By Wezi Tjaronda
WINDHOEK
One of the four community auction kraals in the Omaheke Region may receive funding from the National Panning Commission’s Rural Poverty Reduction Programme (RPRP).
The Omaheke Regional Council sent proposals to have four of its community auction kraals expanded for the farmers to sell more livestock.
Of the four, only Otjinene is being evaluated and may receive funding. NPC’s National Coordinator for the RPRP, Sylvia Demas, said the Otjinene Community Auction kraal is one of the 20 projects that are likely to be funded by the programme.
Demas said the 20 projects, which include community-based tourism, rural finance, small and medium enterprises and on-and-off farm activities, will cost N$140 million. More than 140 proposals were sent to the RPRP for funding.
The council last year sent proposals to the RPRP requesting over N$13 million to renovate and equip the existing kraals with facilities that are acceptable to buyers and also for the kraals to accommodate more livestock.
The projects would involve expanding the kraals, repairing broken parts, and equipping them with water, electricity, ablution facilities, catering sheds, perimeter fences, boreholes and water storage tanks.
The kraals at Tallismanus, Otjinene, Epukiro Post 3 and Corridor Post 13 are said to be too small compared with the number of cattle that are brought for sale at any given auction.
The council asked for N$3.17 million to upgrade the Otjinene auction facilities
Deputy Director, Planning and Development Services of the regional council, Jogbeth Karuuombe, told New Era recently that many people in the region were living in poverty although they own a lot of livestock. She said the aim of the project was to address the acute poverty levels experienced by farming communities in the region.
Omaheke, according to statistics of 2000, is the third poorest region in Namibia despite holding the largest number of livestock.
The council in its proposals for funding said, “The population in the communal areas own large numbers of livestock, both cattle and small stock, yet the region is still regarded as the third poorest in Namibia.”
The proposal said the problem of poverty arose from the communities’ unwillingness to sell their livestock and convert it into cash and other forms of equity.
Karuuombe said the kraals were the only marketing places for livestock in the constituencies and could only accommodate a limited number of cattle per auction.
In addition, many constituencies still have the permit system which the council felt is a disadvantage to the farmers because the payments the farmers get do not reflect the true value of the livestock sold.
While the three kraals in the Otjinene constituency record sales of over 1 200 cattle per month, the Otjinene kraal accounts for between 500 and 600 livestock per month.
The proposal said livestock sales in most areas are restricted to permit sales because of the dilapidated state of the kraals. In addition, most facilities have no toilets and no flowing water, a state that the council said prevents many people from visiting the kraals because they cannot stay the whole day without relieving themselves.
Records of the Corridor 13 kraal also show that on average 600 cattle are sold every month, but the council felt the figure could increase if the facility was expanded and essential services such as catering kiosks and ablution facilities were provided.
Although farmers in Talismanus have access to other auction facilities, they travel for up to three days over 120 km to market their cattle at an auction that is more advanced.
The upgrading of the four facilities would benefit individual farmers, the farmers’ associations and petty traders that sell their merchandise during the auction, said the proposal.
The regional council will among other things pay for electricity connection, water supply, and constructing water reservoirs and platforms at the four auction kraals.