By William Mbangula
OSHAKATI
New Era Board Chairperson, Vilbard Usiku, has reiterated the newspaper’s policy to give prominence, in terms of coverage, to rural communities and areas.
Usiku made these remarks on Tuesday after paying a courtesy call at the New Era office in Oshakati, where he assured the nation that the newspaper wished to give practical effect to the enabling legislation of the New Era Act of 1992, which considers rural reporting as one of the key areas needing special attention.
He said: “The New Era office in Oshakati profoundly impresses me.
“The office in this region of our country is important in the sense that the majority of the people live here.”
“We will therefore fail the majority of our people if we do not give coverage of rural communities in our reporting.
However, the board and management of New Era are fully aware of the fact that there is a need to make resources available to the office in Oshakati and other satellite offices in order to strengthen their capacity to function more effectively.”
Usiku, who is also the Employment Equity Commissioner (EEC), visited the Oshana Region as part of a ministerial delegation.
He accompanied Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Alfeus !Naruseb, to Omusati and Oshana Regions together with the Permanent Secretary, Ulitala Hiveluah, the Deputy Labour Commissioner, Tuuliki Shikongo, and other high-ranking officials as part of information-sharing and consultation efforts with workers, trade unions, traditional and political leaders to explain the newly-drafted Labour Bill and other labour issues.