MTC helps drought-stricken farmers
MTC helps drought-stricken farmers

MTC helps drought-stricken farmers

Jemima Beukes
MTC has thrown its weight behind the farming community, amid the devastating drought.

The telecommunications firm yesterday donated N$250 000 to the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) and N$400 000 to the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU).

During the handover ceremony, MTC board chairperson Elvis Nashilongo said these dreadful times affect farmers on a daily basis and the nation remains confronted by escalating numbers of dying livestock, which is an evident threat to food security.

“MTC has never shied away from playing its part when it comes to corporate social responsibility, and today we want to make another contribution geared towards assisting farmers, through the farmers' unions, to get over this difficult period. We want to encourage the two farmers' representatives to put this donation to good use, and in the best interest of the most disadvantaged farmers,” Nashilongo said.

The ongoing and prolonged drought in the country is affecting the production of arable crops and animal feed, which increases input costs and could potentially give rise to low food outputs.

According to Nashilongo, this support is aimed at increasing the availability of fodder resources for livestock, one of the main challenges faced by farmers dealing with the impacts of the drought.

MTC manager of corporate affairs, communications and sponsorships, John Ekongo, said they are committed to playing their part to ease the burden on drought-stricken communities.

“When encountered with the signals of these extreme climatic events, we were spurred into action to offer our support to this very crucial industry and assist our farmers in coping in these dire straits. Our action today is formed on the basis of MTC being the largest ICT solutions provider,” said Ekongo.

He said Namibians must understand that drought affects us all. He added the donation complements other efforts by MTC, including the SMS and Connect for Good Campaign, which is running from 31 May until 31 August.

Under this campaign, 10 MTC customers, on a daily basis, stand a chance to win a fuel, groceries or a farm implements voucher to the value of N$3 000 each, in addition to a monthly draw of N$10 000 for 16 customers.

The vouchers are redeemable at Agra, Kaap Agri, Shoprite and selected service stations.

MTC has also made another donation of N$100 000 towards the Winter Knights project, which takes care of the most vulnerable members of society during winter.

“It is important to keep our people warm during this winter, especially knowing that a number of our young and old citizens find themselves homeless,” said Ekongo.

JEMIMA BEUKES

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Namibian Sun 2024-09-21

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LaLiga: Deportivo Alaves 2 vs 1 Sevilla | Leganés 0 vs 2 Athletic Club | Real Betis 2 vs 1 Getafe SerieA: Hellas Verona 2 vs 3 Torino | Cagliari 0 vs 2 Empoli European Championships Qualifying: Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City English Championship: Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City Katima Mulilo: 25° | 39° Rundu: 20° | 39° Eenhana: 17° | 36° Oshakati: 15° | 34° Ruacana: 16° | 35° Tsumeb: 19° | 34° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 32° Omaruru: 14° | 32° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Gobabis: 9° | 30° Henties Bay: 11° | 18° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 07:11, High tide: 13:35, Low Tide: 19:41, High tide: 01:54 Swakopmund: 12° | 14° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: N, Low tide: 07:09, High tide: 13:33, Low Tide: 19:39, High tide: 01:52 Walvis Bay: 11° | 17° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: N, Low tide: 07:09, High tide: 13:32, Low Tide: 19:39, High tide: 01:51 Rehoboth: 7° | 29° Mariental: 7° | 26° Keetmanshoop: 6° | 24° Aranos: 6° | 27° Lüderitz: 14° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 6° | 23° Oranjemund: 15° | 30° Luanda: 22° | 24° Gaborone: 11° | 17° Lubumbashi: 18° | 36° Mbabane: 8° | 9° Maseru: 3° | 13° Antananarivo: 11° | 28° Lilongwe: 21° | 31° Maputo: 14° | 15° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Cape Town: 10° | 21° Durban: 13° | 14° Johannesburg: 7° | 9° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 29° Lusaka: 21° | 34° Harare: 17° | 30° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.26 | EUR to NAD 19.53 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.5 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.16 | RUB to NAD 0.19 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 131.91 | USD to AOA 927.77 | USD to BWP 13.17 | USD to EGP 48.46 | USD to KES 128.48 | USD to NGN 1593.37 | USD to ZAR 17.41 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1831.97 Down -0.38% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14246.86 Up +0.44% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30937.69 Up +1.96% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9651.25 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 622.23/OZ UP +1.35% | Copper US$ 4.31/lb DOWN -0.0032 | Zinc US$ 2 884.80/T DOWN -0.23% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.74/BBP DOWN -0.0019 | Platinum US$ 976.09/OZ DOWN -0.0067 Sport results: LaLiga: Deportivo Alaves 2 vs 1 Sevilla | Leganés 0 vs 2 Athletic Club | Real Betis 2 vs 1 Getafe SerieA: Hellas Verona 2 vs 3 Torino | Cagliari 0 vs 2 Empoli European Championships Qualifying: Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City English Championship: Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 25° | 39° Rundu: 20° | 39° Eenhana: 17° | 36° Oshakati: 15° | 34° Ruacana: 16° | 35° Tsumeb: 19° | 34° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 32° Omaruru: 14° | 32° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Gobabis: 9° | 30° Henties Bay: 11° | 18° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 07:11, High tide: 13:35, Low Tide: 19:41, High tide: 01:54 Swakopmund: 12° | 14° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: N, Low tide: 07:09, High tide: 13:33, Low Tide: 19:39, High tide: 01:52 Walvis Bay: 11° | 17° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: N, Low tide: 07:09, High tide: 13:32, Low Tide: 19:39, High tide: 01:51 Rehoboth: 7° | 29° Mariental: 7° | 26° Keetmanshoop: 6° | 24° Aranos: 6° | 27° Lüderitz: 14° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 6° | 23° Oranjemund: 15° | 30° Luanda: 22° | 24° Gaborone: 11° | 17° Lubumbashi: 18° | 36° Mbabane: 8° | 9° Maseru: 3° | 13° Antananarivo: 11° | 28° Lilongwe: 21° | 31° Maputo: 14° | 15° Windhoek: 11° | 28° Cape Town: 10° | 21° Durban: 13° | 14° Johannesburg: 7° | 9° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 29° Lusaka: 21° | 34° Harare: 17° | 30° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.26 | EUR to NAD 19.53 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.5 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.16 | RUB to NAD 0.19 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 131.91 | USD to AOA 927.77 | USD to BWP 13.17 | USD to EGP 48.46 | USD to KES 128.48 | USD to NGN 1593.37 | USD to ZAR 17.41 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1831.97 Down -0.38% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14246.86 Up +0.44% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30937.69 Up +1.96% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9651.25 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 622.23/OZ UP +1.35% | Copper US$ 4.31/lb DOWN -0.0032 | Zinc US$ 2 884.80/T DOWN -0.23% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.74/BBP DOWN -0.0019 | Platinum US$ 976.09/OZ DOWN -0.0067