By Wezi Tjaronda
WINDHOEK
The Eenhana Town Council has started collecting money to construct a sports complex for the Ohangwena Region.
The complex is one of the many development projects lined up for the town, the administrative capital of the Ohangwena Region. Eenhana Chief Executive Officer, Walde Ndevashiya, told New Era recently that the other projects are a vocational training centre, a shopping mall and a modern service station.
Ndevashiya said the whole region is without sports facilities where sports groups and especially the youth could hold their sporting events. Due to many demands for the council to build a sports complex, Ndevashiya said the council put up a proposal to the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development as well as to the National Planning Commission for funding to construct the complex.
In March, Minister of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture, John Mutorwa, launched the Eenhana Sports Complex Development Initiative.
“A committee was put in place to fast-track the development of the complex,” said the CEO.
Of the N$60 000 that was pledged, the council has collected almost N$40 000, which has been placed in a separate bank account.
“The fund-raising is continuing, and we have also met some corporate entities to ask them to partner with us in this activity,” he said.
The council has already earmarked a piece of land for the complex that is expected to be completed in 2009, and has now engaged the services of a surveyor to work out the actual cost of the complex.
Government institutions are the biggest employer, although some people work at shops, while others practise subsistence agriculture as their mainstay.
The construction of a modern service station will enable the town to have a constant supply of fuel, considering that fuel shortages at the town hamper investment.
Given the growth and population of Eenhana, Ndevashiya said the town also needs modern shopping facilities that will enable people to buy goods within reasonable distances.
Eenhana has a population of over 24 000.
Ohangwena Region is the poorest in the country, although the town council feels it has the potential to be one of the richest because of its abundant natural resources.
“The region has marula, omaguni, cattle and mahangu, and our people are self-reliant in terms of food production,” he said.
Among the problems the town is facing are unemployment, especially among the youth, and a shortage of serviced erven which could attract the interest of developers.
He said the town has run out of serviced erven and needs money to bring services such as street lights, water, electricity and sewerage system to the land that has been surveyed.