The University of Namibia's Vice Chancellor says the evidence that the students provided during a debate on mineral resources and its impact on the southern community is commendable as it emphasises the need for local content and how Namibia can utilise its mineral resources through policy making. 

Professor Kenneth Matengu said this at Keetmanshoop as part of the ten-year celebrations of UNAM Southern Campus. 

The debate organised by the Southern Chapter of UNAM Alumni focused on contemporary issues regarding the effective unitisation of the countries natural resources. 

"I would like to see more of this kind of debate of the real national issues that are important for the future, and what I would like to see going forward is more debating teams but also just really emphasising, and it is not just for the sake of debating but really critiquing the role of each and every citizen in the developmental process of this country, so I was very impressed."

UNAM students and alumni who were part of the debate commended the government for the policy of the Beneficiation and Industrialisation Development Act.

They noted that these laws reflect the current societal changes, which will maximise value addition, job creation, and skills development. 

Chairperson of the Alumni Southern Chapter, Susan Farmer, said, "The arguments from the two teams about the beneficiation leave a lot to think about, and we think that was the intent; we want our community, our students, and our alumni to start thinking about the benefits that the southern communities are receiving from all these mines and all these activities surrounding mineral resources in the south."

Apart from Education, Economics, Management, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Nursing, the UNAM Southern Campus now houses the school of geosciences, including the flagship programmes in gemology.