ONDANGWA – The Ondangwa Town Council has prioritised land provision, roads infrastructure and youth development in the latest budget, with a large chunk allocated for sports facilities.

Ondangwa mayor Paavo Amwele said his council has reserved N$3.3 million for the compensation and relocation of some residents, which will pave the way for housing development.

He said this while tabling the town’s N$170 million 2022/23 budget.

“N$1.4 million has been reserved for land development, including the planning and surveying of new townships,” the mayor added.

The council has also planned N$19 million for road construction at Oluno, Extension 26 and Onguta.

To uplift sports in the town, the council has budgeted N$10 million for the first phase of the envisaged multi-million-dollar sports stadium, as well as N$87 000 for recreational parks and lights in the town.

“However, the council will keep an eye on our bulk services' suppliers such as NamWater and the Northern Electricity Distributor (Nored) to see if they are planning heavy increases in their rates.

Once that is done, council might reconsider some of its prices to avoid selling water at a loss.

Though there is a decrease from N$172 million to N$170 million, the overall development budget for the council increased from N$43 million to N$52 million during this financial year,” he stated.

Amwele said they also face a decrease in the government subsidy.

 “As a council, we decided to sacrifice on our spending and cut on most of our operations such as fuel and overtime, with the savings being used for the town’s development projects.” he added.

Amwele said N$27 000 is to be taken from their own reserves, adding that the council expects to make about N$45.7 million from the sale of water, N$32.2 million from rates and taxes, and close to N$16 million from the sale of erven. 

- vkaapanda@nepc.com.na