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When travelling in southern Namibia it is worthwhile visiting an historic place dating back to the pioneering times of the missionary era, today known as Bethanien. When missionary Schmelen arrived there in 1814, it was called /ui//gantes, the rock fountain. 

Standing on the jetty and marvelling at the sunset is an experience that is as much a part of a holiday in Swakopmund as salt belongs in the ocean. It is surprising then to find that both of these attractions are simply the result of a few quirks of history. If the bay of today’s Walvis Bay, 30 km further south, had not already been in British hands at the end of the 19th century and had Imperial Germany not declared the southwestern part of Africa a protectorate and done its utmost to build a harbour for the country, things might have been very different. 

This year has been eventful on Namibia’s political front with “unprecedented headwinds” as President described 2016 in his New Year message on 31 December. President Geingob held a year-end press conference on 13 December, surrounded by Cabinet ministers and in the presence of the diplomatic corps. The event lasted 3 hours, with a presentation on progress with the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

Two topics were heatedly discussed in the summer of 1946. On June 30th a nuclear bomb exploded in the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It was the first in an American test series that continued for twelve year. Five days after the first explosion a Frenchman by the name of Louis Réard caused similar shock waves in a figurative manner of speaking. At the elegant Piscine Molitor complex, the most popular public pool in Paris, nude dancer Micheline Bernadini took to the catwalk flaunting his latest fashion creation – a bikini.  

16 December 1838. Geloftedag - Day of the Vow. It used to be the most significant commemoration day of the Afrikaners. It was the day when 470 Voortrekkers called on the help of God to defeat an overwhelming Zulu force at the Ncome River in what is KwaZulu-Natal today. After South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994 it became the Day of Reconciliation. December 16th is also the day when Umkontho we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), was founded in 1961.

Namibia’s cities and towns are supplied with water from dams, boreholes and rivers. In total the country’s dams contain about 705,855 million cubic metres of water. In addition to the sewage treatment plant, Windhoek’s water supply includes a large number of boreholes, which tap into groundwater reserves, as well as three dams. For months, Windhoekers have not managed to save the required amount of water given by NamWater and the city administration. 

November was a particularly busy month in Namibia’s economic sector with the two-day international investment conference, a lively debate on planned phosphate mining, and new developments with regard to the land reform. 

This monthly update touches on important political developments in Namibia: Early in November the ruling Swapo Party ended its second national policy conference; Namibia’s Ministry of Defence and the German Federal Ministry of Defence signed a new extension agreement in Windhoek on German equipment aid to Namibia; the largest opposition party in Parliament, the DTA of Namibia became the first political party to present audited financial statements to the National Assembly Secretariat.

The passenger ship Dunedin Star, on her way from Liverpool to Cape Town, is sailing off the coast of South West Africa. The captain is steering a course about 16 km off the coast when the ship is suddenly rocked by a violent jolt. The keel with the passageway under the engine room is ripped off. The Dunedin Star probably hit the Clan Alpine Shoal, a rock which is marked on the charts but whose exact position is uncertain.