Councillor calls for upgrading of Omaheke settlements
Swapo member of parliament (MP) in the National Council, Rocco Nguvauva has urged the urban and rural development ministry to embark on a process of proclaiming settlements such as Epukiro Pos 3, Eiseb 10 and Talismanus in the Omaheke region as villages.
Nguvauva, in his maiden speech in the National Council, on Monday said the move will give the three settlements authority to provide infrastructure and services to their residents that he described as lacking.
Currently, Nguvauva said, these settlements are powerless and do not have resources to provide services like water, sewerage and build houses for their residents.
“It is disheartening that the whole of Omaheke region with a population of close to 80 000 people has only three villages, that is, Leonardville, Witvlei and Otjinene,” said Nguvauva who is also the Okorukambe constituency councillor.
Epukiro Pos 3, also known as Omawejozonjanda, is the capital of the Epukiro constituency while Talismanus is regarded as the capital of the Otjombinde constituency.
Eiseb 10, also in the Otjombinde constituency, was established in 1992 as a place where returning Ovambanderu and Ovaherero refugees from Botswana could settle. From 1994 onwards, Ovambanderu and Ovaherero from other reserved areas, such as Epukiro, Otjinene and Otjombinde moved in and made up the majority of the inhabitants today, making a living from subsistence farming.
Furthermore, Nguvauva also appealed to the ministry of higher education to consider setting up the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) satellite campuses in the Omaheke region.
“It is my humble appeal that the government and also the public universities initiate a process where the youth centre in Okorukambe constituency, which has been dormant for years, is resuscitated and turned into an agriculture and vocational college to cater for youth in the region,” Nguvauva said.
He said he is particularly concerned about the youth in the region because according to him, the region has the youngest population group, and worryingly, it has the highest unemployment rate among the youth, which stands, at more than 40% of the national average of more than 20%.
“Isn’t that a big concern for us as elected representatives of our people, in particular our youth?” he asked.
He further called on the relevant ministry to establish the land claims commission as per the Commission of Inquiry into Claims of Ancestral Land Rights and Restitution recommendation, saying it is crucial to the question of land and restitution.