Diamonds association gives to disaster relief

The Diamonds Manufacturers Association of Namibia (DIAMAN) donated N$80 000 to the Directorate of Disaster and Risk Management in the Office of the Prime Minister, as its contribution to disaster relief fund.

Speaking at the cheque handover last week, the Director of Disaster and Risk Management in the Office of the Prime Minister, Japhet Iitenge, told reporters present that people affected by floods are now in a recovery phase.

The Prime Minister’s office was at its planning phase in as far as floods are concerned, he said.

He explained that disasters are not only floods, but that there are also other hazards that strike the country and its citizens.

The Prime Minister’s office has since end of August distributed food to all regions in the country with the exception of the Khomas Region.

Food was distributed to these regions, with a focus on rural communities, Iitenge highlighted.

“We send out teams to assess what is going on in terms of distribution,” he further said. More food would be given to communities in these regions until end of January, he added.

On behalf of DIAMAN, chairman of the association, Burhan Seber, said they had fears that the donation was relatively late since the flood season “is past for this year”. But he expressed hope that the organisation would be part of such activities in future. “We are glad to donate this,” Seber said.

On his part, the Deputy Prime Minister, Marco Hausiku, said, “Our system is growing in terms of creating more capacity to mitigate disasters.”

He said the Prime Minister’s office has been continuously working on recording every donation received in order to report back to donors and the public.

Today, the Prime Minister’s office will give a detailed report to the public and media on how much has been received, added Hausiku.

“We have to thank you, nothing is small. Nothing is late,” Hausiku told the team from DIAMAN.

DIAMAN was started two years ago and its focus is on cutting and polishing of diamonds.