Erongo Marine ploughs back N$485 000

By Confidente Reporter

ERONGO Marine Enterpris­es, a leading company in the horse mackerel fishing in­dustry, has committed N$485 000 towards various community initia­tives, as part of its social corporate responsibility programme.
This includes a donation of canned fish to the value of N$10 000 to marginalised communities and schools, to be identified by Founding President and Father of the Namibian Nation, Dr Sam Nu­joma.
The company also donated N$250 000 made towards the com­pletion of the Etunda Farm Primary School, at the occasion of Nujoma’s 88th birthday in May this year.
Speaking at the donation event this week, which was attended by Nujoma, Erongo Marine Manag­ing Director, Martha Uumati, said many Namibians do not enjoy the same privileges as those enjoying a healthy meal every day.
“Through our humble donation of canned fish products… we hope to make a small contribution to­wards these communities. The con­tribution towards the completion of the Etunda Farm Primary School is dwarfed by your generosity,” she said, while addressing Nujoma.
Uumati also highlighted Nujo­ma’s commitment towards address­ing the education and health short­comings among rural communities, especially farmworkers.
“The fisheries sector is one of the highest contributors to our econo­my, second only to the mining sec­tor, in terms of exports.”
Quoting the Minister of Fisher­ies and Marine Resources Bernard Esau, Uumati stressed that the prof­its gained from the country’s fishing waters, should drive the industry to empower and contribute towards a better life for Namibians.
“In the spirit of Harambee, Eron­go Marine Enterprises would like to give His Excellency (President Hage Geingob) and the Government of Namibia the assurance that we are wholeheartedly committed to these goals.
“Through our various initia­tives, Erongo Marine will continue to convert our fishing rights into human rights that create shared value, by investing in sustainable and empowering community pro­grammes.”
Uumati stressed that the compa­ny will commit itself to advancing the lives of local communities, not only in the Erongo region, but also throughout Namibia.
“This shows our full support and commitment to the new fisher­ies scorecard, implemented by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.”
At the same event, Erongo Ma­rine also committed a N$135 000 sponsorship towards the studies of Simon Petrus at the Windhoek Vo­cational Training Centre, for a peri­od of three years.
Petrus is young inventor, who in 2016 invented a mobile phone that works with radio frequencies, and which required no SIM card or air­time.
Receiving the generous gifts, Nu­joma said that the Etunda project would not have been completed without the assistance from stake­holders such as Erongo Marine.
He further said that reading Petrus’ story inspired him and he decided to approach Erongo Ma­rine to sponsor the young man to complete his vocational studies.
In his short speech, Petrus thanked the company for enabling him to get skills training and formal qualifications.
“What I have done just came nat­urally. I do not have any training. With this opportunity, to improve my skills, I will be able to achieve a lot more,” Petrus said.
The canned fish will be distrib­uted to the Children Life Change Centre, which houses 35 orphans and street kids in Windhoek, as well as the Ada Ma/Hao Senior Citizens Committee, which assists 461 el­derly and vulnerable people in Ota­vi, and Ausens Kindergarten, which has 80 pupils.
The Omuangete Primary School, with a total of 186 learners, will also benefit from the donation.