ONGWEDIVA – MTC’s spokesperson Tim Ekandjo has asked the organisers of trade fairs to ensure that their events do not clash with the Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair (OATF). Ekandjo noted that trade fairs taking place at the same time makes matters very difficult for sponsors and participants and actually discourages corporations and other businesses from participating.
Speaking at the official opening of the OATF 2013, Ekandjo told the organizers of other trade fairs that are taking place simultaneously that planning their fairs to take place at the same time as the OATF does not benefit the other shows nor those wishing to attend. “As we speak, we have the OATF, Henties Bay Fish Festival and Olufuko Expo happening at the same time, and as if that is not enough in September we have the Grootfontein, Rehoboth and Gobabis Expos also at the same time. Gobabis is even worse because not only do they compete with other towns but with themselves as well because they have two different trade fairs taking place at exactly the same time in the same town – then they still … invite the same sponsors and exhibitors,” remarked Ekandjo.
“We have decided not to take part in such chaos, because by doing so they involve us in whatever squabbles they have and we refuse to be part of that. Our plea to the leadership is therefore not to allow such chaos because instead of attracting visitors to the town, it discourages us from participating in what was meant to be an economic spinoff for the town. Clearly if this goes on next year then we know the organizers have no desire to listen to their customers and we will therefore not bother raising this concern again,” he said. The MTC spokesperson also commended the OATF organizers, who he said have invested a lot of time and resources to promote the brand and reputation of the OATF. This is the reason why, according to Ekandjo, Namibians make an effort to travel from afar just to attend the OATF.
During the opening of the OATF on Friday, Ekandjo also announced MTC’s new three-year partnership with the OATF. This partnership includes a brand-new investment of over N$450 000 in a new entrance gate to welcome all visitors in style.
“MTC remains committed to the OATF, like it does with trade fairs across the country because by doing so we support our people getting their businesses off the ground. The real shareholders of MTC are the Namibian people, and we will forever be indebted to your continuous support. We are not a perfect company and we do not aspire to be perfect, because we want to be human, as creative as we can be and sometimes make spectacular failures along the way as we eventually amaze you with world class ICT solutions. I wish to remind you that MTC belongs to the Namibian government as majority shareholder, and our success is the government’s success, and every contribution we make is geared towards helping our government achieve the ultimate goal of nation building,” said Ekandjo.
By Edgar Brandt