2016-11-02Staff Report 2 Ongwediva - Councillor of Ongwediva Constituency Andreas Uutoni says almost every school in his constituency is electrified. During an interview with New Era recently, Uutoni said there are only two schools in Ongwediva without electricity, namely Panguleni Primary School and Iidhiya Combined School. According him, it is just a matter of time before the power is switched on at Panduleni, because the infrastructure is already in place. “Iidhiya Primary School is in my constituency, but in terms of Ministry of Education demarcation, it falls under Okaku Constituency,” said Uutoni. He gave credit to his predecessor, former councillor Vinia Abisai, whom he described as a hardworking man, as most of the schools were electrified during his tenure. Uutoni has also identified some cuca shops and other commercial centres in the area, where he said there is more potential for small business owners to make a decent income, but they are limited by the lack of electricity. “We have already paid N$332 000 to Nored to electrify Omwoongo waNamutai cuca shops… I think this year, my constituency and the Ministry of Mines and Energy will divorce, because all of our public institutions are electrified. We are really grateful to the ministry and to central government,” he said. Apart from electricity, Uutoni said over the past 11 months of his tenure, he has overseen the construction of an access road to Panguleni Primary School. He said the school is situated in a very sandy area and teachers previously had to park their vehicles at least 600 metres from the school. But this is now something of the past. Furthermore, Uutoni said a pay-point centre for the elderly social grant at Benjamin Shiteni was also recently renovated. According to him, one of his plans is to ensure that all elderly people in his constituency have decent and accessible pay-points. “If you go to most of our pay-points you will feel pity. Our elderly people are just queuing up in the sun. They are just not safe at all,” said UUtoni. He said two more pay-points in his constituency will soon get shelter. Corrugated iron sheets and steel have already been bought and the two pay-points have been identified. He further pointed out that roads are one of the major challenges facing his constituency. “Ongwediva Constituency has a population of about 32 265 people, but all these people are served by two district roads only,” he said. The two roads, one from Adolf and another one from Okatana join at Onamutai to form one road to Ongha, but are not tarred. Uutoni said he will continue advocating for better road infrastructure in his constituency. He, however, maintained that he does not only advocate for people in the rural areas, but is the councillor of all inhabitants of Ongwediva Constituency. He said his office may not be directly involved in the establishment of roads or electricity distribution and may not distribute drought relief food to the people within the townships, but as a member of the Local Authority Development Committee, it is his responsibility to identify the needs of people in the townships and to recommend solutions to the committee. 2016-11-02Staff Report 2
