Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
WINDHOEK – Kalahari Constituency Councillor Ignatius Kariseb says the constituency is faced with a wide-range of challenges that must be addressed this financial year for the benefit of residents.
In his state of the constituency address on Tuesday, the first of its kind, Kariseb said selling of drugs, alcohol abuse by the youth, and the elderly using their pension money to buy alcohol are some of the common occurrences in the region.
Another challenge faced by the constituency, Kariseb said, is stock theft which he described as a serious matter that need to be addressed.
He said the high number of pregnancy among school-going children, especially at Mokganedi Thlabanello High School, is another problem that needs remedial action. Kariseb said in 2015, 20 school girls got pregnant while 24 got pregnant in 2016.
Other challenges he highlighted include the overcrowdings in resettlement farms, shortage of water, lack of proper roads and sewerage problems, causing health hazards at settlement such as Drimiopsis.
The other challenge is commercial and communal farmers who employ farm workers without registering them with Social Security Commission (SSC) as is demanded by law.
On the positive note, Kariseb said during the 2016/17, the Ministry of Land Reform embarked upon a once-off water infrastructure development or rehabilitation project on resettlement farming units in Namibia.
He said water infrastructures in the constituency were rehabilitated at the cost of N$19 million.
He said the ministry further rehabilitated fences infrastructures at farm Rooiduin and Farm Gemsbokfontein at a cost of N$400 000.
Also, he said the ministry of education, through the Omaheke directorate of education, constructed bachelor flats for teachers at four schools in the Kalahari constituency during the past two financial years at the cost of N$5.3 million.
The ministry also intends to construct other bachelor flats for teachers at Drimiopsis Primary School this financial year at a cost of N$900 000.
Likewise, he said the Ministry of Health and Social Services during the last two financial year recruited seven health practitioners in the constituency, which include three health assistants at community level in Drimiopsis, one health assistant at Tsjaka/ben-Hur and another one at Vergenoeg, an enrolled nurse and one registered nurse at Buitepos settlement.