MENONGUE, Angola – The Governor of the two Kavango regions, Dr Samuel Mbambo, headed a Namibian delegation to Menongue in the Cuando Cubango province at the invitation of his counterpart.
The governor is accompanied by a delegation of business people, government officials as well as representatives of parastatals among them Telecom Namibia, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The main aim of this visit is to forge closer economic ties. Moreover, the two governors discussed the construction of a bridge between Rundu and Calai, a small Angolan town opposite Rundu. “This is however not the bridge that is planned by the government, but a temporary one to provide safer access to the two towns of Calai and Rundu,” the governor of Cuando Cubango, Higino Caneiro said. “The government is working hard on developing the Cuando Cubango province and thus is creating an opportunity for businesses in order to help the province develop and achieve its goals,” Caneiro said. He was also quick to point out that Menongue the capital of Cuando Cubango wants businesses from the three regions on both sides of the border to join hands to exploit untapped resources in Cuando Cubango. Caneiro further urged the visiting Namibian business delegation to take advantage of the opportunity.
The two governors are meeting with their delegations to look at how the three regions could facilitate safer trade, as well as how they can cooperate to promote economic development between the three regions and the two countries. Namibian government ministries and agencies like the Ministry of Education, the University of Namibia (Unam), the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration and the Ministry of Health and Social Services also provide services to Angolan nationals, while Telecom Namibia also provides telecommunication services to the town of Calai. Other entities in Namibia are increasingly linking up with Angolans institutions to share ideas on partnerships and collaboration. During the visit the Namibian delegation was taken on a tour of the new development areas of Menongue. The tour started at Pole University in Menongue, which is currently under construction and is expected to open in 2014. The university will initially host nine faculties and will have a capacity to accommodate 5500 students, while its hostel will accommodate 2500 students in order to help Angola reduce the number of students studying outside the country. Currently Angola has a population of about 300 000 students studying in other African countries and overseas.
The Namibian delegation also visited the building site of a public referral hospital, which will reduce the dependence of Angolan patients on Namibian hospitals and other health facilities, including a water purification plant, which is under construction and is expected to become operational in the not too distant future. Angola wants to splurge some cash derived from its abundant oil resource on the education sector and to boost its economic development efforts, according to the deputy governor of Cuando Cubango, Ernest Kitekulo who is tasked with overseeing the economy. The Namibian delegation completed its visit today.
By John Muyamba