ONYUULAE – The councillor for Okankolo constituency, Hans Nambodi, is of the view that the hardships his area faces are the reasons why young teachers are not keen on teaching in such rural areas.
Nambodi said this with reference to a lack of proper roads in the vast constituency, which only has two major roads.
“I have noted with great concern that youthful teachers are ever quitting or switching from rural schools to those closer to town because of a challenge with proper road infrastructure as they face hardship in going and coming back from school. It also further inconveniences retrieving basic services, also due to the long distances,” Nambodi added.
He further said that since 2001 the constituency has been advocating the development of roads but to no avail, although the community has made efforts to clear paths.
“The way is already paved – it is only a matter of building gravel roads. The terrain is bad, it is sandy everywhere. It is even cheaper to construct these roads because it doesn’t require compensation to communities,” he said.
About 14 schools are severely affected as a result of a lack of road infrastructure.
Divided
Council is, however, divided when it comes to approving capital projects, as some prefer and consider activities in other constituencies as a priority over others.
“We have been making these submissions over and over but it is just rejected. I do not always receive sufficient or valid reasons as to why that can not be accommodated in any financial year,” said the councillor during an interview with New Era when highlighting some of the challenges in his area.
He made reference to the recently approved road that is planned for construction in Nehale Lya Mpingana to connect King Nehale-Omboto-Okongo, saying such a road will require government to spend more funds on compensation as the area is inhabited by farmers.
“Meanwhile, the already cleared path in my constituency (Okankolo), which stretches from Onkumbula and passes at Omboto and also reaches Okongo, where no compensation is needed, is still hanging. This is where most of the residents reside, as opposed to the other side where it is mostly inhabited by farmers with a smaller population,” he bemoaned.
Another challenge he raised was the need for four more MTC network towers to have the constituency connected, as some areas are still without any slight signal. He also requested that the network tower at Onyuulae be upgraded as it is often down.
– osimasiku@nepc.com.na