Black businessmen urged to join Keetmans chamber

THE newly-elected Chairman of the Keetmanshoop Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Stefanus Goliath, has appealed to fellow black businessmen to join the revived chamber movement.

Goliath noted that some black businessmen who had been approached to join the KCCI had asked what benefits the chamber movement would bring. “The habit of shunning activities where contributions are expected and the attitude of relying on handouts should stop,” he told businessmen at the official launch of the KCCI at the southern town on Monday.Since the demise of two racially-based chambers some years ago, several attempts to revive the chamber movement had failed, he said.Goliath said he believed a lack of co-operation and division along colour lines had been at the root of these failed and futile attempts.”We want to put the past behind us.Colour will not matter.Business will be our business,” he said.Goliath criticised the town’s Local Authority for levying exorbitant prices on business erven, claiming they ‘scared away’ potential investors.He appealed to the Local Authority and Karas Regional Council to create a conducive environment for economic development.The former Governor, who swapped politics for business, said the business fraternity could look forward to expanding and diversifying their business activities.”This will certainly improve the possibilities for job creation direly needed by the community members,” he said.However, he cautioned, it would not be an easy task.Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) Chief Executive Officer, Tarah Shaanika, delivering a speech on behalf of NCCI Windhoek Branch Manager, Vee Maharaj, expressed gratitude to the local business fraternity for the initiative taken to form a NCCI branch at the town.He encouraged local businesses to accelerate economic expansion and diversification in their efforts to combat economic challenges such as poverty and unemployment.”It is because of poverty that there is an outcry today over the closure of shebeens,” he said.However, he said, the existence and mushrooming of shebeens, whether licensed or not, was not a long-term solution to unemployment and poverty.”The habit of shunning activities where contributions are expected and the attitude of relying on handouts should stop,” he told businessmen at the official launch of the KCCI at the southern town on Monday.Since the demise of two racially-based chambers some years ago, several attempts to revive the chamber movement had failed, he said.Goliath said he believed a lack of co-operation and division along colour lines had been at the root of these failed and futile attempts.”We want to put the past behind us.Colour will not matter.Business will be our business,” he said.Goliath criticised the town’s Local Authority for levying exorbitant prices on business erven, claiming they ‘scared away’ potential investors.He appealed to the Local Authority and Karas Regional Council to create a conducive environment for economic development.The former Governor, who swapped politics for business, said the business fraternity could look forward to expanding and diversifying their business activities.”This will certainly improve the possibilities for job creation direly needed by the community members,” he said.However, he cautioned, it would not be an easy task.Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) Chief Executive Officer, Tarah Shaanika, delivering a speech on behalf of NCCI Windhoek Branch Manager, Vee Maharaj, expressed gratitude to the local business fraternity for the initiative taken to form a NCCI branch at the town.He encouraged local businesses to accelerate economic expansion and diversification in their efforts to combat economic challenges such as poverty and unemployment.”It is because of poverty that there is an outcry today over the closure of shebeens,” he said.However, he said, the existence and mushrooming of shebeens, whether licensed or not, was not a long-term solution to unemployment and poverty.