By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK An educated nation is one that will ultimately be able to work and feed itself through the provision of employment and income, which in turn will contribute to the eradication of many social evils such as abuse and crime. This was said by the Managing Director of Standard Bank, Theo Mberirua, last week when he handed over a donation of N$50 000 to the Association of Black Accountants in Namibia (ABAN). The money will be used for staging the second schools business game in which more than 24 Namibian schools will partake. “The money will be used to host the second business school game, one which exposes learners to business and finance in a fun and educational manner. The game also aims to reach as many learners as possible from previously disadvantaged communities and introduce them to the country’s business environment,” Mberirua said. He on behalf of Standard Bank pledged further annual financial support for the ABAN business game. ABAN was initiated in 2002 by four black Namibian chartered accountants. “We have realized that after more than a decade of independence, the country then had less than ten black chartered accountants and therefore we had the need to change the status quo. It is encouraging to know that the number has grown considerably to 31 chartered accountants,” said Patty Karuaihe-Martin, the president of ABAN at the ceremony. The organisation’s objective is to promote people involved in the accounting business. “Namibia being a developing country requires a lot more professional accountants. If you only look at our parastatals, the demand for qualified professional accountants is already in access of 60, and each one needs at least one qualified accountant,” Karuaihe-Martin said. The business game will take place this Saturday at Windhoek High School and will be officially opened by Prime Minister Nahas Angula. “To achieve our Vision 2030 goals in the financial sector, we would at least need 2 000 accountants. According to three economic growth scenarios demand for professionals will exceed supply throughout the period up to 2030. It is encouraging to see the committed drive on education and training by various stakeholders such as Standard Bank,” said Karuaihe-Martin, who urged stronger partnerships between business and government in the accounting field with regard to training of Namibians.