Namibia Covid fight hugely successful – Nghipondoka
STAFF REPORTER
WINDHOEK
Businessman Vaino Nghipondoka has lauded the manner in which government has handled the Covid-19 pandemic so far, saying business has started to pick up again.
As of Saturday, the country had a total of 11 891 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 128 deaths.
Namibia endured one of the strictest Covid-19 lockdown regimes as government pulled all stops to help contain the spread of the virus, which was first recorded on 14 March when a Romanian couple visiting the country tested positive.
On 17 March, President Hage Geingob declared a state of emergency, which introduced measures such as the closure of all borders, suspension of gatherings and economic related resolutions.
On 28 March, the country went into a full lockdown – leading to closures of businesses that were not deemed essential. This, in turn, led to a myriad of retrenchments in some key sectors such as tourism.
'Handled it very well'
Nghipondoka, owner of Profile Investment Holdings, which transcends across many business segments including information and communications technology, food processing, fertiliser production, telecommunications, car hire services, farming, debt collection, civil works and building construction, said the painful experience the country endured was inevitable.
“You look globally and compare our situation with other countries and you'd realise that our government actually handled this pandemic very well,” he told Namibian Sun over the weekend.
“It's easy to point at government failures – which is a fair thing to do – but we often do not notice the successes of government because, I suppose, we are often hooked onto the failures.”
'Tough journey'
His businesses together have about 175 employees.
“It's been a tough journey, but we are glad that we are allowed to do business again. It's good for our economy, including the protection of jobs. It was painful not doing business, but it was for noble reasons,” he said.
WINDHOEK
Businessman Vaino Nghipondoka has lauded the manner in which government has handled the Covid-19 pandemic so far, saying business has started to pick up again.
As of Saturday, the country had a total of 11 891 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 128 deaths.
Namibia endured one of the strictest Covid-19 lockdown regimes as government pulled all stops to help contain the spread of the virus, which was first recorded on 14 March when a Romanian couple visiting the country tested positive.
On 17 March, President Hage Geingob declared a state of emergency, which introduced measures such as the closure of all borders, suspension of gatherings and economic related resolutions.
On 28 March, the country went into a full lockdown – leading to closures of businesses that were not deemed essential. This, in turn, led to a myriad of retrenchments in some key sectors such as tourism.
'Handled it very well'
Nghipondoka, owner of Profile Investment Holdings, which transcends across many business segments including information and communications technology, food processing, fertiliser production, telecommunications, car hire services, farming, debt collection, civil works and building construction, said the painful experience the country endured was inevitable.
“You look globally and compare our situation with other countries and you'd realise that our government actually handled this pandemic very well,” he told Namibian Sun over the weekend.
“It's easy to point at government failures – which is a fair thing to do – but we often do not notice the successes of government because, I suppose, we are often hooked onto the failures.”
'Tough journey'
His businesses together have about 175 employees.
“It's been a tough journey, but we are glad that we are allowed to do business again. It's good for our economy, including the protection of jobs. It was painful not doing business, but it was for noble reasons,” he said.
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