Frans Indongo Group Hands Tractor to Ukwangali Authority

By Staff Reporter

KAHENGE – The Ukwangali Traditional Authority received a Case IH JX95 tractor from the Frans Indongo Group on Sunday, in a handover ceremony at the Authority’s headquarters here that Prime Minister Dr Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare described as “a practical investment” in the community’s ability to feed itself.
Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister said the donation traces back to conversations with Hompa Eugene Siwombe Kudumo about food security in the Uukwangali area, which led to a fundraising gala dinner for a tractor. Ngurare said he then approached Frans Indongo Group chairperson Martin Kaali Shipanga, who agreed to the donation on the company’s behalf.
The 98-horsepower machine is intended to mechanise land preparation for subsistence farmers in the area, allowing more land to be planted before the rainy season window closes. The Prime Minister noted the Traditional Authority is already sourcing implements to put the tractor to work, and that the Frans Indongo Group has provided training alongside manufacturer backup support.
Ngurare framed the donation within the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) and the 8th Administration’s priorities, which place agriculture and food security at the top of the government’s agenda. He said the handover reflected the kind of partnership between government, traditional leadership and the private sector that President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called for.
The Prime Minister said the tractor complements machinery already supplied through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform’s own tractor programme, and urged Hompa Kudumo and his councillors to set up transparent scheduling and maintenance arrangements so the equipment benefits households not reached by the government programme.
Also present were Kavango West Governor Verna Sinimbo, senior traditional councillors, and Acting Executive Director of the Office of the Prime Minister Peter Sindimba.
Ngurare closed by calling on other Namibian businesses to follow the Frans Indongo Group’s example, saying social investment should “leave behind something that keeps working long after the cameras have gone.”