21 January 2021 | Labour
STAFF REPORTER
WINDHOEK
Some political parties have thrown their weight behind Shoprite employees who continue to be at loggerheads with their employer over salary and benefits demands.
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) have called for an immediate solution to the impasse in order to avoid job and economic losses.
Also, Swapo has condemned the police s use of excess force against striking Shoprite group employees at Oshakati over the weekend.
The ruling party s regional office was responding to a video - which has gone viral on social media - of a severely injured protester who is said to have been shot by the Namibian police on 15 January.
SABC
Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu passed on earlier on Thursday . The Presidency has sent condolences to his family.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time of loss,” says the Presidency in a statement.
Minister Mthembu has been described as an exemplary leader, an activist, and a life-long champion of freedom and democracy.
“He was a much-loved and greatly respected colleague and comrade, whose passing leaves our nation at a loss. I extend my deepest sympathies to the Minister’s family, to his colleagues, comrades, and many friends,” says the presidency.
Mthembu’s death comes as the country continues to battle the second wave of the coronavirus. The country currently has a total of 1 369 426 coronavirus cases.
OBITUARY | Jackson Mthembu, the ANC s voice of a political era Minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu died on Thursday morning of Covid-19 related complications. File photo. Image: GCIS
During some of the most crucial years of the ANC s post-1994 existence, Jackson Mthembu, 62, was the voice of the ruling party. He was a stalwart whose interaction with the media would become synonymous with that of the ruling party.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Mthembu, the minister in the presidency, had succumbed to Covid-19 related complications.
Mthembu s life was nothing short of hard-fought and his allegiance in the fight against the apartheid regime was evident.