By Wezi Tjaronda EPUKIRO A mortuary which is envisaged for Epukiro this year would ease people’s problems in transporting the bodies of their loved ones to and from Gobabis. This, according to Epukiro Councillor, Brave Tjizera, is the most urgent development need in the constituency of over 7ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 500 people. He told New Era recently that his office would conduct a follow-up on a promise made by the Ministry of Health and Social Services to build a morgue in the area. At present, residents travel some 270 kilometres to and from Gobabis to take their dead to the nearest mortuary, which is in Gobabis. Tjizera said that although some people from Eiseb Block take their dead to Talismanus, the rest from the same area travelled about 500 kilometres to Gobabis and back in a bid to preserve their dead and be able to bury them in a good condition. “When there is a death in the family, it becomes very expensive especially to transport the bodies,” he said. Apart from this, the constituency is also in dire need of an ambulance, a vehicle for the police and a clinic at Otjimanangombe. The nearest ambulance that the clinic calls during emergencies is Gobabis, 135 kilometres away. As for the police, they have to request for a vehicle from Okamujenda (Plessis Plaas). Although the distance between Epukiro Post 3 where the police station is and Plessis Plaas is not long, Tjizera said it sometimes takes days for the request to be granted, making it difficult for the police to carry out their work efficiently. Some of the development projects that are expected to be completed in 2007 include a police station, a regional constituency office, the grading of roads within the settlement and upgrading of a sewerage system of mostly Build Together houses. Tjizera said N$1 million has been budgeted for the sewerage upgrading. In a related development, a community meeting in December approved the constitution of the Epukiro Development Fund which was set up in 2006. The fund will now be registered, after which an account will be opened to be overseen by a board of trustees which will include Traditional Authorities, the councillor and other members of the community. A management team will also be formed. At last year’s meeting, some community members pledged money and cattle, which the councillor said the management team would have to follow up on. He said the team would raise money for the fund from the community, donors and non-governmental organizations as the constituency’s contribution towards development projects which the government plans to undertake in the area. “We want to meet the government halfway and also to fund small projects which will be introduced in the constituency,” he said. In a constituency whose mainstay is livestock-farming, some people have started income-generating activities or small businesses to supplement the income they earn from livestock. So far, there are 42 small businesses which include selling foodstuffs, tailoring, gardening and other projects needing financial assistance. Epukiro, like the rest of other areas in Namibia, has a high unemployment rate among the youth. With only three shops and no private initiative to provide employment opportunities, Tjizera said, the area has no jobs for school-leavers. Making things worse, he said, is the lack of a vocational training institution in the Omaheke region where out-of-school youth can learn trades from which they could earn an income. In the absence of job opportunities and a vocational training school, the councillor said most youth indulge in alcohol abuse, cattle rustling and other social ills. “We expect the fund to finance some small projects to address some of the concerns of the youth,” he added. Out of a population of 7ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 500, more than half are young people, of whom about 2ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 are unemployed.