Michael Samuel
Ohangwena region has received 700 bags of maize flour each weighing 5kg with a combined value of N$35 000 from International Commercial (Pty) LTD (ICPL) in Oshikango to assist its communities most in need.
With the Namibian-Angolan border closed due to Covid-19, the Oshikango bonded warehouse is in a predicament as it mainly relies on exports, but it has been out of business since the closure of the border. It has 25 employees on its wage bill.
The bonded warehouse made the donation as part of its corporate social responsibility towards the Ohangwena community as well as joined hands with regional leaders to collectively fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ohangwena governor Walde Ndevashiya assured the management of the Oshikango bonded warehouse that the maize meal bags will be distributed as soon as possible to the affected Ohangwena communities.
“On behalf of the Ohangwena Regional Council and the Office of the Governor, we sincerely accept this great gesture with open hands as it will go a long way in addressing some of the challenges faced by the region and the country at large, such as the economic downfall and now the Covid-19 pandemic that has disrupted our means of survival. I can also assure you that these bags of maize meal will not end up in storage facilities but will be distributed immediately to the community through local authorities and constituency offices within the region,” he said.
The closure of the Namibian-Angolan border has not only affected business communities in the region but also the farmers along the border that rely mostly on grazing in the southern parts of Angola but who can no longer move their cattle freely because of the disruptive pandemic.