Swapo aims for Opuwo Rural takeover
OPUWO – The Swapo Party will prioritise taking over the Opuwo Rural constituency in Kunene from the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) in the upcoming regional council and local authority elections.
This is according to Swapo’s sole candidate for that constituency Tjakazapi Mbunguha, who in an interview with Nampa on Monday said there has been little progress in the constituency in terms of poverty reduction and developmental projects.
He said the remote constituency lacks a quality road network, adequate health facilities, education institutions and cellphone network coverage. Mbunguha stated the constituency is a paradox in that on one hand, it can be categorised as the poorest constituency in Namibia due to lack of institutions and employment opportunities.
On the other hand, it is blessed with opulent natural resources, including spring water.
“We have the capacity to feed ourselves and export the surplus to other parts of the country,” he said. It will take sheer political will, determination and hard work to maximise the constituency’s untapped potential, something the Swapo party possesses, Mbunguha said.
He further noted that the constituency has only two police stations and four clinics.
Youth unemployment is also a common feature in the constituency.
As such, employment opportunities must be created to empower the youth “to enable them to engage in self-employment”.
Should he assume political office, Mbunguha
wants to focus on five key developmental objectives: water provision, commercialisation and diversification of agriculture, improvement of the constituency’s network [road network, telecommunication and electrification], health and safety, access to education and poverty eradication.
“If I don’t win, I will continue serving them because I don’t need an office to work for my community as I have done for more than 20 years,” he said.
Asked how he intends to fulfil his dream at a time when the noose on the state purse has been tightened, he said: “My aim is to go to the National Council and take my people’s plights there. In Windhoek is where all opportunities are found. There are embassies, NGO’s and development partners ready to give money to those who have bankable and feasible development proposal which we have. We cannot rely on the government for everything.”