ONGWEDIVA – The Ongwediva town council and the Otjinene village council yesterday signed a cooperation agreement in order to enhance capacity building, economic development as well as tourism and cultural heritage between the two councils.

CEO of Ongwediva town Damian Egumbo said the agreement will lay a foundation to share experiences and develop the people of the two towns and subsequently the country at large.

In terms of capacity building the two councils wish to collaborate in areas such as financial management, strategic planning and management as well as environmental waste management, amongst others.
Apart from the signature ceremony Otjinene will also visit the Ongwediva sewerage ponds, dumpsite, fire station and the open market.

The chairperson of the Otjinene council, Landine Kauta, appealed to the executive officers of the two local authorities to ensure that the agreement is implemented and does not only become an agreement on paper.
“To the two CEOs, allow me to humbly request that this agreement be implemented and not remain a document in our office. We want to see an action plan during our first council meeting next year,” said Kauta.

Kauta, a local councillor at Otjinene, said they are entrusted by the electorate to bring development to the people and as such this can only be achieved by learning from other local authorities such as Ongwediva.
In return, the mayor of Ongwediva Angelina Angula said her office is optimistic that the agreement will yield tangible results in the identified areas.

“We shall all have a sense of fulfillment by the end of this agreement provided we honour the agreement and implement it to the letter thereby improving service delivery in our respective towns,” said Angula.
Angula said she is further optimistic that the residents of the two towns will benefit from the agreement.
In addition to the just signed agreement, locally Ongwediva already has cooperation agreements with Okahao, Okakarara and City of Windhoek.

Internationally, Ongwediva has partnered with the City of Lommel in Belgium which has over the years seen developmental projects implemented at the town.