Around nineteen ninety‑two, I was the Acting Secretary General of the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. One day, a letter arrived from the President of Namibia. In it, he praised the Chamber for presenting a united business voice during those early, uncertain years of independence.
Then came the real purpose of the letter.
He was preparing for a three‑month mission to the Scandinavian countries and to Europe, to drum up support for investment in Namibia. And he requested that a business leader accompany him. Someone respected, someone influential… and, as he put it, “for lack of a better word… a person who is white.”
So there I was, twenty‑three years old, sitting alone with this request. And I thought of Harold Pupkewitz. He was outspoken, he criticised the incoming SWAPO government, he called it communist and anti‑capitalist. But he was also one of the most powerful business voices in the country. If anyone could speak to investors with authority, it was him.
I sent the letter.
Not long after, the receptionist gets a call. They want to speak to the Secretary General’s personal assistant. My secretary comes to me and says, “Mr. Pupkewitz will call you at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Will the SG’s diary be open?”
I said, “I am the SG… and probably everyone else on staff… so yes, I’ll be available.”
Nine o’clock sharp, the call comes in.
“This is Mr. Pupkewitz’s office. Please hold.”
Then his voice:
“Hello. Are you Milton Louw—the one who sent me this letter asking me to accompany the President for three months? Do you know how busy I am?”
It was rhetorical. I kept quiet.
Then he asked, “Which Louws are you?”
I said, “My great‑grandparents owned the property where CBS is today.”
Silence.
Then he asked, “Besides the fact that the President asked for a white person… why did you choose me?”
And I said, “Because the President wants the same thing you do. A prospering economy.”
He invited me for tea at his office. After we spoke, he handed me his written acceptance and told me his driver would accompany me to deliver it to State House.
And he went on that aeroplane.
And he became one of the biggest champions of the idea that Namibians can do this.
