Windhoek
Kuiseb Fishing Enterprises, Osave Mini Market and Ndapandula Talinyange’s family last Wednesday donated food items and cash exceeding N$1 million to needy communities.
The items were handed over to the Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Kuiseb Fishing Enterprises donated fish soup worth N$982 000. The company’s administration manager, Harold Kaune, said the fishing enterprise decided to join forces with Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Bernard Esau to respond to the appeal by President Hage Geingob that no Namibian should be left out.
Osave Mini Market donated N$50 000 to the drought-stricken communities. Simeon Hilongwa the assistant manager for Osave Mini Market said as their business has expanded they found it essential to share some of the profits with the communities affected by drought.
Talinyanga and her family donated more than 50 different types of melons that included wild melons to the communities affected by the recurrent drought.
She said the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement that resettled them used their farm to plant various crops such as melons, millet, sorghum, beans and pumpkins on a pilot basis.
“The result came out very promising and that encouraged us to expand our field to 2 hectares and the reason for us to donate is to share our produce with other Namibians who are affected by the drought and that we are a caring family who like sharing with the less privileged,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said it is not the first time local companies have assisted needy communities during difficult times such as in the time of the current drought.
During the 2011 floods, Osave Mini Market donated 150 x 50kg bags of maize meal in the Oshana Region. While during the 2013/2014 drought programme, Kuiseb Fishing Enterprises donated 9 000 sachets of variety soup and 72 bottles of soup.
“Government has approved the drought interim measures to mitigate the impact of drought through distributing maize meal to affected communities, water provision through drilling of boreholes and water tanker services, livestock marketing incentive subsidies and seed provisions. Therefore, the donation made here today will surely enable government to continue providing support to drought-affected communities,” stated the deputy prime minister.