By Surihe Gaomas GOBABIS The slow pace of decentralization is hampering development in many regions, and Omaheke is no exception, says Regional Governor Laura McLeod. She said that although the concept of bringing services and development closer to the people was a noble ideal, a lot still needed to be done to turn the idea into reality, especially in the rural areas. During a recent interview with New Era, Mcleod said only when there is a full process of decentralization could challenges like unemployment and poverty be addressed more effectively. “Development is a very big challenge, and it is a process. It is a good reality to see everybody smiling with three meals a day, educated, proper shelter and has a job to survive. But decentralization as a process is slow,” said McLeod. With a total population of 68 039 spread across seven constituencies, Omaheke is known to be the third-poorest region in the country. Most of the region is taken up by privately-owned freehold farming units and traditional villages in communal farming areas. Gobabis is the only municipality and serves as the regional capital and seat of the Regional Council. McLeod said most of the government ministries still needed to be brought closer to the people, especially those that still found it hard to find a nearby clinic, and at places where children have to walk long distances to school. “Why run a health ministry from Windhoek when the sick people are here? Education has been decentralized and so has rural water supply. All six constituency offices are up and running and there is good co-operation between the regional stakeholders and the ministries in terms of planning,” said McLeod. She said the local business sector could play a vital role in developing the town of Gobabis and the region as a whole. “There are more non-governmental organizations coming in when it comes to development. But Omaheke is a vast region, availability and access to services are sometimes hard to come by in remote areas, where long distances in-between places hamper decentralization,” she said. On education, she said the distribution of schools in the region was not as bad as it was before independence. According to the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture’s Education Management Information System (EMIS 2002), the Omaheke Region has 18 schools, 8 combined and 3 secondary schools, of which only two offered Grade 12. However, according to the latest Poverty Regional Profile of the Omaheke Region, only 15 out of the 32 schools have hostel accommodation, making it difficult for children in the rural areas to attend classes. McLeod said business was also slow in the region. She said this was due to the fact that there were no mining activities and factories in Omaheke. The vast majority of Namibians in that part of the country relied on livestock as a source of survival and income. However, environmental factors like drought and foot-and-mouth disease have forced many farmers in the area to venture into crop production. McLeod said the decentralization process could be fast-tracked through continuous awareness and education campaigns as part of the country’s overall developmental goal of Vision 2030.