First Lady Monica Geingos said post-independence there is a need for private sectors to invest in their employees by capacitating them with the provision of housing, education and healthcare.

Speaking during her visit to the Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) offices here on Tuesday, Geingos urged the private sector to assess their corporate social responsibility towards their employees, stressing that the fight against high inequality in Namibia not only calls for employment creation, but equally requires institutions investing in their human capital that provide services.

Geingos said Namibia has two economies of which only 10 per cent of the population has good salaries to enable their children to have access to good health care and the best education, while 90 per cent depend on public health and education.

She noted that this is not sustainable, especially with the young population demographic, hence the need to move people from the 90 per cent and empower them.

“My parents were not educated but because they were employed at Consolidated Diamond Mine (CDM) now Namdeb, their children had access to the best education, healthcare and were enabled to fulfil their potential through housing provided by the company. And if an employer could do that pre-independence, we need to start talking to the private sector post-independence about what we are doing for our employees and their children,” she said.

Geingos said as a country, Namibia relies on companies such as Namdia to not only focus on capital generation but equally on social progression, especially in education to collectively ensure that young people’s full potential is developed.

“We all have a responsibility to make sure that young people reach their full potential and not because we are doing them a favour, but because it’s their birth right,” she noted.

Geingos congratulated Namdia for its commitment towards education through their corporate social responsibility amounting to N.dollars 40 million since inception.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency