Meatco welcomed the Parliamentary Committee on Economics and Public Administration to the Okahandja abattoir on 26 October 2015. On the same day, Meatco also welcomed the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs and his work permit delegation to be present at Ron Wood’s farewell.

The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Economics and Public Administration Hon. Veikko Nekundi, said that ”Meatco can become a greater organisation and contribute even more to the Namibian economy. The committee must diligently plan for further consultation as I feel today we only learned 1% of what Meatco does, and we clearly need more time to digest all areas. From the tour and presentations, we can see law makers need to assist through legislation to improve on Meatco operations and the meat industry as a whole.”

As for the Open Season with Home Affairs held together with Ron’s farewell, it was an opportunity to sensitise the Immigration Selection Board (ISB) from the ministry on the need for sourcing unique and specialised skills needed in the industry.

Ron is an expert based at Meatco to transfer skills on product development. He joined us in February 2014 to assist with setting up the new division of value-added products, MeatMA. In his time at Meatco, Ron has transferred skills and knowledge to employees in product development, recipe formulation, machinery and equipment operations, as well as sales methodologies. Job creation within the value addition division was achieved and Meatco has set up three outlets countrywide with more opening soon.

Through these outlets, extra sales value to Meatco has been achieved while providing affordable, good quality protein to the nation. Most importantly and in line with the “Growth at Home” initiative, Meatco has produced 26 value-added and other products available through other retail and wholesale partners throughout the country.

The Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs Hon. Ambassador Patrick Nandago, was grateful for the tour of the Wholesale department and factory. He noted that it was good to see how his ministry was contributing towards skills transfer and development by allowing expats with specialised skills to come to Namibia to share their expertise.

Meatco, through our Stakeholder Relations department continues to engage important relationship via our Open Season forum. The forum seeks to enhance stakeholders’ understanding of our business.