30 March 2010

Telecom Namibia’s well-established role and continuing investment in Namibia’s economic growth and development have been emphatically recognized once again at the annual PMR.africa Awards in Windhoek recently.

The company was awarded the Golden Arrow Award in the Telecommunications Sector for single companies and institutions in business sectors rated on their contribution to the economic growth and development of the country.

The score is a remarkable overall rating of 4.00 out of a possible 5.00.

“The commitment of Telecom Namibia to economic growth and development has been strengthened and a strong common platform is being set up to invest in a new generation of ICT products and services required by a knowledge-based economy,” said Senior Manager for Corporate Communications and Public Relations of Telecom Namibia Oiva Angula.

“These awards are greatly encouraging in that context, as they recognize the all-encompassing nature of our involvement,” Angula pointed out.

Access to telecommunications is critical to the development of all aspects of our country’s economy including manufacturing, banking, education, agriculture, government, and so on.

“Telecom Namibia, as the incumbent service provider, is living up to its commitment to serve as an engine for economic growth in Namibia,” he said.

Over the past 5 years, Telecom Namibia has injected about N$ 1.04 billion in its network expansion and modernisation programme. It has created an advanced IP-based networking infrastructure for Namibia, creating significant opportunity to drive IP networking for both local and foreign network operators to some of the most exciting, dynamic, but so far under-served markets inside and outside Namibia.

“The next generation broadband networks being created today are the key to keeping Namibia competitive in SADC and the global economy,” said Angula.

“This would make it even easier for foreign companies seeking to establish or expand their operations in Africa to obtain IP-based and mobility services and applications from Telecom Namibia. These include emerging technologies such as tele-presence, cloud computing and hosted services.”

Angula said the role of Telecom Namibia in the broader economic development of the country is receiving increased priority. Preferential procurement is one area where the company is making serious effort in driving social and economic transformation of the Namibian society.

Total spending on BEE amounted to N$2.13 billion during the last 5 years, of which a whopping N$812 million went to qualifying small and medium enterprises or BEE companies in Namibia. The percentage share of BEE companies in the total procurement spent of TN increased from a mere 18% in 2004 to 38% in 2009.

The awarding of contracts to local BEE companies is aimed at facilitating the creation of sustainable black-owned companies.

“It is the company’s objective to increase spending on BEE initiatives in the years ahead, in order to create jobs for Namibians in the SME sector,” he said.