By Dylan Mukoroli
Over the years, we have seen a great increase and innovativeness in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within communities where mines operate or wish to operate.
CSR comes in many forms and varies from the needs of communities. But they often serve a purpose, to provide immediate relief or assistance to communities.
Those not on the ground will paint this as `om koop` or ` gesig koop`, meaning buying face and favor with the communities in return for their support towards mining operations, or they simply want to be seen doing something.
This couldn’t be any further from the truth. While we know there are some institutions that take serious chances and don’t respond to the needs of communities, one can usually draw distinction between those who act based on community needs and those who simply want to report and take pictures.
CSR plays a crucial role in communities, particularly those grappling with extreme joblessness and food insecurity. Mining operations often occur in remote or underdeveloped areas where local economies are fragile, and basic needs like employment and nutrition are unmet.
By investing in targeted initiatives, mining companies can foster social stability, economic resilience, and environmental stewardship, ultimately contributing to the long-term viability of these communities: and we believe firmly this to the case when looking at what Headsprings investments has done in the village of Leonardville and the Omaheke region.
When closely monitoring their CSR, they fall right into what impacts the community. Educational opportunities and food insecurity, sports & culture. We have come across articles painting CSR efforts by ` headsprings investments as a tool buy favor from the community. ` As a community development practitioner and for the sake of not being labelled as biased, self-proclaimed, let us, with an open mind & vigor, unpack CSR activities that have been happening in Leonardville & Omaheke region by extension and draw impact.
Leonardville, surrounded by game lodges, hunting farms and exceptionally well-off commercial farmers, one would think that there would job and economic opportunities that they can build a livelihood from. However, there is little to no transformational investments from these key agriculture players other than generational farm-working.
Now we take nothing away from the role they play, in providing employment by way of generational farmwork, or in whatever capacity or measure, they still have a role to play in the growth of the constituency. However, not everyone wants to become a generational farmworker and only be deemed useful for so long as you are fit.
For instance, in areas with joblessness such as Leonardville, CSR programs can indirectly address joblessness by enhancing education and skills training, equipping residents especially youth and women: for future opportunities beyond mining.
We say indirectly because getting an education or a technical doesn’t immediately equate to job creations, but by having the skill, the odds are in your favour. About 20 students from Leonardville and the region has gone on a full scholarship to the Namibia Institute of Mining & Technology (NIMT). Being trained in a variety of courses both mining and non-mining related.
These youth are now in a better position to continue to learn, but also seek better employment opportunities for themselves. Alternatively, and preferably, they can use to their skills to open their own artisan- vocational based businesses and now offer these services to the broader industries. The opportunities presented by education and skills upgrade are endless and such an investment will greatly impact the village of Leonardville.
Similarly, amid food insecurity and the most enduring drought period in decades, initiatives focused on nutrition and agriculture provide immediate relief and avoid any food insecurity-related deaths.
In as much as Gobabis had majority of the cases and not Leonardville, the village of Leonardville ticked all the boxes when it comes to malnutrition and many cases were reported.
We have learned that through countless engagement, the communities raised the issue of food security especially with school going children, who end up missing school because not having a meal. That is the reality on the ground. Headspring supports feeding scheme at Naosanabis Primary School.
This may not seem as much to those with privilege, however this feeding scheme provides nutritious meals to over 600 children on a daily basis. These children already don’t have much at home, with many parents depending on social grants for a living.
It is also very encouraging that the building the feeding scheme operates in was also build from scratch from the mine. Indeed dignity has been restored.
The efforts do not only end at Leonardville but have sprung onto other constituencies. Young Africans or ` Youngile for Life` as they are affectionately known is the pride of the Omaheke region in the Premier Soccer Leagues.
This club, founded by passionate senior youth who knows the importance of sports. In the weekends, when you take a drive in the Epako informal area, be it Migubs soccer field, the Xabib soccer field or at legare, you find many youths engaging in these recreational sports. and its from this very well attended bush leagues that youngile now takes on and defeats bigger soccer teams.
Headsprings investments have come on board as the official sponsor of Young African sports club. Through this, they have invested in the dreams of many youths across the region who one day hope to play in the Premier League and now know that it is possible.
Furthermore, nothing brings us together as a region more than horse racing, in fact if Horse racing was to be a political party in Omaheke, it would be the Governing Party. Every 1st January, you find Horse racing enthusiasts assemble in Tjaka Ben hur, Kalahari constituency, home of the famous ` Swairok` horse that trademarked the event.
Arguably, the biggest horse racing event in the country. Spectators by the thousands show up to support horses from all over the country. For those of us that go sell our `Pap en Vleis`, we simply scream for the horse that we see comes first.
And that’s what Kopano is all about. We are family, we are one. And the continuation of this event through Headspring sponsorship ensures the spirit of Horse racing, a premier economic activity for the Region lives on.
Sports and cultural sponsorships build social capital, engaging youth and reducing idle time that could lead to social issues amid joblessness. These activities promote community pride & contributing to social sustainability.
We cannot put a price on that, even if one does not agree with the mining method that Headspring investments seeks to use. Which we will also make a case for in the next opinion pieces.
The support that Headspring investments provides is very much visible when you move around d in the region. In the heart of Gobabis is the Omaheke Innovation & Incubation hub which prioritizes funding for local start-ups through support by Headspring.
One further notices how learners are making the most of the gardens at the Primary and High school in Leonardville and the Start-up capital for Nuwehoop Crop Project to take off. The Nuwehoop project is a project in response to Gobabis and its many malnutrition cases & deaths. Indeed, a project for the people.
The Legal Assistance Center’s (LAC) critique—that mining CSR is primarily a tool for mitigating risks without proven long-term benefits to community well-being—overlooks ground-level realities, especially in food-insecure and jobless areas.
While it’s true that some CSR efforts can be superficial or “greenwashing,” substantial evidence from Namibia’s uranium mining sector demonstrates tangible, measurable improvements that contradict this view. Critics like the LAC emphasize a lack of data on sustained outcomes, but case studies reveal how targeted investments address root causes like poverty and malnutrition, leading to enduring gains.
When you are not on the ground, and when you do not understand the realities that our people endure on a daily basis, is when you will consider these initiatives as `short term gains`.
