THE 2020 Crayfish Festival gala dinner held at Lüderitz on Friday raised N$637 000 and fish worth N$1,8 million in pledges to run its 13th event next month.
This year’s festival is set to run from 30 April to 4 May and will be held under the theme ‘Igniting Hope’.
The pledges were made by the business community, individuals and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
Speaking at the dinner, Lüderitz mayor Brigitte Frederick urged those organising the festival to keep in mind that the event was initiated to respond to the local socio-economic needs and thus aims at improving the economic well-being and quality of life of the local community.
“The key strategies were to position the town, especially by aggressively marketing our town as a preferred investment destination, to support its economy – particularly the tourism industry and small and medium enterprises,” she said.
The mayor added that the objective of the festival must be considered during the planning of the upcoming festival with the focus on economic growth, poverty reduction and social inclusion.
“Let us go back to the basics by aiming to increase the unity and effectiveness between the festival packages and local realities, let us plan the event in unison with the local community,” she said.
Frederick further said the festival is an appropriate platform to provide opportunities for businesses to tap into the potential of the local economy in terms of the availability of natural resources, aquaculture and connectivity of cross-border value chains and markets among others.
“The festival should become the catalyst in the promotion of dialogue between local-level stakeholders and possible investors through designed networking sessions,” added Frederick.
Acting fisheries minister Albert Kawana, who was also present at the dinner said the leadership of the town council, all forward-looking institutions and the residents of Lüderitz should make it their business to promote sustainable development and to push ahead with the development agenda.
“Meaningful development should be driven by locals. The central government is always at the disposal of the locals to assist in the effective realisation of residents’ dreams. The government will, at all material times, be one of your most important strategic partners,” he cited. – Nampa
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