The Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) has revealed that the Office of the Prime Minister still owes N$28.1 million to producers who supplied livestock under last year’s broad-based support programme.
Meatco chief executive Albertus !Aochamub says the delayed payments are not the company’s responsibility but are affecting producers who rely on timely settlements to sustain their operations.
He says the outstanding funds relate to livestock procured by the government as part of drought relief efforts and stresses that the money belongs to the producers, not Meatco.
According to !Aochamub, the delay has undermined producers’ confidence that payments will be made promptly.
“This money does not belong to Meatco; it belongs to the producers from whom the government procured the livestock that helped sustain Namibians during the drought period. If the N$28.1 million is paid and ring-fenced for the producers who supplied the raw materials, I believe the matter can be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction,” he says. – The Brief
