Tsumeb
Ohorongo Cement donated 40 bags of cement to Tsumeb Town Council towards the renovation of Tsumeb’s Omatara Open Market that burned down in February.
About 90 percent of the market was reduced to ashes and this left most small entrepreneurs that operated from there in limbo, as they had nowhere to conduct their business from. Some lost everything in the fire.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, although its speculated that it might have been caused by lighting, or an electrical fault in the wiring. It was for this reason that Ohorongo Cement came to their aid to help restore the place where they had earned their livelihood.
Receiving the donation was Tsumeb Constituency Councillor Lebbius Tobias, who appealed to the business fraternity at large to follow the good example emulated by Ohorongo Cement.
“I’ve been trying to source funds and assistance from the business community, but to no avail. I want to seriously appeal to the business community, especially those in Tsumeb, to always render a helping hand when situations like these arise,” stressed Tobias.
Ohorongo’s general administration manager, Rudolf Coetzee, said it is their responsibility to assist the communities in which they operate, as it is their social responsibility.
“It is critically important for us to meet government halfway, by assisting in whatever way we can. We support this initiative to renovate the market, so that at least one day on one of our workers will buy from there, since we operate in the area of Tsumeb,” Coetzee said.
Speaking on behalf of the victims, chairperson of Omatara Market Thomas Simon, expressed their gratitude, saying they are have been stranded since the market burned down, as they have no other means of reviving their small businesses.