ALBERTUS AOCHAMUB
Gratitude, accountability, and the next leg of the relay.
Since Monday, 16 February, following Meatco’s media release ahead of our 2026 Annual General Meeting, there have been varied responses — encouragement, scrutiny, cautious optimism. All of it is welcome.
Turnarounds are never the work of one individual. They are institutional efforts built over time, often in what I would call “vinegar times”, when discipline matters more than applause.
Today, I simply wish to say thank you.
Thank you to the Government of the Republic of Namibia, our sole shareholder, for steady medium-term support and confidence in the stabilisation of this national strategic asset.
Thank you to our livestock producers, commercial and communal alike, who continue to market with Meatco even during uncertainty. Your resilience anchors this industry.
Thank you to the workers of Meatco, those who rise before dawn in the plants, on the lines, in procurement yards, in logistics and administration. Institutions are carried on the shoulders of those who toil daily.
Thank you to the Board of Directors and to previous and current management teams who implemented difficult reforms under the Turnaround Plan approved in November 2024.
The results were formally tabled at the AGM on 20 February reflecting collective effort across many years, not a moment, and certainly not a person.
Key indicators ahead of the AGM were:
- Group revenue increased to N$1.865 billion (from N$1.203 billion)
- Operating profit before tax of approximately N$106 million (from a N$150 million loss)
- Shift away from five consecutive years of losses (2020–2024)
- Throughput south of the VCF: 75,268 head
- Throughput in the Northern Veterinary Area: 7,844 head
- Implementation of five-pillar Turnaround Plan focusing on financial stability, governance, market development, operational efficiency and producer prices
These numbers matter, not as trophies, but as signals of restored discipline, improved controls, and renewed credibility.
Meatco remains attentive to climate variability, market dynamics, and biosecurity risks. Recovery is not an event; it is a sustained process of vigilance and stewardship.
Leadership in such moments is best understood as a relay. Many have run before us. The current team simply carries the baton for this leg of the race. In due course, others will take it forward.
Our commitment is simple:
To continue stabilising.
To continue strengthening governance.
To continue serving producers.
To continue protecting this strategic national asset.
With humility, and with resolve, we run the next leg of the race.
*ALBERTUS AOCHAMUB serves as an Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective 02 September 2025.
COMMENTS