Staff Reporter
PRIME Minister Dr Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare has urged Regional Governors to use newly available resources to address practical needs in their communities, stressing that government interventions must result in visible improvements to people’s lives.
Ngurare made the remarks at the handover of a landmark contribution towards regional economic development in Windhoek, where he called for stronger coordination between regional structures, government institutions, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the private sector.
He said Regional Governors serve as a critical link between central government and communities, making it essential that their offices have sufficient human and financial resources to respond to local challenges.
“The above however can only be realised if governors are adequately resourced with both human and financial resources. In the absence thereof, not much can be achieved,” Ngurare said.
He noted that the recruitment of senior officials for the Governors’ Offices had been completed, with most having taken up their positions in July.
Ngurare said the offices were often the first point of contact for communities facing socio-economic difficulties and therefore needed the capacity to respond to issues raised by residents.
He called on Governors to work inclusively and to listen to people regardless of their political affiliation or economic status.
“Continue to carry out your functions with humility, humanity but also with decisiveness. In so doing, unity is paramount. Unite all the people in your region. Listen to all voices in order to apprise Her Excellency the President on all challenges and opportunities in your respective regions regardless of their political affiliations or economic status,” he said.
The Prime Minister also called for greater use of corporate social responsibility initiatives to address gaps in basic services, arguing that responsibility for development should be shared across government and the private sector.
He cited communities facing challenges with access to water, sanitation and rural roads as examples of areas where state-owned enterprises, government ministries and private companies could work together to deliver targeted interventions.
“As government, we must continue to be deliberate in our intervention and decisive on our quest for tangible impact,” Ngurare said.
He urged SOEs and Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs) to regard such interventions as a collective responsibility rather than leaving development challenges solely to individual institutions.
Ngurare also pointed to communities where boreholes produce saline water, saying small-scale desalination projects could provide practical solutions if institutions worked together.
He further highlighted several flood and rainwater harvesting projects being implemented across the country, saying these could support small-scale agriculture, food security and employment if developed through coordinated efforts.
Among the projects he mentioned were the Dreihuk Channel in //Kharas, the Etaka Canal covering parts of Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto, the Gwashigambo Channel in Ohangwena and Oshikoto, Mpungu-Nzinze in Kavango West, Ncaute-Ndonga Linena in Kavango East and the Bukalo Channel in Zambezi.
Ngurare said similar collaborative approaches should be applied to schools, clinics, housing, sanitation, rural roads and telecommunications.
“There is no reason why any Namibian should not have access to these basic amenities. Let us work together to make this happen,” he said.
He also disclosed several planned processing facilities aimed at supporting local production and job creation, including a mango processing plant in Katima Mulilo, a tomato sauce processing plant in Omusati, a watermelon processing plant in Kavango East, a peanut butter processing plant in Omaheke and a bottled water plant in Gibeon, Hardap.
Ngurare said the Government’s broader development drive included initiatives such as the collateral-free National Youth Development Fund and measures encouraging public institutions to procure goods locally.
He said these interventions were intended to support the Government’s National Development Plan 6 priorities and create opportunities for Namibians across the country.
The Prime Minister urged Governors to ensure that the resources available to their offices ultimately produce measurable outcomes.
“The responsibility is now to ensure that this opportunity translates into measurable results and tangible benefits for the people of every region,” Ngurare said.
Photo: Office of the Prime Minister (OPM Namibia)
