Charcoal's doing great

The Namibia Charcoal Association (NCA) earlier last month held its annual conference with 260 delegates that attended the event near Otjiwarongo. According to the Namibia Agricultural Union, 16 exhibitors from supporting services and industries as well as 18 local and foreign charcoal buyers from as far as Germany, Cape Town, George and Durban attended. The chairperson of the NCA board of directors, Isak Katali, said that the charcoal association had big successes in their first year as an independent non-profit company. The members of the NCA increased to 490 and the Namibian charcoal industry currently is the fifth biggest exporter of charcoal in the world.Professor Joseph Diescho who was the keynote speaker at the event captured the delegates with his political knowledge of Namibia. He said that the time has come for Namibia, which he described as a zebra nation, to turn away from the past and to look towards the future. “We are neither a black Zebra with white stripes nor a white Zebra with black stripes. If you shoot a Zebra the whole animal is dead regardless whether the white or black stripe was hit.”He also referred to government's contemplated New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) legislation and said that “these are talks which only would make sense in a bar”. According to him Namibia is the country in Africa with the best racial relationships between black and white and the stability and peace which was brought about must be kept to bring about economic growth and progress. After the conference a demonstration of the new charcoal-burning technology, the so-called retort kiln, was given. Further research and tests must still be conducted with this system in the coming year and appreciation was expressed towards the GIZ and Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development for their financial support in this regard.STAFF REPORTER

Charcoal's doing great

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-08

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Charcoal's doing great

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-08

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