ANDRE de Grasse upstaged Noah Lyles to claim the first men's 200m gold of the post-Usain Bolt era on Wednesday, as Sydney McLaughlin obliterated her own world record to claim a thrilling victory in the women's 400m hurdles.

BOTSWANA Sports Minister Tumiso Rakgare has called on the Confederation of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) to support the Botswana- Namibia 2027 Africa Cup of Nations hosting bid.

WORLD 200 metre champion Noah Lyles won the first big sprint clash of the season on Friday at a wind-battered Doha Diamond League meeting when Olympic champion Andre de Grasse finished outside the top three.

NAMIBIAN beauty and make-up enthusiasts were beyond happy at the announcement by international superstar musician and businesswoman Rihanna (real name Robyn Fenty) that Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin will soon be available in the country.

NAMIBIAN gospel sensation Ndondi Kandjembe, known in the music industry as Mukuenze, recently signed under Efdee Music Productions.

PINEHAS NAKAZIKO STITCHING her way to success, seamstress and self-taught fashion designer Wilhelmina Iimene (24) continues to use her passion to produce quality handmade crocheted garments.

THE Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) has signed an agreement to provide N$193 million to finance a new solar power-generation plant near Kahn substation in the Namib Desert.

WORK on the second phase of a project to upgrade the road between Windhoek and Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) has started. The second phase of the project is financed through a grant of more than N$1 billion from the Chinese government.

OKALONGO-BORN Hage Mukwendje (HM) has mastered the art of expressing himself through painting. He chats to The Namibian's Walter Kariko (WK) about his career.

NAMIBIAN ... Rudolph Himarua (left) and his workers with a steel palisade panel made by his company JRH Trading CC. Photo Matthew Dlamini

THE managing director of JRH Trading CC, Rudolph Himarua, says new entrants to the manufacturing sector should bring something unique, instead of being copycats, if they are to succeed.

“Trying to snatch the market from someone who has been servicing it for 30 years can be a tall order for a newcomer, so come up with something unique and innovative to entice those clients,” he says. Himarua, who manufactures steel palisades of different sizes, sliding gates, as well as tombstone protectors at the government-owned Oshapaka Industrial Park in Windhoek's Northern Industrial Area, says his products are unique because of the specifications used. The palisades are used for decoration as well as residential security. In countries with high rates of violent crime and property theft, such as South Africa and Namibia, a common means to deter criminals is to protect houses with perimeter defences such as brick walls, steel palisade fences, and electrified fences. Himarua says security experts promote the use of palisade fencing over opaque, usually brick walls, as criminals cannot hide as easily behind this type of fence. He says he was inspired to manufacture steel palisades after seeing people at Eehnana in the Ohangwena region occupying newly built houses without any separating demarcations. “I saw a business opportunity and did some research on palisades,” he says, adding he visited South Africa to look for the right machinery to manufacture them. “I wanted a simple machine that could be operated by someone with very little education even,” Himarua says. He employs three people and says he was forced to downsize due to the disruptive effect of Covid-19. He says when he retired from his marketing job at an insurance company, he wanted to do something different. “I did not have any experience in welding or manufacturing palisades, but I took the plunge because I knew what I wanted to manufacture.” He then sold his idea to big hardware companies, and they agreed to buy his products, he says. “Even individual homeowners and building contractors from all over the country also buy palisades from us,” says Himarua. He says his biggest challenge is that the price of steel has shot up, forcing him to also raise his prices. “This has resulted in subdued sales, although I try to keep prices competitive,” he says. Himarua says Covid-19 has strained his business because he had to pay workers while they had to stay at home. “At least banks had Covid relief measures and allowed companies to skip payments for two or three months.” He says the government or a consortium can import steel in bulk and supply manufacturers as a way of stimulating growth in the country's manufacturing sector. He urges vocational training centres and other institutions to periodically upgrade their courses for their graduates to acquire skills relevant to the industry to be more marketable. Himarua is, however, not happy with the level of help the government is providing the emerging manufacturing sector. “The government used to assist budding entrepreneurs through programmes like the equipment scheme, but this was stopped,” he says. He urges Namibian consumers to continue buying Namibian products to help the economy grow. The Bank of Namibia expects the manufacturing industry to grow by 2,4% this year to reach N$21,3 billion. Email: [email protected]

Matthew is a sub-editor at The Namibian.

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