Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Ms Lucia Ipumbu inaugurated a retail and warehouse of white maize in the populated Okandjengedi location of Oshakati.
The Vuche – Vuche Sifted White Maize Meal Warehouse is a new venture that emanates from humble beginnings, but with potential to contribute to the transformation of the Namibian economy and further realize agricultural commodities in ensuring irreversible economic growth and development.
Ipumbu congratulated the initiative, owned by former Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Richard Kamwi, and encouraged him to soar the business to greater heights.
“The ‘Growth at Home’ strategy will continue to propel growth of agricultural commodities to drive economic prosperity and food security,” she said.
“At the core of such an admirable ingenuity, is need to trigger a commodity-based industrialization as the engine of growth and economic transformation to advance industrialization and structural trade and industry makeover through value addition strategies in all sectors, but particularly in agriculture and agro-processing, fish processing and in mining and mineral beneficiation.
“The Government through the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade continues to recognize the vital role that the Small and Micro Enterprise sector play in the social-economic development of the country in strengthening national value chains and creating more efficient linkages within the economy.”
The minister further said that programmes of her ministry are geared to ensure visible impact through tangible improvements in terms of the capacity of local industries to produce efficiently and competitively as well as in the socio-economic welfare of the citizens of the country through employment and business opportunities.
With the recent rise in food prices, including those of maize meal, the new retailer has been received well by locals who are shopping around for better prices of this basic commodity.
In the photo: Industrialisation minister Lucia Ipumbu and Dr. Kamwi in the background at the Vuche-Vuche maize warehouse.
