Paheja Siririka
MTC executive Tim Ekandjo said corporates are making big money but shy away from playing their part and contributing to national development. Ekandjo said this at the handing over of six brand new classrooms to the Omatako Primary School in Otjozondjupa region yesterday to the tune of N$1.2 million. The Pupkewitz Foundation also contributed to the project by donating one classroom to the same school worth N$220 000.
“We are calling the initiative the MTC Rural Schools Project, but we can make a commitment here to all corporates and individuals out there that we are prepared to drop the name MTC from the project and make this a national project,” stated Ekandjo. MTC last year also constructed four classrooms each to the Okondaune and Sinzogoro primary schools in the Kavango West to a combined amount of N$1.6 million.
He said there are a lot of individuals who are benefitting from the country’s natural resources like fishing quotas and called on the line ministry to speak to these individuals to start contributing. “We know that in those applications, everyone must have a commitment towards corporate social responsibility. It is time we come together and address national problems so that we can make an impact,” added Ekandjo.
The principal of Omatako Primary School, Muhona Ngurare, said the learning and teaching environment will considerably improve at the former military barracks since learners will now attend under a conducive environment. “Today, we part ways with the dilapidated prefabricated classrooms, they were too small and couldn’t even accommodate 35 learners, plus they have reached their life span. The school has more than 400 learners.”
Education minister Anna Nghipondoka also appealed to the private sector to do more. “Why are the private sectors not coming on board? The call for them to come on board still stands. MTC has spent their resources here at Omatako Primary School to construct these classrooms in collaboration with a partner (The Pupkewitz Foundation) and for your information, Pupkewitz have been doing a lot for us,” she said.
The MTC Rural School Project is a corporate social investment initiative launched last year, driven to address the call of dilapidated schools that lack decent structures or have none at all. It includes capacity building by using local contractors to ensure empowerment for the local construction industry.
– psiririka@nepc.com.na