RESPONSE TO FOOD SECURITY DURING STATE OF EMERGENCY

24 Mar 2020 | Community | by Admin

RESPONSE TO FOOD SECURITY DURING STATE OF EMERGENCY
We, as food producing and distributing entities, take our roles very seriously in mitigating the effects of this virus on the people of Namibia.

In light of this, we fully support Governments’ actions in limiting the movement of people, but we also take cognisance of the fact that food is critical in combating any disease.

We are closely aligned with Government and cooperating to ensure continuous food supply for all.

We have urged our employees in Namibia and South Africa to be vigilant by ensuring hygienic practises are followed at all times, which include:

- To wash their hands regularly;

- Keeping their phones clean;

- Should they, or any person staying with them, show any symptoms of fever or coughing, they must report it immediately;

- Not making physical contact with any person; and

- Avoiding anyone who looks like they have a fever or are coughing.

Truck drivers crossing borders have been issued with masks and sanitisers, and have also been informed to regularly wash their hands.

As we procure masks and sanitisers it will be prioritised to truck drivers (locally and internationally).

We supply basic and critical food to millions and are working hard to keep our employees safe and ensuring they can perform their duties to the consumers by remaining calm and being responsible.

Management is working to ensure risks are mitigated and are monitoring the situation very closely. We have also activated a daily task-team to ensure mission critical areas are performing and there are backup plans in place.

Tables may not run out of food, thus we strive to keep shelves well stocked. Also, we do not condone increasing margins during these times, as such opportunistic practices are not in the spirit of solidarity nor safety of people. We do however warn that should input costs increase, prices will increase in the same way as we have been practising responsibly in the past.

A concern currently is the decrease of the Namibian Dollar (currently 17.47, more than a 20% decrease in value over the last 14 days) which can lead to raw material price increases.
Namib Mills has the wellbeing of all Namibians at heart and we will do everything in our power to ensure food availability and food security for Namibia, thus living our creed of – FEEDING THE NATION.