The Namibia Economist

Smelters appoints community trust administrator

Namibia Custom Smelters has appointed veteran educationist, André Strüwig as the new administrator of the Dundee Precious Metals/Namibia Custom Smelters Tsumeb Community Trust.
Strüwig, a former deputy director of education for Oshikoto region, will manage the day-today functioning of the DPM/NCS Trust, provide advice and guidance on sponsorship applications submitted by organisations and individuals, and monitor the use of funds awarded to recipients.
He will also serve as secretary to the trust’s seven-member Board of Trustees.
This is the first time that the Community Trust has had a full-time administrator.
Strüwig’s entire career has been in the education field. He started teaching at Etosha Secondary School in Tsumeb in 1974 and served as a senior teacher at the school for 20 years. In 1988 he was named head of department, and within two years was made acting deputy principal.
In 1992 Strüwig was appointed principal at Etosha, a position he held until his appointment as deputy director: Oshikoto education region in October 2005. He retired from the post in January 2012.
Strüwig has a B.Com HED from the University of Stellenbosch. During his teaching career he taught Grades 8 to 12 accounting and was fully involved with the school’s finances and budget matters.
While serving as deputy director of the Oshikoto education region, he supervised the General Service Section and dealt with transport, procurement, debtors, creditors, revenue, salaries, finance and budget for the entire region.
He also served as the administrator of the Oshikoto Bursary Fund which brought him in contact with a vast cross-section of Oshikoto region and honed his administrative skills.
The DPM/NCS Tsumeb Community Trust was established in 2010 after the takeover of NCS by Dundee Precious Metals Inc. of Toronto, Canada, which places a heavy emphasis on investing in communities where it operates.
In 2011, the trust awarded more than $1.6 million to worthy initiatives in Tsumeb, mainly in the areas of classroom construction and renovation, computer and laboratory support for schools, upgrading of Tsumeb’s central sports grounds for schools, and training and development for small- and medium-size business enterprises (SMEs).
The trust receives funding annually from DPM and NCS together with proceeds from public fund-raising events. For the time being Strüwig will be based at an office at the Tsumeb Private Hospital.

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