Keetmanshoop
//Karas Regional Governor Lucia Basson wants the private sector in the region to do their part for the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) to be fully implemented.
Basson held a private sector engagement meeting with various businesses operating in the region. The meeting’s aim was to unpack HPP to the private sector, so that they are aware of what is expected of them and how they can help in realising its full implementation.
Speaking at the meeting at Keetmanshoop, Basson said when business thrives as is the case in Namibia, it is because government has provided a conducive environment. It is therefore imperative that businesses return the favour by helping government to achieve its aims and objectives.
“Now the private sector must assist the government in the restoration of the dignity of our citizens in //Karas Region because government can’t do it alone,” she said.
She expressed her unhappiness at the poverty levels in the region and lack of proper sanitation, saying it is unacceptable that a region with a population of just over 70 000 inhabitants remains one of the poorest regions in the country, despite its abundance of natural resources.
She said it is high time that people of the region benefit directly from the resources “and it is thus up to businesses to ensure that this happens by ploughing back into the communities they operate from”.
She stressed that the richness of the region in terms of natural resources should be reflected by the living conditions of people, saying that when one has a small population in a rich region in terms of natural resources at one’s disposal, it is supposed to be a bonus regarding the provision of basic services to inhabitants, “but this is currently not happening”.
She called on the private sector to join hands and work as a team for a prosperous region, noting that the elimination of the bucket toilet system, and servicing of land and house provision, as well as assisting communal areas with boreholes to mitigate water shortages should be some of the targeted areas for businesses to assist.
“I want us to be the first region to get rid of this bucket toilet system by next year,” she said at the meeting convened early this week.
The presidential advisor on youth matters and enterprise development, Daisry Mathias, also attended the event and helped unpack the HPP through a detailed presentation on what it is and how the region can incorporate it in its development agenda.
The engagement meeting was well attended by private sector companies from various areas in the region, regional and local councillors, and traditional leaders.