NKURENKURU – The mayors of Windhoek and Nkurenkuru signed a twinning agreement here yesterday.
The agreement will enable the two towns to share experiences and human resources, as well as exchange expertise in finance and administration, technical services, environmental health, waste and land management and urban planning. Windhoek mayor Agnes Kafula signed the agreement with the mayor of Nkurenkuru Erastus Kandjimi in Nkurenkuru yesterday.
This is the third twinning agreement for Nkurenkuru, following agreements with Walvis Bay and Ruacana not so long ago. Nkurenkuru, which was proclaimed a town in 2006, currently boasts a population of just over 10 000 and is located some 145 kilometres west of Rundu. Nkurenkuru is the economic and administrative centre of the newly established Kavango West Region. “It is important to note that we should always come together and have the courage to make difficult decisions in the knowledge that it is in the best interest of the electorate and the general public,” said Kandjimi. He also cautioned that peace should be maintained at all times, because where there is social or political unrest, economic development and growth cannot take place.
According to Kafula, the urban environment plays an important role in the provision of employment, shelter and services and usually serves as centres of education. However, the rapid increase of people in urban centres can also have tremendous negative impacts in managing urban environments. “From the City of Windhoek’s point of view, maintaining our local contacts and providing assistance to other local authorities enhances local government capacity, which is necessary to tackle local development challenges in the context of decentralisation, while at the same time easing urbanisation pressures on Windhoek’s urban environment,” said Kafula.
Bordering the Otjozondjupa, Kavango East, Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions of Namibia, as well as the southern provinces of Angola and Kavango West, Nkurenkuru is strategically situated and has great potential for economic development, said Kafula.
The deputy mayor of Rundu Bonny Kahare, speaking on behalf of the Governor, Ambassador Samuel Mbambo, said the agreement would provide many innovative ideas and solutions in terms of town planning and administrative structure that new towns such as Nkurenkuru need to learn from. “Incorporate them in your system and make them part of the largest regulatory framework that you will implement for future growth through which investment will be attracted. It will also help to discuss the hurdles to be overcome and to avoid bottlenecks occurring in many municipal [administration] processes,” said Kahare.
By Mathias Haufiku