Announcement of the sponsorship of NFA Cup - Mr Otto N. Shikongo
Date Posted: 07 December 2016
SPEECH BY - MR OTTO N SHIKONGO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF DEBMARINE NAMIBIAMEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE OFFICIAL SPONSORSHIP OF THE NFA CUP BY DEBMARINE NAMIBIA
Dr Michael Humavindu, Deputy Chairperson of the Debmarine Namibia Board
Other Directors of Debmarine Namibia present here
Namibia Football Association (NFA) President, Mr Frans Mbidi
Namibia Premier League Chairperson, Mr Johnny Doeseb
Secretary General of the NFA, Mr Barry Rukoro
Executives of Debmarine Namibia
All the Football Enthusiasts
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon – and thank you very much for joining us at this wonderful occasion – to mark this historic partnership between Debmarine Namibia and the Namibia Football Association (NFA).
Our business at Debmarine Namibia is about highly technical and world-leading marine diamond mining. As we say in Debmarine Namibia, our job is to turn diamond dreams into reality. We are proud of the work we do; and our unmatched contribution to Namibia in terms of taxes and royalty we pay to Government; as well as dividends to both our Shareholders.
But, nothing brings us greater joy as employees in Debmarine Namibia, than to be at occasions like this today. Supporting sports, and especially football, which is without a doubt the most accessible and popular sport-code for all Namibian children – it is a visible illustration of how we turn diamond dreams into reality.
As a company that prides itself on being part of the fabric of Namibia society, we are very much aware of the challenges we face as a country. We are particularly concerned about opportunities for the youth. That is why in Debmarine Namibia we spend annually in excess of N$67 million on training and development opportunities for young Namibians. But we know, that our efforts, and those of government as well as other private companies are not enough to eradicate the current challenges we face. That is why, Debmarine Namibia is looking at other means to complement efforts to address opportunities for young Namibians. Our agreement with the NFA this afternoon, is just one such illustration of the efforts we are making to be responsive to the challenges facing our country.
We have committed a targeted sponsorship amount of N$ 14.1million over the three-year period 2017 to 2019. This is a pledge of our commitment to the NFA. We are currently fine-tuning the details of our partnership, and we will share this with you early next year when we officially commence our commitment. I can assure you that this sponsorship will not just benefit the winners, but will be spread wider. Watch this space. We are very excited about this opportunity.
Apart from being a world leading company, in terms of off-shore marine mining capability, we also pride ourselves on our levels of adherence to good governance, and accounting for every aspect of our business. We are totally uncompromising when it comes to adherence to good governance and financial controls. These aspects are not optional when you are dealing with resources that belong to the people - as we do. It is for this
reason, colleagues in the NFA, that I am appealing to you, and my colleagues in Debmarine Namibia who will be liaising with you to execute this agreement, in a manner that ensures that the highest standards of discipline and accountability are maintained. I trust that is very well understood.
Finally colleagues, allow me to say a special word of thanks to our directors for allowing us to make this possible. I am sure that the expectations of our directors will be to see, nothing, but success emanating from this partnership. I also want to thank our Head of Finance - Willy Mertens for his towering leadership to get us to this point.
All the very best colleagues – and let us have a resoundingly successful Debmarine Namibia Cup.
Thank you