OTJIWARONGO – Otjiwarongo mayor Gottlieb Shivute on Thursday called on his community members, specifically students from impoverished backgrounds, to apply for funding from the Otjiwarongo Municipality Mayoral Development Fund.
Shivute made the call while handing over N$3 500 for school fees and a newly acquired laptop to 19-year-old Russell Matsuib.

Matsuib is an A* Advanced Subsidiary student from Otjiwarongo, who is now upgrading his marks in chemistry at Walvis Bay International School before going on to study medicine at university in 2024.

The fund was launched in 2022 and has clear guidelines for rendering financial assistance, chiefly to students from impoverished backgrounds, Shivute said.

Other priority areas are supporting community members who are into sports, arts and culture, environment or facing catastrophic hardships like shack fires and floods, amongst others.

Shivute indicated that the Otjiwarongo Mayoral Development Fund only benefits residents of the town, as it is managed in accordance with the town’s municipality council financial rules and regulations, noting that the 11 members serving on its management committee do not receive any payment or reward in any form.

“The fund and its members shall actively work at preventing, combating and revealing all forms of illegal or improper dealings or other forms of wrongful use of funds,” said Shivute.

He further stated that the fund’s management committee may also only approve applications not exceeding N$20 000 per application.

Application forms can be obtained on the Otjiwarongo municipality website and should be addressed to the office of the mayor.

- Nampa