N$85 million for Rehoboth retail centre
At the recent inauguration of Rehoboth’s first modern shopping complex. From l to r: Managing Director of Old Mutual African Operations, Johannes !Gawaxab; fisheries minister Bernard Esau; GIPF chief executive officer David Nuyoma; Governor of Hardap Region, Katrina Hanse-Hirmarwa; Rehoboth mayor Eva Maasdorp; Member of Parliament Maureen Jankowski and DebMarine chief executive officer Otto Shikongo.
Managing director of Old Mutual African Operations, Johannes !Gawaxab, said Old Mutual Namibia proactively launched an infrastructure development fund known as the Old Mutual Medina fund in 2004, which formed the cornerstone of our Alternative Investment portfolio and invested in excess of N$1 billion in education, healthcare, housing and municipal infrastructure. Our track record resulted in the GIPF awarding us additional infrastructure and real estate mandates to the tune of N$550 million.”
Said Johannes !Gawaxab of Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia is a key player in attracting Namibian institutional investor’s capital to be invested in infrastructure development projects in Rehoboth. The first investment was made through the construction of the Rehoboth Medical Centre in partnership with local doctors to the tune of N$10 million, 7 years ago.”
“In 2013, we officially opened the Kaap Agri facility combined with a fuel station to the value of N$5 million,” he added.
“The 10,000 square meter retail Centre which we are inaugurating is the single biggest investment in Rehoboth, with a construction value of N$85 million facilitated by the Alternative Investment boutique in OMIGNAM, and funded by the GIPF in terms of its unlisted investment policy. The Tunga Real Estate Fund has a N$350 million mandate from the GIPF to invest in retail centre’s in underdeveloped towns in Namibia,” he said. “This investment is a welcome step in the development of physical infrastructure in the country as well as the industrialization of our economy,”!Gawaxab said.
“At the same time, I urge the private sector to implement corporate social responsibility programmes in order to assist communities, especially the needy members of our society,” he said. !Gawaxab said, “It is particularly important that private sector businesses consider designing programmes to assist members of the communities within which they operate. The involvement of the Rehoboth Community Trust as a shareholder in the Shopping Centre serves exactly this purpose, and thus is indeed commendable.”
