Namport cares

Otis Finck

Namport marked the 10th anniversary of its Social Investment Fund (NSIF) and unveiled a brand new logo for the fund on Tuesday in Walvis Bay.

NSFI handed over sponsorships valued at N$730 000 to four recipients to mark its 10th birthday appropriately. The Project School in Kuisebmond received N$610 000 for the construction of four classrooms, Ngatuve Vatere Childrens’ Home received N$50 000, !Nara Primary School N$50 000 and Women Who Care received N$20 000.

Speaking at the occasion Namport's chief executive officer and chairperson of NSIF, Bisey /Uirab, said that the investment to the Project School in Kuisebmond was aimed at doing away with the current Platoon education system.

“It is my sincere hope that this will create the much needed capacity to accommodate more learners in the mornings rather than for young learners to wait until 13:00 to go to school. We will therefore work with the said school to implement the project as soon as possible.”

Through the NSIF, Namport contributes towards making a positive difference in areas of entrepreneurial and small and medium (SME) development, health, the environment and education.

Since the inception of the NSIF in 2006, the fund received N$25 million of which more than N$20 million was spent on community projects with an additional N$380 895 pledged to other projects.

/Uirab further said that Namibia as a country endowed with the enormous Blue Economic resource (Atlantic Ocean) could not delay in developing necessary capacities through education as well as investing in rail and road infrastructure. He also emphasised the need for the country to obtain buy-in from regional markets and explore avenues of value addition to its natural and mineral resources.

/Uirab pointed out that the Namibian population has grown from 1,4 million in 1990 to 2,2 million in 2016 and was projected to increase to 3,5 million by 2030.

He said the rapid growth Namibia was experiencing came with varied challenges that are evident, for example in the education sector where shortages of classrooms, overcrowding of certain institutions, lack of proper water and sanitation facilities, scarcity of modern teaching instruments as well as teaching personnel exist.

“Government cannot address the shortcomings on its own and stakeholder involvement will go a long way in accelerating the implementation of national imperatives such as Vision 2030, NDP5 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.”

/Uirab said he was of the opinion that knowledge should not be limited to a select few. In light of this, Namport undertook deliberate actions to create needed capacity through initiatives such as the Namport Bursaries and Study Assistance schemes for all its employees and young committed matriculates. There are currently more than 30 students participating in the Namport Bursary Programme.

Namport also introduced the 'Catch them young' programme with a focus on attracting children from previously disadvantaged and marginalised groups, and enabled them to attend schools offering maritime subjects, thereby created potential for jobs in the maritime industry.

Erongo governor Cleophas Mutjavikua applauded Namport for strengthening the region and embarking on the journey to position Namibia as the logistic hub for the SADC region.

Mutjavikua said that a region does not make itself great without the entities such as the industries that are operating within a region.

The governor also called for support for Namport and said the parastatal plays a significant role under the economic pillar of infrastructural development in the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

“Namport is not only focused on developing business infrastructure but also giving back to Namibians. For the past 23 years it has been an active corporate citizen within the region. Over the past 10 years the NSIF has spent 39% of its budget in the Erongo region for Corporate Social Investment initiatives," he said.

The governor called on stakeholders within the region to share the NSIF's spirit of bettering education by stepping in and assisting educational institutions.