GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTOR WORK TOGETHER AGAINST CORONAVIRUS

20 Mar 2020 | News & Events | by Admin

On the 20^th of March 2020 Namib Mills handed over a food donation worth N$ 75 000 to the Government of Namibia. The donation, that was initially planned to be used for Independence Celebrations, was received by Mr. George Simataa, Secretary to the Cabinet. The Office of the Secretary was busy organising the 30^th Independence Celebrations when the virus hit the country. Government quickly decided to channel the donations towards curbing the spread of the disease.

Mr. Simataa thanked Mr. Ian Collard, CEO of Namib Mills, for the donation of 3 pellets totaling 2.9 tons of Top Score Maize Meal and 3 pellets totaling 1.3 tons of Polana Macaroni. The donation equals to more than 40 000 portions of food and will be directed to supporting the Government’s efforts to prevent an outbreak.

The Namibian Government took strict measures as soon as the virus was first detected in the country.  The global and the Namibian economy is expected to take a hit due to the outbreak.

Mr. Ian Collard applauded the Government for its swift response and said that, “what matters most, is the safety of the people”. As one of the top food producers in Namibia, Namib Mills is committed to ensure that its operations remain unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak. “The mission of Namib Mills is to feed the nation, and we therefore want to ensure there is a constant supply of food products”, said Mr. Collard. “Nutritious food is important to boost the immune system and our Top Score is fortified with vitamins.”

Mr. Collard urged the private sector to join the fight against the pandemic. The Namibian Government is doing its best to prevent the spread of the virus, but has not closed the borders completely, ensuring that the import and export of goods that are essential for economic activities may continue. The tourism sector is already hit hard. Even though the arrival of tourists has been restricted, free movement of goods could help other sectors not to suffer the blow.

For the transportation of goods to be safe, Mr. Simataa calls for private sector to come on board to ensure that reliable and effective testing can be done at all of our borders. Mr. Collard welcomed the idea, by working together during these times of uncertainty, the Government, private sector and public at large can prevent a serious outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in Namibia. Mr. Simataa and Mr. Collard agreed that it is very unfortunate that the 30^th Independence Celebrations had to be cancelled. 

Namib Mills is a proudly Namibian company and would like to congratulate the country on 30 years of Independence.