Ohorongo assisting in poverty eradication: Schütte

GOBABIS, 20 JUL  – Ohorongo Cement will continue meeting government halfway in efforts geared towards development and poverty eradication, the company’s Managing Director (MD) Hans-Wilhelm Schütte has said.
Schütte made the remarks during the launch of the Ohorongo Cement-Build It Brickmaking Academy Training here on Wednesday.
He said the company, in partnership with Built-It, a building supplies company with branches across southern Africa, launched the programme in response to the clarion call of government for the private sector to come aboard development initiatives.
Schütte said Ohorongo firmly believes that the government needs to be supported by the private sector in fighting poverty and other social ills whenever possible.
He said the programme’s target at inception was to train 15 people per region or 210 brickmakers across the 14 regions.
Due to huge interest from the public, the intake was increased and an average of 30 people were signed up for the training per region.
Schütte urged the trainees to put their newly-acquired skills to good use and become active contributors to the country’s economy.
“The brickmaking academy can have a lighthouse effect and has the potential to change the lives of many Namibians, whilst also positively contributing to the Namibian economy,” the MD said.
The academy has to date trained about 262 people in brickmaking, while 30 more have been added with the launch of the training in Gobabis.
The trainees are drawn from all of the country’s 14 regions.
The programme was launched in March 2017 in Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region and was shortly thereafter rolled out to other regions, with Omaheke being the last stop.
Schütte said if each of the trainees managed to employ two people, the academy would have created 900 jobs.
“We envisaged the brickmakers will use their newly-acquired skill to assist in employment creation, enabling them to not only sustain their own livelihoods, but to play an active role in the alleviation of poverty,” he said.
(NAMPA)