China heavily overcharges Namibia for railway projects
China had offered Namibia a loan of N$300 million on condition that the Namibian government waivers all tender procedures and contracts CMEC to do the work, although CMEC’s quote was ten times more expensive than South African and German railway construction companies in the same league.
Standard Bank loses millions in traveller’s cheques scam
STANDARD BANK Namibia has lost more than N$1.2million in fake traveller’s cheque payouts unwittingly made to a cartel of Nigerian and Namibian fraudsters by the bank’s foreign exchange departments in Windhoek, Informanté has established. Documents in Informanté’s possession show that between 9 July 2008 and 18 August 2008, Standard Bank Namibia lost N$1,167,115 after the foreign exchange departments at its Ausspanplatz, Gustav Voigts, Walvis Bay and Windhoek branches cashed thousands of counterfeit traveller’s cheques brought in by the fraudsters.
Forged Namibian passports and Identity Cards Fly
Forged Namibian IDs and passports believed to have been printed in the UK have been used by international drug syndicates to fly to countries like China, Indonesia and Nepal. In most cases, the IDs and Passports carry the names of unsuspecting Namibian citizens whose identities have been stolen and used to obtain new travel documents. Spelling errors and watermarks betray the forged documents.
100s of Zimbabweans illegally enter SA daily
By Tawanda Kanhema in Beitbridge INTENSIFIED patrols on Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa are failing to deter border jumping and smuggling along the Limpopo River, with illegal crossings facilitated by well organized syndicates taking place right under the nose of Zimbabwean law enforcement agents manning the old Limpopo bridge. Illegal crossings have become a cash [...]
100s of Zimbabweans illegally enter SA daily
100s of Zimbabweans illegally enter SA daily From Tawanda Kanhema in Beitbridge INTENSIFIED patrols on Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa are failing to deter border jumping and smuggling along the Limpopo River, with illegal crossings facilitated by well organized syndicates taking place right under the nose of Zimbabwean law enforcement agents manning the old Limpopo [...]
Illegal abortions: Zim doctors’ secret shame
The Act also makes provision for the termination of pregnancy when the foetus is impaired or ‘the child to be born will suffer from a physical or mental defect of such a nature that he will be irreparably seriously handicapped, and two other medical practitioners have certified in writing’ that such a risk exists.
Curse of the Marange Diamonds: Diamond rush triggers negative social repercussions
The Marange diamond rush, however lucrative, has triggered an array of negative social repercussions for the community. TAWANDA KANHEMA was in Chiyadzwa recently and discovered that besides the looming demolition of houses within diamond fields, the sudden wave of prosperity among villagers driven by the diamond craze, while attracting a heavy police and military presence, is fueling moral decadence. Money laundering, promiscuity, alcoholism and fraud have become commonplace as the illicit diamond economy expands, attracting swarms of police patrols to the small rural community. Villagers now speak with diamonds under their tongues, as they try to avoid detection.
100s Of Zimbabweans illegally enter SA daily
About 100 Zimbabweans are illegally crossing into South Africa daily in search of jobs despite intensified police patrols along the Limpopo River and the dangers of drowning, possible arrests and deportations. A visa to South Africa is free but prospective visitors to that country are supposed to produce 1 000 rand which is equivalent to about $16 million and that money is converted to traveller’s cheques to ensure they do not get stranded there.
Botswana fence rips families apart
The fence at Maitengwe is barely high enough to keep foraging livestock from crossing to either side of the border in the dry region, and villagers leisurely leap over the rusty fence to buy basics, mourn their relatives, marry and make merry just as the Tswana did before Zimbabwe’s independence in the 1980. The area has well pronounced footpaths that lead to numerous crossing points, and animals grazing in the area have trampled on the fence in search of water upstream in the heavily siltated Maitengwe river, which meanders across the border.