by hosting Namibia’s first ever photographic competition exclusively for images taken and edited using a cell phone only.

owen thomas, owner of the samsung store Walvis Bay, said, “the response has been overwhelming and the quality of the creativity on display has been phenomenal, which made the selection process a

nightmare.”gareth amos, managing

editor of the namib independent, said, “When i first discussed the idea with mr. thomas, his immediate willingness to provide an extraordinary prize in terms of the very latest samsun s5 was surprising at first, but I understood his progressive motivation after he explained that samsung’s philosophy and innovative leadership stems from a deep understanding that the cell phone has become so much more than the device it was only a handful of years ago.”

“the technology housed in all samsung phones and

hand held devices place phenomenal computing power into the palms of the user with the camera, film and editing power, albeit an important element is only one of many features that speaks to the innovation of samsung,” mr amos added.

the winner of the samsung galaxy s5, is ms Daphne Willem of Walvis Bay. on account of the quality of entries samsung store agreed to award two n$250.00 vouchers to spend on any samsung product to the two runners ups. the runners up are mike shigwedha in second place and leane ackermann in third place.


CHEC and MANWU Reach Agreement

Young Woman Drowns at Old Klip Jetty

Tara van Eck

A 20-year-old woman from Swakopmund tragically died on Sunday afternoon while going for a swim with her boyfriend at the Old Klip Jetty.

ms martha Boois was declared dead by medics from emed rescue services upon their arrival. another emergency officer confirmed that alcohol was present at the scene.

“We have so many accidents happening at the old Klip Jetty. People underestimate the power of the strong sea currents - add alcohol and swimming to the mix and it becomes a very dangerous situation,” a medic from emed said. the deceased was lifted out of the water after rescue divers searched for an hour to find her body.

it is believed that Boois and her boyfriend went for one last swim, before they were going to head home. according to nampol, a current might have gotten hold of them and pulled them in. martha’s boyfriend tried to rescue her, but the currents were too

Tanya Calitz

This week the Metal and Allied Workers (MANWU) Union and the Chinese Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) signed an agreement, where CHEC exclusively took on MANWU to be the bargaining agent between employer and employee.

CheC and its workers have had several unresolved disputes in the past, but according to mr feng, the acting Project manager for CheC, that is now a thing of the past.

“today we harvest the fruit of our work together over the past few months by signing the Project labour agreement for the Walvis Bay Container terminal project,” feng said during his speech at the event. according to manwu’s general secretary, ms Justina Jonas, this is a very positive move in the right direction for both CheC and its employees.

“the right to collective bargaining is one of the top principals of manWu.

"in manWu we say no to compromise of collective bargaining in the workplace as we strongly believe that this unique process changed our members’ lives at work and their homes,” Jonas said.

a big concern for many of the labourers working on the container terminal is that they

do not have long term contracts and that they will be left without work as soon as the container terminal project has been completed. however, it was mentioned at the meeting today that namport will make some arrangements and space for some of the skilled workers to find a position within the company.

“at one of our company induction sessions i told our local employees that working for CheC

will not only provide a salary, but a platform for a better future. the Walvis Bay container terminal will be a world class facility once it is complete, and while we work together to make this happen, the experience and knowledge we will gain will broaden everyone’s skills and experience and provide us all with the opportunity for personal improvement,” feng concluded.

strong for him. “We sent both martha’s boyfriend

and friend who tried to rescue her to hospital for observation as they were clearly traumatised by the incident. We also noticed that she might have been pregnant but are waiting for the autopsy to confirm this,” a source from the fire and rescue department disclosed.

“it is still early stages and the investigation continues,” nampol swakopmund concluded.

Thursday, 13 November 2014 | 11

Where to, Walvis? One Man’s Heaven Another Man’s Hell?

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Opinion: Gareth Amos

“Somebody, please think of the children,” was a standard exclamation bellowed out at almost every public information session held by Mayor Quimby on any matter relating to the well-being of the townsfolk in Springfield (state unknown), in TV’s most successful and longest running sitcom, The Simpsons.

no matter the issue at hand, generic mother number three would utter these immortal words at the drop of a hat. at the recent information sharing session on the future of our town and region in terms of development and economic growth, at all times, i fully expected to hear this cry… “somebody, please think of the children.”

the reason for my expectative state of readiness, is that amongst the extremely detailed and extraordinary facts and figures relating the economic, environmental and the corridor and logistics mushroom cloud that will be the gateway into sub-saharan

africa, the actual social impacts that are likely to befall our tiny town were wafer thin and almost entirely unrepresented but for a single paragraph deep within an otherwise well-conceived and conveyed power point presentation.

Analysis of facts and of figures are both exciting; almost incompressible for the sheer audacity of the vision and one cannot but root for the economic successes that are on promise for the coast and country. how could one not?

imagine, if you will, the vision. the WBCg, who have done an exemplary job since their inception estimate that by the year 2020 the volumes of cargo passing through our town and country are to triple and by 2025 are to have multiplied by six. the net result being an expectation that the urban logistics hubs of Walvis Bay and Windhoek are going to explode on every level. there is further every likelihood that a third urban logistics hub shall be borne from grootfontein, on account of its geographical location. the latter is expected to become a key collections and

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distribution hub.in order for the saDC gateway

vision to be fulfilled, incredible amounts of capital investment shall be required to ready our roads and railways. in the case of grootfontein, particular emphasis must be placed upon the upgrading of the rail network to and beyond the town as part of the trans-Kalahari line. the development of the trans-Kalahari railway line alone will require approximately us$11 billion and another us$10 billion in operational expenses for next thirty years.

the complexity of the task ahead has deep reaching implications for the national strategic view in terms of integrated town planning, rail, road, power, water and amenities as well as land and housing development, labour and education to name but a few.

The sheer growth; this mushrooming of new industries in these areas borne from the need to service the global supply chain is almost unimaginable.

much of these issues may be solved with foreign investment. Money fixes almost everything, though in the case of people, i am not too sure that an injection of cash is going to alleviate the potential nightmare that may grow from this growth.

firstly, one needs to consider the impact that the developments will have on the immigration patterns of namibia, which have traditionally seen migrant workers making a beeline to the capital in search of a better life and, in the past ten years or so, to the coastal shores in hopes of gaining employment in the mining or fishing sectors.

looking at Walvis Bay’s stats in isolation, our population is projected to double from the 79 500 figure of 2012 to 180 000 in the next twenty years, based on an average 4.7% annual growth rate projection. this figure has been extrapolated from the average growth rate since 1997, when the population was a mere 37 565. on the surface this is reasonable, however, there is caveat not to be ignored. the 4.7% figure ignores an alarmingly high increase in our population in two consecutive years (2011 and 2012), which is a whopping 10%. this, without the key developmental projects getting underway. this, sir, is a sobering thought.

the Walvis Bay municipality in its wisdom has compiled, with the assistance of outside brain trusts, what can only be described as a shopping list of basic requirements that are needed to meet this growth over the next 20 years. Keep in mind though, that the basic premise of the projections is based on historical data from 1991 to 2012 and reasons best known to the trust alone. they make no accommodation for the impact of the harbour project and the development of Walvis Bay in the gateway hub for the saDC region. an extrapolation of historical data is valid only where no significant changes to the status quo are expected and the fantastical plans outlined in this article shall surely have an impact on the status quo in this

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specific instance. I am not a statistics guru, but in the famous words of the Starship Enterprises science officer, mr. spock, “there’s an anomaly in the nebula, Captain Kirk.”

let’s ignore completely the fact that in the two most recent years of data, we have seen a 10% spike in population growth, so what does the future look like at 4.7%? according to the Walvis Bay integrated urban spatial Development frame Work made public in June 2014, our town is set to buckle under the weight of providing the basic services only, to a population of 180 000.

the amount of residential land needed to accommodate the housing shortfall by 2030 is in the order of 2 000 hectares. the town will need to plan, establish and service an estimated 90 new residential townships, providing some 30 000 erven, and constructing or facilitating the construction of over 40 000 houses, flats and townhouses. in the next 17 years, Walvis Bay must develop more housing, schools, clinics, community facilities, commercial and industrial opportunities, etc. than it has done since its establishment as a settlement over a hundred years ago!

Basic amenities for 180 000 people include an estimated 66 primary schools, 16 secondary schools, 40 crèches, 20 clinics, 20 community centers, eight police stations and four fire stations. When one considers the macro requirements that include provision of power, water and the provision of basic goods and services, one cannot help being left with a sense of despair for the well-being of tomorrow’s Walvis Bayers (our children’s).

stitching two data-sets together

in terms of the vision of growth and requirements for the continued development of the saDC gateway with the municipality’s data set, which is seemingly oblivious or simply “ostrichesque” in terror of the truth, the stark reality is that we are in dire straits. the visionaries in the saDC stable compare continually our path ahead to the path that lies in the wake of modern day Dubai, but what they are not telling us is that behind the picture perfect skyline images imprinted in our minds, lie miles and miles of endless slums where the workforce required during the building phase are now left without hope or a means of livelihood.

even if we were able to build the schools and clinics required, from whence shall we get the teachers, doctors and nurses? Who are the engineers, chemical engineers and nuclear scientists, industry captains, financiers and professionals without whom the gateway vision falls asunder?

The influx into our coastal town shall contain none of the above and the reality is that a sea of the uneducated, unskilled and unemployable shall make up the numbers on the graph. yes, a portion of these migrants may prosper during the construction phase which calls for labourers, but like the builders of Dubai, shall find no solace afterwards.

I am afraid that the figures and facts presented paint a picture that is in line with the capitalistic model the world over. the 1% (in this case mostly foreigners with skills and capital) shall benefit from the SADC gateway project while the 99% face a future in the slums tomorrow.

Thursday, 13 November 201412 |

Angola is Expanding its Harbours – What About Namport?

Lavrenty Repin

Since the end of Angola’s civil war, the country has been rapidly developing its infrastructure. There are new roads and highways built in every neighbourhood and every region, a new international airport is now up and running and as the country becomes steadier and wealthier, harbour expansion is the next big government project of the ex-Portuguese colony.

angola’s gDP is currently at usD127 billion, thanks to its large population and oil exploits and has experienced prompt growth of over usD 40 billion in the last eight years. By comparison, namibia’s gDP presently stands at about usD13 billion. this means that namibia, over the last ten years, has been in direct competition with our northern neighbour, and in terms of economy, we are certainly the underdogs.

underdogs, albeit with great ambition, which is why the namport harbour expansion project is so promising for our coast, and has the potential to catapult our economy to international standards. however, angola is in the process of expansions of their own, and although indications say that they are behind us on schedule; is the future of south-western sea transport really in the hands of Walvis Bay?

angola has eight major sea ports and business is booming: angola is america’s third largest trading partner in africa, after niger and south africa. Currently, according to ports.com, a world catalogue for ports and harbours, at 23 metres and above the port of luanda is significantly deeper than Namibia’s, which only reaches 9.1 metres at its deepest. this means that the luanda port is capable to accommodate the largest Panamax cargo ships.

lobito, another angolan harbour that handles 2 000 000 tonnes of cargo and

370 ships annually and is also under expansion, is also listed as a Panamax port. although luanda’s repair facilities are deemed “limited” in comparison with namibia’s “moderate,” the port’s shelter is described as “excellent” - compared to “good” shelter in namibia. according to an aiCD study on africa’s ports, “as a hub for distributing cargo around angola’s 1 246 700-square-kilometre land area, the port of luanda is unrivalled."

the country’s proximity to the mineral rich Democratic republic of Congo and the Zambia copper corridor makes it an important mining transport hub, especially with the success of the port of lobito. the port is being expanded rapidly, the government having already invested us$1.2 billion to modernise it. a number of existing plans for other ports in angola are under consideration, besides the three new ports built in Cabinda, Bengo and Cuanza sul provinces. the government has made port expansion projects a “special priority” in the 2013-2017 national Development Plan and aims to invest nearly us$8.8 billion in this sector over the next five years; which promises to be a head-on rivalry with namport’s expansion.

southern africa certainly does not lack in harbour infrastructure. as this article is read, one of the busiest ports in southern africa, the port of Durban, is creating more container handling facilities, including a second container terminal. But demand has also been on the increase, especially with renewed economic interests directed to the Dark Continent from asia, europe and america. so much so that namport’s harbour demand has tripled since 2008, from 1 000 ships a year to an average of 3 000. this is generally because the majority of mineral rich sub-saharan countries are landlocked, and countries like Angola and Namibia stand to benefit for decades from further investment into the continent.

Competition may be high for the coastal town, but Walvis Bay, and namibia as a whole, can pride itself in the advantages we have, which most african countries cannot dream to provide. there are good road and rail connections within our country while the trans Kalahari Corridor links namport with Botswana and south africa.

economic and political stability has one of the best, if not the best, track records in africa. as the aiCD study aptly pointed out, "Namibia’s port system reflects its modern origins and is largely unencumbered by the problems that many of its peers face that stem from bygone days. it has a good base to build on and achieve further progress."

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Where to, Walvis? Macro-Economic Perspective

Gareth Amos

Residents of our coastal region would be readily forgiven for not fully comprehending the enormity of the vision and the far reaching consequences for community, country and the constituency of the entire SADC region that will come into play and forever change the lives, culture and psyche of the costal populace for better or for worse.

at a recent information sharing breakfast hosted by the municipality of Walvis Bay, representatives of the Walvis Bay Corridor group (WBCG), NACOMA and the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) imparted to invited guests a crystal clear clarity of the widest array of complex and interconnected facets that will be affected by the continued port development and the establishment of a sub-saharan logistics gateway in Walvis Bay.

the imperative of the session stems from the fact that plans to develop a new port known as the saDC gateway, some five kilometres north of Walvis Bay, have been moved forward by a year, with phase one of the project expected to start in 2015, and not 2016 as originally planned.

according mr matthew mirecki of the EAN, logistics has been identified as one of four key pillars, the rest of which are tourism, manufacturing and agriculture. these shall be the key drivers of the government’s long term national Development Plan.

in fact, emphasis is so greatly placed on the logistics sector that government has instituted an ambitious national economic objective for the sector in terms of volumes of cargo handling: rail and road transported cargo by 2017 shall be double that of 2012, thus making the port of Walvis Bay the preferred african coast port and logistics corridor for southern and central african logistics operations.

as with any such development the economic impact on Walvis Bay and namibia in both short and long term is not insignificant. With a price ticket of n$30 billion for the construction phase only, the first beneficiaries are the construction industry and the army of semi and unskilled labourers called for in the development stage of the project.

“the initiation and continued development process will have significant economic impact in terms of indirect multiplier effects. the increased job creation and employment levels will create demand for goods and services to support the logistics industry in terms of goods and services, which in turn will help to support other industries such as wholesale, manufacturing, retail and financial intermediation,” said Mirecki.

in addition to the increase in the aforementioned, mirecki highlighted that the necessary procurement that coexists with large-scale projects of this nature provides an opportunity for

developing small and medium sized enterprises throughout namibia. the construction of the port and the wages it creates will also help to generate much needed revenue for government, which in turn can be subsequently spent on addressing the socio-economic issues.

the national Development Plan also highlights that namibia’s transport and communications sectors are to be significant winners as the Gateway continues to open up and maximise on countries such as Zambia, the DrC, Zimbabwe, malawi, angola and Botswana, which represent a significant market in excess of 140 million people and a combined GDP figure of more than that us$210 billion, which according to the world bank will grow to over us$330 billion by 2019.

in spite of the rosy outlook in terms of new accessible markets, mirecki does warn that in order for the project and the country to maximise on the promise it present, there are a number of key consideration that cannot be overlooked.

these include the current state of namibian road infrastructure, of which only 15% are standard bitumen roads required to facilitate the expected heavy duty traffic increases. Couple this with the fact that our rail network extends to only 2 488km and currently has no cross-border rail links with angola, Botswana and Zambia, and that current capabilities in terms of rail are entirely inadequate, underused and underdeveloped - namibia has serious challenges in term of being able to physically fulfil increases in trade expected from the gateway development.

additionally, namibia has a shocking ranking of being an easy country to do business with. in fact, the low ranking of 80th out of 88 countries in the most recent World Bank’s “ease of Doing Business With” survey almost suggests that we have adopted a national policy of making trade with namibia a literal impossibility. this is evidenced in terms of the cost of doing business, the bureaucracy and our hostile policies and attitudes in terms of immigration and skills importation.

A final consideration in terms of the economic perspective will be the effects on land and property prices. With an estimated doubling of the Walvis Bay population within the next twenty years, from 79 500 (figure of 2012) to 180 000, land prices are expected to sky rocket. the coastal region already has the second highest annual housing price increase rate, second only to Dubai. With the influx of workers from inland and the globe, we are certain to see this trend continue year upon year. naturally, coastal house pricing will increase national house prices and at current rates, these increases represent nothing short of a significant national threat to our people.

Call Lorna on064 200497or [email protected]

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Thursday, 13 November 201414 |

WorldWIdeSuicide by Crocodile

A 65-year-old woman from Bangkok has killed herself by jumping into a pit of crocodiles at a reptile farm near the capital, in a suicide incident.

Witnesses saw Wanpen inyai jumping into a pond at samut Prakarn Crocodile farm and Zoo on friday, reported the Bangkok Post. staff failed to rescue her. Police said they were told by family members that ms Wanpen appeared depressed prior to her death. thai tourist attractions are said to often have lax safety rules.

Thai police confirmed Ms Wanpen's death on tuesday afternoon.

according to reports, she took off her shoes before jumping into the middle of a pond said to be up to 3m deep that contained hundreds of adult crocodiles. staff tried to use long sticks to stop the crocodiles from attacking her, according to the Bangkok Post.

earlier that day, ms Wanpen's family had tried to file a missing persons report after they discovered her disappearance, but they were

reportedly told to wait for 24 hours. her death mirrored that of a woman who killed herself in 2002 the same way at the same farm, and another suicide reportedly took place a decade before that. farm owner uthen youngprapakorn told a local radio station that the farm had already installed additional fences and other security measures along the walkways.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/

Gay Bull of No Use to FarmerA bull in Ireland is facing the prospect of a visit to the abattoir, because he only has eyes for his male counterparts.

Benjy, a pedigree Charolais bull, who belongs to a farm in County mayo, was bought to breed with fertile cows. however, when they were later examined, it was revealed that none of the animals had been impregnated.

it had been initially thought that this was due to Benjy suffering performance anxiety, after having to deal with the pressure of having sex in public. after his sexual habits were consequently monitored, it became apparent that he was more inclined to the affections of bulls.

the unnamed farmer who owns Benjy told the irish Daily mail that while he had accepted Benjy’s sexuality, he was now at threat of being slaughtered.

"the bull is now too old to castrate and turn into a bullock so i will keep him for the factory. At first, I didn’t take it seriously that the bull could be gay, but after seeking advice i know this can happen," he added.

a new addition to the farm has since been bought by the farmer, and a number of cows are now believed to be pregnant, although Benjy’s fate still hangs in the balance.

Source: http://metro.co.uk/

Thursday, 13 November 2014 | 15

MoTorINGMotoring

Process and Project Manager

Key Responsibilities

Key Technical/Professional Competencies

Key Experiences

For our Marine Services business in Walvis Bay, Namibia, we are seeking to employ a high calibre Process and Project Manager. The Process and Project Manager is responsible for the operational management of spare parts processing, project and contract management and service administration. The role reports to the Service Centre Manager.

• Manage the customer services support teams to drive on-time delivery and responsiveness through processes that focus on cost, quality, customer satisfaction and profitability. Monitor the processes using relevant metrics and reporting and keep in close contact with the customer.

• Ensure working procedures are defined and adhered to, to maintain quality in service delivery and meet customer timescales.

• Support the coordination and development of working procedures for repair & overhaul, upgrading, and turnkey projects, including pre-calculation and invoicing in the Area

• Identify preferred suppliers for equipment, technical capability and resources required for service projects/activities. Act as the key interface for managing the supplier relationships

• Pro-actively improve, monitor and report compliance against Rolls-Royce quality management requirements (as in QMS) and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE). Prepare for and manage internal and external audits as required

• Develop manpower plans for the Back Office to support the service activities across the locations within the Area. Manage performance and training of the team

• Work with the Area finance team to ensure periodic and ad hoc financial reporting requirements are met in a timely and accurate manner. Provide commentary and background information enabling users to understand the processes in the Back Office

• Work with the Services Development Manager and Service Centre Manager to actively seek opportunities to grow and improve service delivery

• Support the implementation of CBP (Common Business Process) across services activities in-country

• Support and implement the Journey to Process Excellence (JtPE) improvement plans

• In depth knowledge of the maritime industry & market• Demonstrated management capability, preferably within the marine sector• Good verbal and written communication skills• Fluency in English• Pro-active self-starter• Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant discipline

• Preferred experience working in the Marine sector• Preferred experience with Marine Products and Systems• Relevant experience in previous Service / Management roles

To apply, please submit your CV in English to Calandra Beukes: [email protected] Closing date: 30th of January 2015

5-Door Mini Cooper Hits SASo that Mini addiction came around long before the family expanded and now you have the little ones pulling Houdini antics for every trip. Thankfully, Mini is providing a new fix for those with kids, or friends that could not be bothered to drive themselves around.

the new mini 5-door is being launched in south africa this week in two power flavours, with the Cooper starting at r305 000 and the Cooper s at r374 052. the Countryman suv was, strictly speaking, the first Mini with five-doors yet this new entry is a conventional hatchback in the same mould as the normal mini, only a lot more practical. mini did much more than just hack two extra doors in to the body shell - in fact the 4005mm long 5-door is 184mm longer than the 3-door and 11mm higher. 72mm of that extra space falls within the wheelbase to improve legroom and the remainder goes into the boot, which grows in capacity by 67 litres to 278. the styling does not stray from the current 3-door's recipe at all, nor does the mechanical package - apart from suspension modified to suit its larger and heavier stature.

TWO TURBO FLAVOURSsouth africans have the choice

between a Cooper fitted with BMW's 100kW/220nm 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbopetrol and a Cooper s that boasts a 2-litre turbopetrol with 141kW and 280nm on command. according

to mini, the Cooper will sprint to 100km/h in 8.2 seconds and the Cooper S will run it in 6.9s. These figures apply to the six-speed manual models and you can chop off a tenth of a second if you order either with the optional six-speed automatic gearbox. as they have come to expect, mini customers have a wide range of exterior and cabin personalisation options to play around with here and there's plenty of entertainment and driver assistance gadgetry on hand to empty even the deepest of pockets.

not that it is too badly equipped in standard guise, with the basic Cooper packing a touch-screen audio system with mini's Connected app that syncs with your smartphone and allows social media access amongst other functions. also standard is cruise control with brake function, automatic headlights and wipers, leather-covered multi-function steering wheel, air conditioning and 16-inch alloys. in addition to all the extra wallop it brings, the Cooper s adds 17-inch alloys, leD headlights, sports seats and automatic climate control to the features party.

PRICESmini 5-doorCooper - r305 000Cooper at - r321 900Cooper s - r374 052Cooper s at - r389 823

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/

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Namib Independent Issue 125

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Transcript of Namib Independent Issue 125