IMELDA AMBONDO
Minister of Information and Communication Technology Emma Theofelus announced that the government has approved 20 local and international film projects to boost youth employment
Theofelus made the announcements at the MICT’s 2026 Year Opening Staff Engagement held at the Windhoek Country Club Resort on Monday.
“I am proud to report that twenty (20) local and international film projects were approved, creating temporary employment opportunities for about 263 young people,” Theofelus said.
She said the ministry has achieved major developments in connectivity, creative industries, ICT legislation and public service delivery, saying the ministry recorded significant milestones in 2025.
She further announced that the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation paid over N$1.4 million to NASCAM in royalties for music broadcast on radio and television.
“As at the end of last year, NBC paid over a total of N$1.4 million to NASCAM,” she said.
On connectivity, Theofelus said the Universal Service Fund, capitalised with N$80 million, enabled the construction of nine towers in rural regions, with schools and clinics receiving free internet for seven years.
“Notably, schools and clinics within the coverage of these towers receive free internet for seven years,” she said.
She added that Telecom Namibia installed about 80 mobile sites, while the Fibre-to-Home rollout is nearing completion.
On legislation, the minister announced that stakeholder consultations on the Cybercrime Bill will resume on 2 February 2026, while the Data Protection Bill is ready for resubmission to Cabinet.
“This Bill is particularly important as it will address technology-facilitated crimes,” Theofelus said.
She also raised concern over the misuse of digital platforms, saying unethical social media use has led to “mis- and disinformation, cyber bullying, crimes, data and personal privacy violations.
“The unethical and irresponsible use of social media has led to moral decay of our society,” she said, calling for support of the Ethical Use of Social Media Campaign.
Theofelus further announced that the National ICT Summit will return in 2026 in a redefined format, with the Mega Hackathon which is a large-scale, intensive, and collaborative event where developers, innovators and students gather, often for 24-48 hours, to build, code, and design technological solutions for complex, real-world problems, such as government digitisation, public service, or industry challenges, forming part of the summit.
On internal performance, she described the ministry’s 44% Customer Service Charter Audit score as “unacceptable” and said a team has been identified to improve service delivery.
“This result is unacceptable,” she said.
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