Geingob was more than a boss: Itope

“As a governor, I benefitted so much from his council and impeccable knowledge as he was not only my boss, he was my father, my comrade, friend and my confidant.”

These were the words of Erongo Governor Neville Andre Itope as he described the late President Hage Geingob during a regional memorial service held at Swakopmund on Thursday.

Itope was one of the youngest governors appointed by the late President Geingob in 2020.

“Amidst the storm, as young as I was, he appointed me as governor and only wanted me to perform. It was also during this time that I experienced firsthand his guidance, advice and support,” he said.

Itope recalled how this was the time when the region was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the devastating shack fires at the then Twaloloka informal settlement in Walvis Bay, in which a toddler died.

“The president was always willing to guide, advise and support me during these hard times.

Furthermore, he portrayed humanity and the spirit of wanting to improve the livelihoods of our people, which is why his Cabinet took decisive action to decongest shacks in our country and our region.”

Meanwhile, Namport Chief Executive Officer Andrew Kanime commended the late Geingob for his role in the negotiations to reintegrate Walvis Bay back into Namibia from South Africa.

“The late president, alongside his colleagues and the rest of Cabinet, were obviously unequivocal from the onset that political freedom would be futile without economic freedom and prosperity for all Namibians.

“It is therefore no surprise that since independence, logistics has specifically been one of the key priority sectors in the country’s successive national development plans, with our ports being a very important note in the country’s logistics value chain, and, of course, the overall Namibian economy,” Kanime said.

(NAMPA)
IB/AS
(NAMPA)