Outjo reaps economic rewards from Newspaper Cup

The recently held Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup has left a lasting economic impact on the town of Outjo, with local infrastructure upgrades of the school hostels and the Outjo Sport Stadium being the most notable outcomes.

Local businesses – from guesthouses to food vendors – experienced a surge in sales as visitors poured into the town for the football spectacle. A total of N$11 million in investments were made by the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture for the renovation of the Jöel Heroldt Primary School and Urib Project School hostels.

Former Outjo mayor Josef Urib reaffirmed this sentiment to The Namibian during the tournament held from 18 to 21 April, saying the event brought not only national attention but also real economic benefits.

“We have been visited and we have been empowered economically. We have our houses which were rented out for the weekend. We were selling food to the people. It’s good for Outjo. Every town that hosts a tournament like this should be proud because it’s for the benefit of our people,” Urib says.

Jacobus Basson, the chief hostel matron of Jöel Heroldt Primary School which housed the teams during the tournament, said renovations to the premises included improvements to ablution utilities, dormitories, kitchen and dining facilities.

“We thank the organisers of the Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup for the new equipment; before, we only had one old gas stove and pan. Now we have a new stove, fridge and frying pan, making our work in the kitchen much easier,” Basson said.

Long-serving Urib Project School hostel matron Uavanga Kangootui says the rehabilitation of the facility was the best thing she has witnessed in her 18 years of service. She says the renovation to the hostels’ dorms and kitchen, which now boasts a new fridge and utensils, were particularly eye-catching.

“We want to say thank you very much to the Newspaper Cup which brought us these wonderful things. This hostel was built a long time ago, during colonial times. It now looks brand new, especially the dorms and the kitchen – you will think you’re in a hotel. We cannot express our gratitude enough,” Kangootui said.

“This is going to make the lives of our pupils much better and also the work of the employees here.”

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