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Namib Independent Great news for the coast! [email protected] Issue 108 - Thursday, 17 July 2014 to Wednesday, 23 July 2014 BILLIONS OF BARRELS EXQUISITE BALL POWER SUPPLY TO PLUMMET AWESOME WATER CAR FREE! Tel: 064 200497 04 05 15 13 Continued on Page 3 Continued on Page 3 Siglinde de Villiers A brand new lung clinic, and the first of its kind, has been destined for Walvis Bay set to be completed during the course of this year, it will be expanding the specialist section of the already existing medical Lavrenty Repin A national Nampower project is set to replace incandescent bulbs, commonly used in Namibia, with the more efficient and cost-effective LED bulbs free of charge for all households, which are grid connected in the port town. Only incandescent bulbs, which are 60 watts and last for approximately 1,200 hours operating during peak hours, will be replaced by LED bulbs which are 10 watts and last 50 000 hours. For every LED bulb lifespan you would need 42 incandescent bulbs! The Pilot Phase of the project involves the replacement of 100,000 incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs – these will be divided between the towns of Walvis Bay, Otjiwarongo and Mariental. The bulbs per town will depend on the penetration levels of incandescent bulbs still in use during peak power times (i.e. evenings). Walvis Bay represents the western part of Namibia for the testing phase of the project, known as the 1 million First Lung Clinic for Namibia in Walvis Walvis the Brightest it Has Ever Been: Walvis Bay Residents to Receive Free LED Light Bulbs facilities of the harbour town. The new lung clinic is a collaborated effort between the Welwitschia Hospital, the Paul Coulson Foundation, the Bern University and a few passionate doctors. It is the LD campaign, which will eventually distribute 1 million free light bulbs country wide. It is estimated that the 1mLD campaign will save 2.1MW of energy during peak demand

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Page 1: Namib Independent Issue 108

Nam

ib IndependentGreat news for the coast!

[email protected] Issue 108 - Thursday, 17 July 2014 to Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Billions of Barrelsexquisite Ball

Municipality of Walvis BayPublic Relations and Customer Service Division

Tel: +264 64 201 3111 / Fax: +264 64 205 590 / Email: [email protected]

Mayoral Fundraising Gala DinnerDate: 26 July 2014

Venue: Tent - Civic CentreTime 18:00 for 18:30Dress code: Formal (Classic Black & White with a touch of red)

RSVP by 21 July: 064 201 3268 or 064 201 3381

Mayoral Relief Fund - fundraising event

As political head of the Municipal Council of Walvis Bay, the Mayor is often the first person people turn to in times of severe hardship. Their expectations are generally high, given the fact that the Mayoral Relief Fund has in the past assisted people struck

by misfortune. Aid has come in the form of specialised medical supplies, food, and clothing.

Despite its own limitations, the Mayoral Relief Fund has gone the extra mile to assist some of the most needy and vulnerable members of our society. The Gala Dinner is the biggest event aimed at raising funds for this purpose.

If you want to make a contribution, please contact us to reserve your seat.

Power suPPly to Plummet awesome water Car

free!

Tel: 064 200497

04 05 1513

Continued on Page 3

Continued on Page 3

Siglinde de Villiers

A brand new lung clinic, and the first of its kind, has been destined for Walvis Bay set to be completed during the course of this year, it will be expanding the specialist section of the already existing medical

Lavrenty Repin

A national Nampower project is set to replace incandescent bulbs, commonly used in Namibia, with the more efficient and cost-effective LED bulbs free of charge for all

households, which are grid connected in the port town. Only incandescent bulbs, which are 60 watts and last for approximately 1,200 hours operating during peak hours, will be replaced by LED bulbs which are 10 watts and last 50 000 hours.

for every leD bulb lifespan you would need 42 incandescent bulbs! the Pilot Phase of the project involves the replacement of 100,000 incandescent bulbs with leD bulbs – these will be divided between the towns of walvis Bay, otjiwarongo and mariental. the

bulbs per town will depend on the penetration levels of incandescent bulbs still in use during peak power times (i.e. evenings).

walvis Bay represents the western part of namibia for the testing phase of the project, known as the 1 million

First Lung Clinic for Namibia in Walvis

Walvis the Brightest it Has Ever Been:Walvis Bay Residents to Receive Free LED Light Bulbs

facilities of the harbour town.

the new lung clinic is a collaborated effort between the welwitschia Hospital, the Paul Coulson foundation, the Bern university and a few passionate doctors. it is the

lD campaign, which will eventually distribute 1 million free light bulbs country wide. it is estimated that the 1mlD campaign will save 2.1mw of energy during peak demand

Page 2: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 20142 |

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

Sales Chanté Nell 081 669 4427 [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 are reserved.Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the informationcontainedwithin,no liabilitycanbeacceptedby thepublishersorcontributors foranyerrors,misstatementsoromissionswhichmayhaveoccurred.Theopinionsexpressedinthepublicationarenotnecessarilythoseofthepublishers.Also,thepublishersacceptnolegal liability regarding copyright ownership for material which was supplied directly to thepublishersbyanyoftheadvertisersorcontributors.

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Police Foils RobberySiglinde de Villiers

Walvis Bay police upped their game on Monday when they received a tip for a car with stolen goods that was heading towards Walvis Bay. The car in question, however, tried to evade the police who were apprehending it, ensuing in a high speed police pursuit into Walvis Bay.

Detective inspector mwatongwe from nampol in walvis Bay told the namib independent that the thieves broke into two vehicles between swakopmund and walvis Bay. Both vehicles belonged to tourists, one at Vierkant Klip close to swakopmund and the other one at the Bird island. the latter incident was covered extensively

by earlier media reports. the break-ins happened during broad daylight and thus eyewitnesses, who saw the thieves removing all kinds of valuables from the cars, caused their downfall.

“a member of the public was vigilant enough to alert the police,” mwatongwe related. the police decided to wait for the thieves at the entrance to walvis Bay with the intention to stop the car.

“when the white car approached, the police officers tried to wave it down, but it raced on past them and the police officers had to chase it down,” mwatongwe said. He continued to relate that the thieves took the turn off into narraville and then turned off toward

Kuisebmond at the stop street. However, before the thieves got to the next stop street, they lost control of the car and the toyota Corolla crashed into a landcruiser. it then spun off and came to a standstill when it smashed into a lamp pole next to the road.

realising that their escape vehicle was inoperable, the thieves jumped out and tried to flee on foot. According to mwatongwe, nampol officers managed to catch and arrest one of the perpetrators.

all the stolen goods were recovered from the toyota Corolla and eventually identified by their owners.

“they were eager to leave, so we handed their goods back to them,” mwatongwe concluded.

Page 3: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 2014 | 3 News

Walvis the Brightest it Has Ever Been: Walvis Bay Residents to Receive Free LED Light Bulbs

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

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first of its kind for Namibia. nevertheless, windhoek is not far behind with their lung clinic also soon to be installed.

“since lung diseases are most prevalent at the coast, the minister gave us a challenge,” Dr wotan swiegers said. “He asked: 'what will be needed to create a modern lung clinic at the coast?' and it got us thinking. and that was where the idea was born.”

at the same time, the welwitschia hospital is

First Lung Clinic for Namibia in Walvis

expanding its specialist facilities, especially since a specialist surgeon recently opened its doors, providing the perfect opportunity. according to swiegers, the welwitschia already has a hyperbaric oxygen unit as well as a new Ct scanner and mri.

“it is a logic extension of services,” swiegers explained. therefore, the new lung clinic will be a unit situated within the welwitschia hospital.

the modern unit will comprise a state of the art lung laboratory. swiegers said that most lung clinic staff will be locally sourced, or part of the already existing

staff at the welwitschia hospital.

“the lung clinic will be able to peform bronchoscopies as well as intra pulmonary sonography,” swiegers said. the lung clinic will be accessible to paying members.

“i am terribly excited about this project, and we are working really hard to get all the finer details ironed out,” swiegers concluded.

for sure, the new lung clinic is an exciting development for the coastal town of walvis Bay, its grand opening eagerly anticipated by many local residents in the months to come.

periods at walvis Bay and about 30 mw on a national level, namPower will procure both screw and bayonet type leD bulbs, depending on which type of light fitting is used by the various households.

the lamp shop in swakopmund

presently sells leD bulbs for between n$90 to n$125 dollars; by comparison incandescent bulbs go for n$25. the imported bulbs alone are estimated to cost nampower n$90 million, after which currently tendering companies will distribute

and install the bulbs free of charge to beneficiaries country-wide. although nampower did not specify when the project will commence, nampower’s representative mr mbuere said he was optimistic that the bulbs will be available “very soon, within a month or two.”

Page 4: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 20144 | News

Municipality of Walvis BayPublic Relations and Customer Service Division

Tel: +264 64 201 3111 / Fax: +264 64 205 590 / Email: [email protected]

Mayoral Fundraising Gala DinnerDate: 26 July 2014

Venue: Tent - Civic CentreTime 18:00 for 18:30Dress code: Formal (Classic Black & White with a touch of red)

RSVP by 21 July: 064 201 3268 or 064 201 3381

Mayoral Relief Fund - fundraising event

As political head of the Municipal Council of Walvis Bay, the Mayor is often the first person people turn to in times of severe hardship. Their expectations are generally high, given the fact that the Mayoral Relief Fund has in the past assisted people struck

by misfortune. Aid has come in the form of specialised medical supplies, food, and clothing.

Despite its own limitations, the Mayoral Relief Fund has gone the extra mile to assist some of the most needy and vulnerable members of our society. The Gala Dinner is the biggest event aimed at raising funds for this purpose.

If you want to make a contribution, please contact us to reserve your seat.

Business Community Urged to Support This Event, in Aid of Helping Our Ever Increasing Vulnerable Community, Pleads Mayor

Exquisite Mayoral Fundraising

Tanya Calitz

This year the Mayor’s Ball will be one to remember with various entertainment acts to amuse the guests and t h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g cuisine to tease the pallets of diners. The aim of this Gala Evening is to replenish the Mayoral Relief Fund account to continue assisting the vulnerable members of the Walvis community.

in the past the fund has assisted several folk in need, from medical assistance to food supplement, with special focus on shack fire victims.

‘the mayoral relief fund has assisted families affected by shack fires by

donating food hampers and various other essential items, funeral cost for those who lost their lives in shack fires, renting tents for temporary shelter as well as costs for ambulance services who rendered assistance during various fire incidences,” says walvis mayor uillika nambahu.

the mayoral relief fund is aware of the huge income disparities that make poor or low income-groups less able to afford needed services. it is with this in mind that the mayoral relief fund has assisted various members of the walvis Bay community with medical costs and has contributed to numerous activities, such

as the erongo education support fund, tB Day commemoration and other efforts.

another key focus for the municipality is the senior citizens of the town.

“a big portion of the funds also goes towards the senior Citizen’s annual Christmas party, where a special lunch is prepared for over 400 senior citizens and they all receive a gift hamper comprising of food stuffs at that event,” mayor uillika stated.

what can be anticipated at this years’ gala dinner? “this year we wanted to expand the Gala Dinner by adding top class entertainment and make it a bit more memorable,” says anita Kaihiva, Public

Relations Officer at the municipality. therefore the evening line up will not just consist of the standard speeches, dinner then open dance floor, but two organised entertainment acts for the evening as well.

there will be performances by the fu’ Jazz Band, who have shared a stage with the likes of legendary Jazz musician Hugh masekela, lira, Zahara and others at the renowned windhoek annual Jazz encounter.

“and to properly close off the Ball we will also have the very vibrant and entertaining freeda, who is well known for being part of the dissolved pop duo Gal level,” Kaihiva added. for the pallet, expect to be

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VACANCYSALES AND DELIVERY CO-ORDINATOR

All applications must be submitted electronically before or on 18 July 2014. Prospective candidates should forward a detailed CV to:[email protected]

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Please note that only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Ball Lined Up charmed with flavours from China and Pakistan, anita said.

the theme for the evening will be 007, with a Jazzy undertone to set the mood as well as a DJ to rock the night away. the Director General of the namibian Planning Commission (nPC) tom alweendo, will be the guest speaker for the event, and the master of Ceremonies will be well known namibian comedian neville Basson.

the ball will take place on saturday 26 July.

“i would like to plead with our business community to please support this cause, so the council can continue to improve people’s lives with the help of our more privileged public members" urged the mayor. see details of this event and how to obtain tickets on the advert below.

Page 5: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 2014 | 5

Exquisite Mayoral Fundraising News

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Namibia Group of Companies and is based in Walvis Bay. UFE requires a suitably qualified Namibian to occupy the vacancy of Workshop and Equipment Foreman and Marine Workshop Foreman as soon as possible.

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Siglinde de Villiers

On Wednesday, two local residents from Longbeach donated a camera and an all-in-one copy machine to Nampol at the Walvis Bay police station. Since various reports highlighted the inefficient service received by crime victims at the Walvis

Bay police station, the donated gifts hopefully will turn around this dismal situation.

okkie and nikkie theron, the Good samaritans who came to nampol’s aid in walvis Bay, were motivated to donate the gifts by their own experiences at the walvis Bay Police station

a few weeks ago. “my husband had to

come for fingerprints and they requested a copy of his i.D. since the police did not have a copy machine, he had to drive to town to make his copies. so okkie decided to ask the station Commander what their most pressing needs were, and he told him the police

Walvis Bay Nampol Lacks EquipmentGood Samaritans Hope to Help

officers were in a dire need of a camera and copy machine,” nikkie related.

sadly, this is not the only instance where nampol seems to fail miserably. in the recent case, where south african tourists were robbed of all their valuable possessions at the bird island on monday, the

media reported that police officers in Walvis Bay excused themselves from visiting the crime scene, saying that there was no point in going. fortifying, the unhelpful nampol officers on duty simply shrugged their shoulders at the tourists’ distress and told them that there is nothing they can do about

the robbery. the story of another

local couple further accentuates the incompetency of police officers in Walvis Bay. after returning from work and discovering that their house had been broken into on monday, the husband had to wait for thirty minutes at the police station for a police officer to open a case and take his statement. two days later, nampol had not yet bothered to visit the crime scene.

“it is a nuisance, because i do not know what i may touch or may not touch,” the local resident said. are the bad starting to rule over the good? are criminals undermining the local police and becoming

bolder at it because they are gaining ground?

according to a local source, when it comes to profiling crime scenes, the police still draw pictures.

“it is for this reason that we hope the camera will be put to good use for photographing crime scenes,” nikki said. the ceremony was to start at 14h30, but the station commander, Patrick muhita, took his time and only arrived at 15h00. However, he was very grateful to receive the gifts, estimated to value n$4000.

“we will look after it. the camera will be given to the detectives to do their profiling as well as to capture details of crime scenes,” he concluded.

Page 6: Namib Independent Issue 108

6 | Thursday, 10 July 2014News

Lavrenty Repin

Hage Geingob’s visit to the World Cup Final in Rio De Janeiro last week caused an eruption of controversy over why Paragon’s CEO, Desmond Anumnyela, reportedly paid for the languish visit, estimated to have cost over a million, and what led the Prime Minister to take along Fisheries Minister Bernard Esau and Agri-bank CEO Leonard Ipumbu.

many namibians were surprised to see Geingob standing

in the row two seats down from Germany’s Chancellor angela merkel (Germany was in the final) and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin (next world cup hosts) – both of whom had a political agenda to fulfil when visiting the continent.

namibia’s football is not known for its success (our national team is ranked 114th in the world) so his presence seems to have been purely for entertainment in the VViP stand. yet, namibia’s Pm was not the most unusual head of state to attend the match.

What’s Hage Doing at the Final?

the bizarre list included Jacob Zuma, Hungarian’s Pm Viktor orban and recently appointed Prime minister Gaston Brown of antigua and Barbuda, a tiny island with 80 000 inhabitants. it seems the prerequisite for the notoriously limited VViP world Cup final tickets is to represent a tiny country that has never qualified for the tournament, and will not anytime soon.

Tanya Calitz

“The Power Supply Situation will remain critical until the commissioning of a base-load power station by 2017/2018,” NamPower spokesperson BJ Mbuere said during a stakeholder’s engagement business breakfast, hosted by ErongoRed.

speaking at the event of the Pelican Bay Protea Hotel in walvis, mbuere stated that the country will be fine for this year and the next in regards to electricity supply, but will face ‘serious power supply deficits’ during 2016/2017, should any of the short term plans to supply electricity fail.

“thus we want to urge the public to get involved. Challenges facing the energy sector should not be left to namPower alone. the private sector's (locally and internationally) participation is necessary. Potential investors are therefore invited to join namPower in the development of the namibian power sector through funding, ePC, iPPs, equity Partners (PPP) or PPa counter parties,” mbuere said during his presentation.

unless the critical short term and the long term projects become a reality, namibia will be faced with a serious power shortfall, seeing that its contracts with the various suppliers are coming to an end shortly. namibia’s agreement with eskom in south africa will come to an end by april 2016, with Zesa Zimbabwe this year october, with aggreko mozambique in august 2015 and finally with ZEZCO Zambia in 2019, whom only supplies namibia with 50mw. namPower is currently investigating the viability of a short term 250mw plant to alleviate the electricity demand for the years 2015/2016. However, should this fail, namibia will be in the dark.

in the meantime namPower is looking at various projects to fill the gaps, under which Van eck refurbishment and ruacana refurbishment fall. other options namPower is looking at is engaging in discussions with current suppliers to extend the country’s electricity supply contracts, but one cannot bet on this. another plan by namPower is to curb the usage of electricity through installing free Domestic

leD light bulbs, starting shortly in walvis Bay, as well as the installation of 20 000 domestic solar water heaters and installing an emergency Diesel Generator. the generator is however a last resort, seeing that it is a very expensive and non-economic option. Come 2018, and if all went well with the KuDu Gas project earmarked for oranjemund area, namibia should be fine. NamPower is also in discussions with angola to establish a 600mw Hydropower project on the Kunene river.

the techno-economic & eia studies for the Baynes Hydro Power plant have been completed and the last PJtC meeting in ondjiva in november 2013 found the project to be viable and resolved to submit the report with recommendations to the two governments for final approval before commencement of the implementation phase. the project is estimated to cost u$1.3 billion (which includes compensation but excludes supporting infrastructure such as transmission, roads, rails, runways and housing).

Power Supply to Plummet Unless Projects Save the Day

Page 7: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 10 July 2014 | 7 News

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Lavrenty Repin

Although the distance from Swakopmund to Rio de Janeiro, where the World Cup Final was hosted, is 30,649 metres, coastal restaurants and bars, especially in the tourist town, took the bull by the horns and used the World Cup to boost their profits and lure in new customers.

for n’amigos, swakopmund’s mexican Restaurant, this was the first World Cup since they’ve opened and although the cosy spot only featured two televisions, the attendance grew with

each match to the point where additional seating and tables were introduced, while the final saw customers standing in between tables and chairs. n’amigos capitalised on the surge in customers by introducing a “fifa special”; two burgers, two beers for n$90. one world Cup final n’amigos customer commented on the positive vibe in the restaurant with equal support for the argentinian and the German team, “something,” he said “you won’t find anywhere else in Swakopmund.”

Certainly, support for Germany was immense at the sfC sports Club, which is over 50 years old. renate Hecht, who has worked for the club

Germany Not the Only Winner at the World Cup

bar for the last nine years after leaving the absconded swakopmund Brewery, explained how they utilised the hype to their advantage.

“when the world Cup started, we made flyers which we deposited in guesthouses for the different tourists.” The flyers were printed in seven languages, including italian and russian. she said attendance was always high, but especially so for the German games, which drew the swakopmund community together.

according to renate, 300 people joined the club for the final – they were seated on wooden stadium seats in a hall which projected a large screen on the opposite wall, while beer, German schnitzels and rohacks were sold, which paralleled well with the Germany final win.

“it gave a good boost, some matches took place at the same time as the carnival, which was a challenge to organise but we pulled it off. we depend on members, some customers that never visited the club before, they enjoyed it and joined as new members – for our soccer players too, it was good inspiration” renate explained, saying that the next world Cup cannot come soon enough.

although swakopmund is

known for its cuisine, there was only a limited number of places to choose from; one of the most popular of which was Kuckis. owner welter steckel said it was difficult to estimate how much of a boost the Cup created but, “it was obviously high – every night the restaurant was booked out.”

He said they were prepared for the tournament; “we had tVs all over, four upstairs, one in the courtyard and one at the downstairs bar. we had to turn a lot of people away, many south africans come here and ask for a table of six and the locals don’t understand.”

He said the tournament coincided with the high tourist season, so the restaurant is mostly booked out as it is – often they would send

customers to nearby Panchos. “we sat 200 people in here, we try and make a plan for others obviously; if we take upstairs, we had much more than a 100 people standing, watching the final. sunday night was a very good vibe, it was extraordinary! some of the customers, and even us, were scared that the balcony would collapse because so many people were jumping up and down on it,” steckel explained.

while swakopmund was in a football frenzy, walvis Bay remained relatively calm during the world’s biggest tournament. notably, the sports club spartan in walvis Bay has an abundance of televisions, yet this did not seem to convert into world Cup audiences and the place lingered with few customers throughout the tournament.

Page 8: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 20148 |

DATE : 19 JULY 2014

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News

Siglinde de Villiers

To date, some 47 individual companies are drilling on- and offshore Namibia in the search of oil. It comes as no surprise then that a billboard in Windhoek promises a billion barrels of oil resources hidden beneath our crust in the Walvis Basin. Nevertheless, is this bold statement truthful, or is there something that we do not know?

nabirm Global, one of the 47 oil and gas companies exploring our coastline and owners of the billboard advertisement in windhoek with its bold statement, say that their claim is not unfounded.

“several independent technical reports scientifically substantiate the walvis Basin as a highly prospective hydrocarbon zone, hence the message behind the billboards,” said olayinka arowolo, Country Director and managing Partner for

nabirm Globa. “the reported

hydrocarbon volumes and values are estimates based on professional judgement and are subject to future revisions, upward or downward, as additional information becomes available,” he added.

one of their sources for their billboard claim is DeGolyer & macnaughton, a leading independent consulting firm focused on the petroleum industry. "DeGolyer & macnaughton provides unbiased and informed answers to clients worldwide. D&m skillfully blends energy economics, engineering and the earth sciences to help clients in more than 100 countries make the smartest decisions regarding exploration, recovery and management of oil and gas resources,” arowolo stated. DeGolyer & macnaughton resource estimates recognised large stratigraphic leads in potential clastic

turbidite targets. these targets appear to be in the oil window. these potential accumulations are categorized as “leads” based on the available seismic and geologic data.

“the summary potential volumetric findings of the report are that the mean estimate for the total 11 leads for this particular license area in the walvis Basin is 8.7 Billion Barrels of Gross Prospective (recoverable) oil resources,” arowolo said.

according to arowolo, the walvis Basin area has been the subject of several geochemical studies and source-rock maturity models. in general, these studies focused on the source potential of shale sections penetrated by the two wells drilled in the Block about 60km northeast of Delta. additional supplementary maturity models were based on the drilled wells and two synthetic wells,

one in the deeper part region of the north and the other in the depot-centre at the central part of the Block. the structural maps representing the tops of those units containing source rocks were also considered.

“this is just one example,” arowolo said, “there are many others.” He continued to explain that both the namib and walvis Basins have typical post-rift wedge shaped basins, with the geometry of a passive margin and water depths of 150-3000m, which is an appealing basin for exploration of hydrocarbons, an indication of the presence of oil. several drilling results prove elements of a viable petroleum system in namiba.

“However, these are sparsely explored areas, - to date nine exploration wells have been drilled offshore namiba.”

until now, there has been no commercial discovery

Billions of Barrels of Oil in Walvis Basin??

in the walvis Basin yet, although a working system and oil seeps have been identified. To put the

exploration activity in to the implied context for a geological chance of success, norway drilled

80 wells before success in its quest for oil discovery, namibia has only drilled 19; we have a long way to go.

Page 9: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 2014 | 9

risks associated with coal dust pollution for residents living nearby open air coal piles would be to have the coal stored in either specialised domes or silo’s, that can minimize the presence of coal dust in the air.

according to the legal information institute of Cornell university; for open coal storage piles, the fugitive coal dust emissions control plan must require that one or more of the following control measures be used to minimize to the greatest extent practicable fugitive coal dust: locating the source inside a partial enclosure, installing and operating a water spray or fogging system, applying appropriate chemical dust suppression agents on the source (when the provisions of paragraph (c)(6) of this section are met), use of a wind barrier, compaction, or use of a vegetative cover. the owner or operator must select, for inclusion in the fugitive coal dust emissions control plan, the control measure or measures listed in this paragraph that are most appropriate for site conditions. the plan must also explain how the measure or measures selected are applicable and appropriate for site conditions. in addition, the plan must be revised as needed to reflect any changing conditions at the source.

other risks presented by storing coal in piles (open air or

enclosed) is a possible explosion or fire. According to the National fire Protection association coal is susceptible to spontaneous combustion due to heating during natural oxidation of new coal surfaces. Coal dust is highly combustible and an explosion hazard. if a coal dust cloud is generated inside an enclosed space, and an ignition source is present, an explosion can ensue. this however can also be properly managed by applying simple, but efficient strategies to avoid such complications.

in response to our queries namport responded by saying; “yes namport does monitor and regulate the storage of coal and other bulk commodities. as per the international standards as guidelines we ascribe to, we installed monitoring equipment around the Bulk storage areas that specifically measure any dust fall-out. to this effect we can give assurance that dust fall-out is constantly monitored to ensure that it is within acceptable limits that are in line with our environmental management Policy and Guidelines. i however thank you for alerting us to this community concern. we will certainly pay closer attention and launch further investigation into this matter towards improving our current coal handling facility,” Communications manager, liz sibindi assured the residents.

News

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Tanya Calitz

A few residents in the Lagoon area have expressed their concerns over the open piles of coal stored at the port for exporting purposes, claiming that they have noticed some black dust collecting around their houses, posing the question; ‘what about our health?’

the paper investigated these claims, and found that the barricade around the harbour area where the coal piles are, were covered in black dust, not sparring the trees which are laced with black coal dust, situated near the coal piles. However, not much could be found at the nearby houses, except for a few dust particles collected on the walls and an open field nearby. although one can only speculate that the black dust found in the surrounding areas are from the coal piles, it has not been proven. speaking to the municipality seemed a bit futile, seeing that they only vaguely indicated the laws and regulations that needs to be followed when storing coal in open air.

after some research, it was quite apparent that our own folk are not the only concerned parties, but that several groups from various countries have expressed their distresses over coal dust pollution, and the health risks it presents. studies have shown that exposure to coal dust, particularly for long periods at a time, at high exposure levels, can be linked to various lung diseases, which includes asthma, emphysema, chronic respiratory irritation, pneumoconiosis and chronic bronchitis, especially in children seeing that their lungs are still developing. the most common way to manage the health

Lagoon Residents Concerned over Open Coal Storage Piles

Lavrenty Repin

While the world was enjoying the ups and downs of the FIFA Soccer World Cup, FIFA, who is the founder and sole organiser of the 85-year-old competition, was doing damage control. This because the Brazilian police labelled Roy Whelan a fugitive. Roy, the British senior director of FIFA's official hospitality company, fled his hotel through a service door following allegations of a US$100 million ticket-fixing scandal. Or rather they would have done damage control, if they gave a rat’s bum what you think. But FIFA, sadly, does not.

the dirty world of fifa is straight out of a James Bond Villain’s playbook, and it seems that no amount of pressure, condemnation and lawsuits will stop the greedy wheels of the organisation from turning. fifa’s president sepp Blatter, who is probably the most powerful president without a country, is now 78, and his 26-year term is in effect a dictatorship. He is known to be a bit of a

chauvinist, saying female football players “should wear shorter shorts” if they want to make their tournament popular, and has gone through so many corruption scandals that it has, frankly, become boring. not to worry, there is plenty of excitement on the whacky planet of fifa.

Changing laws south american

football is notoriously dangerous; english hooligan fans are nowhere close to the violence that Brazilian or argentinian fans exhibit on a weekly basis – thus, in 2003, Brazil banned all alcohol from stadiums after linking enormously high death rates to drinking among fans. But fifa were not too happy with the law, because Budweiser beer is one of its main sponsors. so they set to change it.

from the horse’s mouth, fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke was in no mood for chit-chat: “i’m sorry to say,” he said (i question the sincerity of apology here,) “and maybe i look a bit arrogant,” (yes you do) “but that is something we will not negotiate. there will be and there must be

THIFAas part of the law the fact that we have the right to sell beer.” Dare i say it, even north Korea is more diplomatic. end result? fifa won and essentially protected Budweiser from a law that protects human lives. Classy.

Non-Profit Organisationwell, it’s supposed to be an nPo,

but it turns out fifa’s bank account has over a us$1 billion for no apparent reason.

“it’s for reserve” says Blatter. furthermore, they own the rights to all tV broadcasting, sponsorship and advertisement – from t-shirts to player names. i cannot say Christiano ronaldo without asking their permission first.

no tax…at allfifa is fully exempt from paying

any tax, be it state, municipal or income. this year, Brazil estimated that due to its (unfair) nPo status, fifa forgoes us$250 million in taxes to Brazil. so, not only does Brazil miss out on the money made from broadcasting etc. but it gets no income tax either; as fifa makes a tax-free killing for their “reserve.”

above the law, and higherwhen hosting the 2010 world Cup,

fifa were not impressed with south africa’s courtrooms, so they told, i mean asked, sa to create a special “fifa world Cup Court” and boy, were they robust. two Zimbabweans robbed a journalist on wednesday. on thursday they were arrested. on friday they began serving 15-year sentences. Justice, fifa style, is not just scary, it would not cut it in the dark ages!

fifa is the ultimate devil’s advocate, but due to lack of accountability and greedy europeans capitalising on screaming fans the world around, the trend is set to continue.

Photo Credit: http://gamingzion.com/

Page 10: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 201410 |

FUTURE

INCEPTION

PRESENTPA PA P

ST

Everything we have done since our inception was with the future in mind. For the past 20 years we have gone above and beyond even our own expectations. We are the gateway to Southern Africa and we are making inroads to position our

Ports as the logistics hub of Africa. We celebrate our 20th Anniversary with our course set for the future.

www.namport.com

Navigatingfor tomorrow

tbw

a.co

m.n

a

Page 11: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 2014 | 11

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Bleaches, CorrosivesFireworks,

Party Poppers, explosivesFlammable liquids

or solids Compressed Gases Poison & Toxics Oil Based Paints

Wet, Dry, Cell, Lithium Batteries

Aerosils, Toiletries, Mace, CS Gas, Pepper Spray Radioactive Material Environmental Hazards Matches & Lighters

• Toy/replica guns (metal or plastic)

• Catapults/Crossbows• Household cutlery • Knives with blades of any kind

• Tools• Open razors or blades• Liquids over 100ml • Scissors (Where pointed

blades exceed 3cm)

• Hypodermic needles (Unless required for medical purposes)

• Sporting bats and equipment• Billard, snooker and pool cues • Darts

NOT TO BE CARRIED IN AIRCRAFT CABIN(These may be carried in the cargo but not in the cabin of the aircraft)

NOT TO BE CARRIED IN THE AIRCRAFT AT ALL (These items must never be carried in the aircraft at any point)

Infectious Substances

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Proud to carry the spirit of Nambia safely

Worldwide News

Lavrenty Repin

Last month’s council meeting revealed that during the NAMA awards, hosted in Swakopmund on 2 May, the Swakopmund municipality paid a total of N$303 602 for accommodation of the MTC and NBC crew, sponsors and nominees for the glamorous event.

initially, the fee would have been nearer to n$200 000 but this increased, even though the number of nominees dropped. the increase is attributed to “a change in the allocation of people in the units.” reasons included grouping of crew members according to position, arrival time and apparently unforseen gender division in accommodation, as well as changes in the unit types (naturally upgrades) – to make the nama village, as mtC’s tim ekandjo

elicited to call the area for the duration of the event. although one may question why the municipality paid for mtC’s ViP treatment, according to the agenda, the expense could have been a lot higher had Council folded to mtC’s initial demands.

mtC initially suggested that the Council of swakopmund pay for the venue and its sub-sequential costs, including security, catering and chairs. seeing that the namas have no less than 30 sponsors it begs the question of what the rest of the sponsors would be paying for? the newly built swakopmund indoor sports Centre did not miss the opportunity to charge an arm and a leg, demanding n$138 000 per day for ten days. thus the Council was expected to pay nearly n$1.5 million for the prestigious awards to come to the coast, plus the accommodation costs.

Swakopmund Council Did Not Play MTC’s Game

in fairness, following negotiations, mtC took the n$1.5 million amount off “Council's shoulders” – although mtC deserves a “nice try” for the ludicrous request to a town of 50 000 inhabitants, keeping in mind that last year the telecommunications company easily spend over n$5 million on the nama awards (without

the assistance of the windhoek municipality).

Criticism over event hosting through tax payers' earnings is always rife, whether it is the world Cup in Brazil or an award ceremony in swakopmund; unfortunately the results are almost always the same: the event happens, it passes and is forgotten as quickly as the criticism

around it. It is difficult to speculate whether the namas brought any lasting benefits to the town of swakopmund and its populace, but certainly the owners of the newly constructed swakopmund Sports Centre benefited tremendously from the two day event, not to mention mtC and nBC.

Page 12: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 201412 | Worldwide News

WOrLDWIDE

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contacted.

Just as we all die, all species eventually go extinct. However, the rate of extinction varies dramatically, and a new estimate suggests we are currently running at 1000 times the normal rate. This rate of extinction is only seen in the fossil record after incredibly dramatic and unusual occurrences, such as huge asteroid strikes or super-volcano eruptions.

in order to calculate the effect humans are having we need to know two things – how many species are disappearing each year, and how many vanish as part of the normal background. estimating the number of current extinctions is hard enough, since some

species disappear without us ever knowing they were there in the first place. It has even been said we are having trouble “counting the books while the library burns.” However, finding out what is normal is harder still. the fossil record preserves some species much better than others, and the fact that we cannot find a species after a particular point may indicate it disappeared entirely, or just became a fair bit rarer.

Professor stuart Pimm of Duke university has published a paper in science in which he and his co-authors, “document what we know, how it likely differs from what we do not, and how

these differences affect biodiversity statistics.”

the authors say, “we start by asking how many species are known and how many remain undescribed. we then consider by how much human actions inflate extinction rates. much depends on where species are, because different biomes contain different numbers of species of different susceptibilities. Biomes also suffer different levels of damage and have unequal levels of protection. How extinction rates will change depends on how and where threats expand and whether greater protection counters them.”

as the paper notes, the species we are most familiar with are not

New Study: World is on the Brink of Next Great Extinction

typical. “the species we

know best have large geographical ranges and are often common within them. most known species have small ranges, however, and such species are typically newer discoveries.” Pimm's new estimate is that the background rate is 0.1 extinction per million species per year. this is a tenth of the figure produced in 1995, in what had been considered the definitive paper on the topic. However, there will be no pushback from the authors of the higher estimate – Pimm was one of the authors of the 1995 paper as well. the

rate today is between 100 and 1000 extinctions per million species per year. in other words our way of life may be 10,000 times more deadly than all the threats faced by animals at other times. Climate change, hunting and invasive species are all playing a part, but Pimm says habitat loss is the largest factor.

the world has experienced five mass extinctions over the last half a billion years. in each of these, most of the animal and plant species on the planet disappeared. the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs is of course the most famous. it was not, however, the

most destructive mass extinction ever recorded. the Permian-triassic extinction event occurred approximately 252 million years ago and wiped out an astonishing 96% of all marine species and 70% of all terrestrial vertebrate species. in between these major events there have been smaller spikes in the death rates, often driven by climatic changes. while we have already lost more species than in many of the more minor events, Pimm believes a combination of habitat protection, captive breeding and action on climate change can avoid a sixth mass extinction.

Source: http://www.iflscience.com/

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Page 13: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 2014 | 13 Lifestyle

LIFESTYLE

Rinaldo Willy's job is to transform dead people into precious stones. Willy, 33, is the founder and CEO of Algordanza, a peculiar funeral home based in the lovely town of Domat/Ems in western Switzerland. Algordanza—which in the local Romansch language means “remembrance”—is one of the leaders in the production of so called “memorial diamonds.”

if you fancy a blinged-out eternal sleep, algordanza will put the latest technologies at your service to convert your ashes into a synthetic diamond. the price for this transfiguration ranges between 4,500 and 20,000 swiss francs ($5,000-$22,000), depending on how big a diamond you want to become. that includes the packaging of your shiny remains into what the firm’s website describes as a “noble wooden box.” But it will then be up to your loved ones to decide whether to leave you in your noble box or put you on a ring or pendant so they can carry you around with them. every year, 850 former-people enter algordanza’s laboratory to emerge some years later as a precious gem. while shortage of land and increasing population are calling the traditional cemetery model into question, perhaps the future of corpse management could lie in this unusual blend of mortuary science and jewellery.

Motherboard: So, can you tell us how you got the idea of making diamonds from corpses?

The idea first struck me ten years ago, when i was a student of economics. one of my teachers gave me an article by a russian scientist to read; it was about the production of synthetic diamonds to be used in the semiconductor industry. the article explained how such diamonds could be

made from ashes, and i misinterpreted it, thinking it was referring to human ashes–while in fact it was talking about vegetable ashes.

i liked the idea, and i asked my teacher for more information on that process of transforming human ashes into diamonds. He quickly told me that i had got the whole thing wrong. But he found that my mistake was quite intriguing, so he got in touch with the author of the article, who just happened to have some diamond-making machines here in switzerland. together, we started to set up what would become algordanza.

What was so compelling about turning human ashes into diamonds?

Diamonds are precious, pure, and clean. they couldn’t be more different from today’s cemeteries, which are places crammed with too many graves, very often neglected, and where you can’t have a real relationship with the dead. i loved the idea of dead people becoming something you can touch and enjoy the sight of. i also like the fact that a diamond remains, can be kept and passed down from generation to generation. it’s not something that you just scatter away at some point, like sometimes happens with ashes from cremation.

In other words, you think that “diamonds are forever.”

i don’t want to use that term, since “forever” recalls the concept of eternity, which belongs to the Church’s terminology. we prefer the word “unzerbrechlich,” which in German means “indestructible.” our diamonds are indestructible tools of remembrance, but, at the end of the day, it depends on a person’s loved ones to keep their memory alive.

Let’s get a bit technical. What is the procedure to

Meet the Man Who Transforms Corpses into Diamonds

transform human ashes into a synthetic diamond?

the whole process takes place here in switzerland. after a person is cremated, we receive their ashes; according to the legislation of the country the dead person is from, we either receive the ashes in a single urn or in two urns shipped at two different times to avoid the situation where, in case of accident, all the ashes are lost.

we treat the ashes with particular chemical agents to extract all the carbon from them. next, carbon is heated to high temperatures and converted into graphite. finally, we place the graphite in a machine that essentially reproduces the conditions that are given in the depths of the earth, where natural diamonds form over thousands of years: extremely high pressure and temperatures around 1500 degrees Celsius. after some weeks, or months, we obtain the diamond.

How big are the diamonds that you can create in your laboratory?

usually they are four carats when they are rough and one carat after they’ve been cut. there have been diamonds as big as 1.6 or 1.8 carats, but they were exceptional cases.

Why do some people

become bigger diamonds than others?

in general, the dimension of the diamond depends on how long you keep the graphite in the machine: the longer the process, the bigger the diamond. But it also depends on the quality of the ashes. for example, if a person used to wear dentures, or a prosthesis, or they used to take certain medicines, their ashes would be less pure and the quality of the diamond would be inferior.

such things can also influence the colour of the stone. for example, people who have been treated with chemotherapy usually wind up being diamonds of lighter colours. But we still don’t know what determines the colour of the gem: our diamonds are usually blue because of the presence of boron traces in human body, but every person changes into a different and unique diamond, ranging from crystal-clear to almost black.

What’s the difference between one of your diamonds and a real diamond?

our diamonds are real diamonds. they have all the physical and chemical properties of diamonds. obviously, synthetic diamonds are less valuable

than natural ones, since they’re man-made. But you can’t tell our diamonds from natural ones with the naked eye. not even a jeweller could. the only one way to distinguish between them is a chemical screening – a gemmologist may help you with that –which will find out that the stone was made artificially.

So hypothetically, nobody but gemmologists could guess that the diamond ring I am wearing is actually, say, my late fiancée?

there’s no apparent difference. it would most likely look like a natural blue diamond, which costs in the neighbourhood of us$40,000.

Don’t you think that it may give rise to a new fashion of “body snatching”? I mean thieves, who aren’t usually very knowledgeable about gemmological screenings, could take my diamond in the belief that they’re just stealing a precious stone, when in fact they’re snatching my grandpa.

natural diamonds always go with a certificate proving their authenticity; therefore it could be difficult for a thief to resell our diamonds. But the possibility of this kind of theft does exist, since more or less 80 percent of

our costumers treat their memorial diamonds as jewels, often mounting them on rings.

and indeed, a similar case has happened some time ago in Germany: police called us after finding one of our diamonds in a thief’s hideout, together with jewels, money and stolen tVs. luckily, in that case the diamond had a laser inscription—which we provide at an extra cost—and the police could get in touch with us.

Is it possible to make more than one diamond from the same person, in order to avoid a scenario in which you lose the diamond, thereby losing your dead relative forever?

yes, it is possible, since just two grams of carbon are sufficient to produce a diamond. in fact, some of our customers, especially in Japan, ask to make many memorial diamonds from the same ashes, one for each member of the family. theoretically, and depending on the quantity and quality of the ashes, we could churn out up to 50 diamonds for every person; practically, the best we’ve done so far is nine diamonds.

How big are you in Japan?

we are huge in Japan. it accounts for 25 percent of our sales. i think that it’s mainly for two reasons: in the first place, they have a much stronger cult of ancestors than we have in europe; they have a very close relationship with their dead. secondly, it’s a

question of numbers: more than 99 percent of Japanese people are cremated after death. that means that there are many more ashes to be transformed into diamonds.

In general, why do people resorting to your services decide to be transformed into diamonds?

in many cases they don’t decide, since it’s their relatives—usually their mothers or wives—who come to us. the reason given by the relatives is typically that they want to keep the deceased always with them. But there are also people who choose to become diamonds while they are still alive. often they are people who are aware that they’ll die soon, like for example someone with a terminal illness.

one of the reasons they give us is economic—they want to avoid the costs of burial in a cemetery. in other cases, they’re people living alone and very far from the place where they were born, who are afraid that nobody would properly care for their grave if they were buried.

Are you going to become a diamond, too?

i don’t know. Hopefully it will be up to my relatives, to my wife and children, to decide whether i will. they’re the ones who will have to choose the best way to cope with the grief and loss.

Source: http://motherboard.vice.com/

Page 14: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 201414 | It Happened to Me!

It Happened to ME!

Tanya Calitz

“Since I can remember, even as a little girl, all I wanted was to have a baby and be a great mom,” says Alexia Kakuva from Walvis Bay. But that dream was surgically removed from Alexia, after she was diagnosed with stage four ovary cancer at the tender age of 21.

“after the surgery i was very depressed. the realisation that i will now never be able to have children of my own devastated me. 'what man will want to marry a fruitless, infertile woman?' i thought,” alexia expressed her fears. "the healing process took me a long time. i had to learn to accept myself again and also try and find the feeling of wholeness,” alexia said.

she caught herself thinking funny thoughts all the time. “i sometimes think that it would have been better to die from

Being Barren:Alexia Shares Her Story the cancer than having to have

the surgery which killed my dream,” alexia shared.

“i would think back on when i was a teenager and regret being so responsible. i wish i had fallen pregnant in school already, at least i would have a child of my own now,” alexia admitted. "these were some of the silly thoughts i would get on a regular basis.

“i would see pregnant women in the street and all of a sudden feel very emotional and sad, or hear of a friend who had just fallen pregnant and feel jealous."

another thing that causes alexia a great deal of sadness and despair is whenever she reads an article on baby dumping and abortion.

“i get so unbelievably angry when women throw their babies away or have

abortions. it is so unfair,” she explained, saying her mother really helped her through this difficult time.

“she kept me strong and supported me through all my pain, struggles and depression. my mother even said that if she was younger and still able to have children she would carry a baby for me,” alexia said.

“i have now learnt to accept the fact that i will never bear my own children and do not feel so much anger and sadness about it anymore. i still, however, think about it almost every day of my life."

alexia said that she started looking at other options and family structures.

“I would definitely adopt a baby when the time is right and believe it will give me just as much fulfilment.”

Jokingly she said, “at least

i can choose my child’s looks when i adopt.” alexia said that her ideal man would be one who cannot have children himself.

“i hope to meet a man who is infertile, because we will have a great understanding and then i do not have to feel guilty about not being able to give my husband a biological child,” she said.

“i do not want my husband to constantly wonder what his own offspring would look like. it would make me feel inadequate and less of a good wife to my husband, so at least when he cannot have children either we would have a primary thing in common and share the same views on adoption.”

Just before we left the coffee shop i saw alexia’s thoughts travelled far away. “everything ok,” i asked. she

gave me an intense look, nodded and said, “even before i was diagnosed with cancer i had this urge, almost desperation to have a child, and at the same time had

this constant feeling and fear that i would not be able to bare children one day. strange . . . my biggest fear became my reality. there must be a lesson in that.”

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Page 15: Namib Independent Issue 108

Thursday, 17 July 2014 | 15

MOTOrINGMotoring

For decades, inventing a commercially viable amphibious car has remained a quixotic pursuit, right up there with robot maids and personal jet packs. Well, it may at last be time to strike one challenge from the list. The Panther, built by Fountain Valley, C a l i f o r n i a - b a s e d WaterCar, is ready for its close-up.

evoking a playful, James Bond vibe, the Panther is navigating water already churned by some short-lived predecessors, including the 1960s amphicar from Germany and the more recent Gibbs aquada, a mazda miata-like contraption that billionaire and serial adventurer sir richard Branson piloted across the english Channel in 2004. the heart of the machine is a proprietary transfer case that engages the rear wheels on land and powers a jet pump in water, similar to a jet ski.

waterCar bills the Jeep-like, four-passenger Panther as “the most fun vehicle on the planet,” and the claim just might be legitimate. it takes about 15 seconds to convert from car mode to boat, and vice versa, says company co-founder and co-owner fred selby.

“once you enter the water, you put the transmission in neutral, pull a knob to engage the jet, push a button to raise the wheels and off you go,” he explains. “then you just reverse the process when exiting the water.”

Power comes from a Honda-sourced 3.7-litre V6 engine (the same

one used in the last-generation acura mDx sport-utility vehicle) matched to a four-speed manual transmission. on water, aided by hydraulically powered retractable wheels and a moulded fibreglass hull (the fruit of more than 100 test designs), the engine enables the 15-foot-long, 2,950-pound Panther to max out at a more-than-respectable 44mph. on terra firma, the craft will hit 100mph (though the company cautions that speeds above 55mph are not advisable).

selby says the Panther, which is capable of carrying about 700 pounds, is unsinkable, thanks to a hull cavity filled with 32 cubic feet of closed-cell foam. a complete, turnkey Panther sells for a cool us$155,000; a us$126,000 "turnkey minus" model allows buyers to install the engine of their choice (provided said engine is a 3.5- or 3.7-litre Honda V6). selby says waterCar has sold close to 100 Panthers so far, with customers ranging from middle eastern sheiks to silicon Valley titans. But if you’re itching to take a Panther on your next romantic getaway, plan ahead; the wait for delivery is presently about 15 months – plenty of time to make it through the 920-page Chapman Piloting & seamanship.

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

Meet the Sport-Utility Vessel

Wesbank Purchases Fuel-efficient Trucks

Lavrenty Repin

Wesbank Transport Company purchased 3 UD trucks from Pupkewitz this week, which will be used as side-loaders by the company in Walvis Bay and throughout Namibia.

manufactured by former Volvo, now rebranded as uD (ultimate Dependable) trucks in south africa, the trucks were sold by namibian dealer, Pupkewitz at n$1.3 million per truck. according to tumi segage, a driver trainer from south africa, the trucks are equipped with fuel saving devices esko roll and retarder braking system, which allows the driver to break with a push of a button, for economic driving.

Page 16: Namib Independent Issue 108