Alvine Kapitako
Windhoek
Namsov Fishing Enterprises (NFE), through the Namsov Community Trust (NCT), on Wednesday donated N$500,000 to the governors of the country’s 14 regions, as part of its corporate social responsibility.
The funds will be used for community development projects in all the regions. In 2014, NCT embarked on a development programme in partnership with Namibia’s 14 regional governors and created the Governor’s Regional Development programme.
To date, NCT has disbursed N$28 million towards the Governors Regional Development programme. This funding has been spread over a four-year period and divided equally across the regions.
The Governors’ Regional Development programme serves to encourage the regional structures to identify their own needs, prioritise them and intervene at their point of need.
This, in turn, builds capacity for social and economic development in the regions of Namibia.
The handover was done at a gala dinner where various speakers spoke of the impact the NCT programme has had on the communities in all regions.
Among other projects, food production and education, especially at higher level, was made possible for vulnerable communities, who could otherwise not assist themselves, thanks to the funding from the Governors’ Regional Development programme.
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernhard Esau, commended Namsov Fishing Enterprises for its commitment towards corporate social responsibility, particularly by committing to the Governors’ Regional Development programme for the past four years.
Esau was also pleased that the fishing industry, in general, is active in corporate social responsibility.
“This is positively impacting the lives of our people,” added Esau. Since taking up the ministerial position, Esau has been encouraging (fishing) right holders to engage in corporate social responsibility.
However, he was quick to point out that some fishing firms are known to make cosmetic donations.
“Prosperity that is not shared is not sustainable. The wealth of our fisheries must benefit all Namibians and corporate social responsibility is one of the vehicles through which it can be realised,” said Esau, stressing that corporate social responsibility is an essential development too.
“This helps in the fight against poverty,” he reiterated.
The chairperson of the NFE and Trustee of NCT, Sebulon Kankondi, said it is possible to build partnerships with communities and that the governors have allowed the organisation to build this partnership.
“You cannot fight poverty without reducing or eliminating ignorance because ignorance is the major contributor to poverty,” said Kankondi.
Through the NCT many projects were identified and established successfully, Kankondi said.
“Also somewhere we failed but failure is part of success,” said Kankondi, adding that there are still projects in the pipeline intended to benefit Namibians.
“Governors understand the needs of their constituents much better than us,” he said, adding that the governors showed enthusiasm during their partnership over the last four years.
Also speaking on that occasion, the NCT Chief Sustainability Officer and Administrator, Tuna Willem added that social responsibilities should not just be left to Namsov and other corporates. “We must all be asked how we are giving back,” she added.
In a media statement, Willem said it is no longer enough for the organisation to do charity work. “We need to empower our constituencies to be able to understand social responsibility and engage on it as a daily way of life,” said Willem.