By Wezi Tjaronda
OPUWO
Opuwo town, the seat of a region with one of the richest cultures in Namibia, is caught between a rock and a hard place.
With no control over water and electricity from which other councils earn most of their revenue, the town is in financial distress.
NamWater took over the distribution of water two years ago when the town could not keep pace with collecting revenue and owed the utility millions, while Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) provides electricity.
Opuwo Town Clerk, Alphons Tjitombo, said the town has monthly expenses of around N$100 000 but only manages to raise N$40 000.
“This is not a situation that can be allowed to continue,” he said.
The only dependable sources of income for the town at present are sale of erven, refuse removal and rates and taxes.
The tariffs paid for refuse collection are also under review after the council realised that institutions were paying far much less than the service is worth.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services for instance, pays around N$900 for services that are worth over N$10 000 per month.
Tjitombo said Opuwo as a regional capital needed to provide certain services but could not do so because of its precarious financial position.
“You do not expect an institution with no income to provide services,” he said.
He said Opuwo was tipped to become a regional economic hub and needed to fast-track certain activities for the realisation of the Cape Fria Harbour Project. The volume of traffic will also increase once the Omakange-Kamanjab Road is finished.
However, fears are that the town will not manage to address the influx of investors if its financial performance does not improve.
He said the town would have to provide business erven, survey areas and expand services to accommodate decentralisation functions such as offices and accommodation.
There is increased rural to urban migration, and reception areas complete with ablution facilities as well as potable water are needed. But now there is no water and no toilets, which Tjitombo said was a disaster.
“You cannot tell anyone in this independent Namibia that you should not come to live in town because there is no water and toilets,” he said.
Kunene, with its abundant wildlife, beautiful landscapes and rich culture, is a tourist destination that should be upgraded, said the town clerk. He added that the town was also a gateway into Namibia from Angola and should have been providing services but due to the poor infrastructure, people preferred to travel to Windhoek.
Tjitombo said the town needed an injection of resources to keep pace with what is happening.
Opuwo has embarked on a number of activities to enable it to raise money to sustain its activities. Among these are the sale of erven to holders of Permission to Occupy, placing emphasis on rates and taxes, and registration of informal settlers so that they can contribute to costs of refuse removal and vendor registration. Vendors need to be encouraged to obtain business certificates and move to more acceptable trading areas.
Opuwo is also planning to compile a profile of the town and hold a conference to display opportunities to prospective investors.
Meanwhile, cultural centres are under construction where entrepreneurs can sell their crafts, ornaments and curios in a more coordinated manner.
Tjitombo said the council would link the centre to the hospitality industry for tourists to get souvenirs.
Tjitombo said the council is building 48 houses to provide more affordable housing and at a pace to match the demand. Another plan to relocate vendors was delayed because of lack of money to build stalls for the entrepreneurs.
“We have submitted proposals to some donors to ask for financial assistance,” he said.
The council gets money for capital projects from the Ministry of Regional, Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, but has to raise its own funds for running the council.