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Home / Tarred road can unlock Aroab potential - Councillor
Tarred road can unlock Aroab potential - Councillor
2017-02-27Staff Report 2 Matheus Hamutenya Aroab-Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency Councillor Elias !Kharuxab says Aroab can become a destination for more economic activities if roads are improved to bitumen standard. Speaking during his first ever state of the constituency address at Aroab on Friday, he noted with concern that Aroab has since independence struggled to attract potential investors due to the bad state of roads leading to the village, especially the 170km gravel road from Keetmanshoop. He said the state of the road has robbed the small village of potential investors, adding that many are willing to invest but the gravel road is a hindrance. Generally roads are bad in the area especially during the rainy season, and this is not good for business as investors are not willing to gamble with their investments. “When it’s raining you have to stay here for three days or so because it’s impossible to drive out. So enough is enough, we can’t always accept excuses of budget constraints – government should give us what we deserve after 27 years of independence,” he said. !Kharuxab said if upgraded to bitumen standard the road has the potential to boost the village’s economic activities and open opportunities for many Aroab residents, as more investors are likely to create jobs for the youth and women who are mostly affected by unemployment. He also called on residents of the constituency to position themselves to be beneficiaries of programmes and opportunities that will come to the constituency, by empowering themselves with the necessary skills and knowledge that will make them employable, noting that it will be their own fault if job opportunities are taken by people from other regions because they are not skilled to do such jobs. He thus called on parents to ensure that children are sent to school, saying only when they are educated will they be able to compete with others for opportunities, stressing that parents can’t afford to sit at home with their children of school-going age, while they know education is the key to everything. “If we are not educated we will always blame each other and be aggressive, because people from other regions will come and take your positions,” he said. !Kharuxab furthermore called for the speedy implementation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), stating that such a fund will make it easier for councillors to assist residents, noting that no development will take place if there is no money and as such the CDF should be the source of development for constituencies. He also spoke about the challenges facing the constituency, such as land, housing and sanitation, while pointing out the successes so far. 2017-02-27Staff Report 2
