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Capturing oral liberation history

MD of MultiChoice Roger Gertze (left) with oral history project leader, Dr Audrin Mathe.

MD of MultiChoice Roger Gertze (left) with oral history project leader, Dr Audrin Mathe.

CEO of nNewEra Newspaper, Dr Audrin Mathe, has been put in charge of the project to compile and capture the oral history of the liberation struggle. In this regard, he is assisted by the parastatal infrastructure where he now serves, and he is supported financially by institutions in which Swapo has significant shareholding. The Swapo Party is a 51% shareholder in MultiChoice Namibia through its investment vehicle, Kalahari Holdings. Recently MultiChoice’s new MD, Roger Gertze announced MultiChoice will support the Oral History Project with electronic equipment to help reconstruct a liberation history based on oral sources.

Gertze said “MultiChoice Namibia donated technical equipment to the tune of N$30,000 in aid of the Namibia Oral History Project. Lauding MultiChoice’s voluntary support, Dr Mathe said “The project is necessitated by a historiographical gap, which exists in the liberation history of Namibia. Most of what is written is academic history, which does not cover all aspects of personal histories and biographies. Therefore the project is aimed at collecting information from critical role players in the liberation struggle to further supplement existing accounts and bring about other angles of the history of the liberation struggle in Namibia.”  Presenting Mathe with the donation Gertze said, “MultiChoice Namibia prides itself in contributing toward various initiatives that are aimed at but not limited to the education sector”. He further stated that the noble efforts by the Namibia Oral History Project will not only contribute positively to the education sector, they will also contribute towards the Namibian nation gaining an understanding and holistic view of Namibia’s history. “ Our success depends on the health and growth of the communities within which we operate. In contributing to this development, we leverage our core assets and expertise to nurture talent, harness skills and expand opportunities across Africa. Our support has brought both social and economic benefits to local communities through investment, job opportunities, partnerships and training. We also believe in the power of partnerships and therefore work closely with our stakeholders to drive growth and development” said Gertze.

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