Old Mutual makes communities safer and more secure

Staff Reporter



Over the past 100 years of Old Mutual’s operation in Namibia, the company has formed an integral part of the communities in which it conducts business operations. This is because these social units comprise of its employees, customers and stakeholders.

“An enduring lesson we learnt over the last 10 decades, is that, while things rapidly change around us, the things that truly matter don’t. Personal safety and security matters to everyone and as an established Namibian brand, we have a vested interest in making our communities safer and more secure through collaboration with key safety and security stakeholders,” says Ndangi Katoma, executive for marketing, communications and customer strategy at Old Mutual.

To date Old Mutual has invested over N$300 000 in neighbourhood watches in Windhoek. “This support to our community members kicked off in 2018 and is one way of demonstrating that Old Mutual cares, said Katoma.

To this effect, Old Mutual committed just over N$200 000 towards to the Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) Association of Namibia in collaboration with the Namibian Police’s community crime prevention initiative, to identify and facilitate all necessary material and equipment needed by registered neighbourhood watches in Namibia, sourced from local suppliers.

According to Atousa Fischer-Buder, national community affairs committee chairperson, the NHW Association has 55 members with an additional 63 Community Policing Groups (CPG) across Namibia that are registered with and recognised by Nampol.

“Old Mutual’s sponsorship has strengthened our crime prevention networks, sending out a strong message to criminals that we will stand united to make our neighbourhoods safer and more secure,” she said.

The breakdown of how the Old Mutual initiative capacitated the neighbourhood watches is as follows:

Provision of Uniforms to active patrollers:

The below full kits were acquired for 132 NHW members in total:

• Patrol Cards: N$6 600

• Flashlights: N$13 200

• Caps: N$ 13 312

• High Visibility Vests: N$14 891

• Golfer Shirts: N$24 563

• Razor Mesh Fence: N$26 961

• Branded Metal Boards: N$ 44 148

• Boots & Trousers: N$69 759

The total value of this consignment was N$213 437.67, representing the following neighbourhood watches: Rocky Crest; Khomasdal (Extension 4); Otjomuise (Extensions one, two, three and five) and Katutura (Okaramba, Ondundu, Grysblok, Donkerhoek, Goreangab Extension three, Greenwell Extension one, and Shandumbala.

During the 2018/2019 financial year, Old Mutual allocated N$100 000 to those neighbourhood watches that demonstrated that they could raise their own funds for safety and security projects, but needed a bit of support, namely the Ludwigsdorf Neighbourhood Watch with surveillance cameras to the value of N$40 000, Eros Neighbourhood Watch with billboards to the value of N$20 000 and Suiderhof Neighbourhood Watch with razor-mesh fencing to the value of N$40 000.

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Republikein 2025-05-07

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