Popa Falls
Kavango East Governor Dr Samuel Mbambo says leaders of the region will hold a regional developmental conference to solicit input for the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP).
He said the conference, to be attended by various ministries and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), will consider how best the region can contribute to the HPP that was launched in April by President Hage Geingob.
Mbambo spoke to New Era on the sidelines of the Kavango East development conference currently underway at a resort near Divundu. The conference started last Tuesday and ended on Thursday.
“You see, if we know how much we have in terms of various ministries, for instance, let’s take the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development as an example… if they tell us that this year or over the next four years we will build this amount of houses, then at least we will have an idea of how many young people will be employed and it is part and parcel of the poverty alleviation process,” he said.
He said as a region they need to know how many houses will be built within the next four-year period under the HPP, as well as which projects will be initiated in the region in terms of agriculture, so as to empower young people.
“We want everything that is linked to the HPP, because according to our head of state this year is the year of implementation, so as a region we would like to actively participate in the implementation of the HPP.
“That’s why we said we’re organising ourselves first to find out what do we have in our kitty put aside for our region, so that we may have a better idea of how to plan and strategise before we enter into the war” against poverty, he said.
Mbambo said the aim of the conference is for the region to assess how much funds they access to develop the region, but the most important part is how much is currently available for the region.
“Government ministries, NamPower and Nored must tell us their plans that will be implemented in this region, because electricity is a very important aspect of development and NamWater must also tell us their plans,” he said.
In view of the fact that Kavango East is predominantly a farming region, Mbambo said: “What we would like do is empower those people who are already into farming, or who know how to. Those people, who are producing food, we want to meet them where they work. Their expertise must be harnessed and they must be encouraged to do what they know well,” he said.
Governor Mbambo believes the conference will help in terms of poverty reduction in the region. Various ministries, including urban and rural development, finance, lands reform and others, were invited, but only some attended.