Tauno Iileka
VERGENOEG – Vergenoeg farm, situated some 115 kilometres northeast of Gobabis in the Kalahari Constituency of Omaheke Region, last week received telecommunication network.
Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Stanley Simataa, officially switched on the network tower in the presence of the Omaheke regional leadership and the Vergenoeg community.
The network tower is equipped with third-generation (3G) cellular service, which has voice, data and video capabilities. The tower was commissioned as part of MTC’s 081Every1 project, which aims for 100 percent network coverage of the Namibian population by constructing 524 network towers countrywide.
Eight towers have been earmarked for Omaheke Region during the first phase, with the first two commissioned in Vergenoeg and Helena in the Otjombinde Constituency – some 60 kilometres from Vergenoeg. Simataa said by the end of the first phase of the project, over 80 percent of Omaheke population should be covered.
According to him, telecommunication is one critical element of development.
“The mode of delivering services to citizens will no longer be through papers, but through digital means,” Simataa said.
It is, therefore, he said, a right for Namibian citizens to have access to telecommunication services without having to travel long distances to access either public services or telecommunication services.
Simataa further urged MTC to ensure that the telecommunication services they provide to the public are affordable, although they are a commercial company.
He also advised the Vergenoeg community to look after the tower and report any cases of vandalism and theft to the Namibian Police Force, as it was erected for their benefit.
Omaheke Governor, Festus Ueitele, commended MTC for rolling out the 081Every1 project to Omaheke Region. “It is heart-warming to know that the benefit of the 081Every1 project has reached our region, which will see our people experiencing quality and faster network connectivity,” the governor said.
Speaking on behalf of the local residents, member of the Kalahari Constituency development committee, Anna-Martha Ganes, said the days of climbing on trees to access network are now over.
She expressed their gratitude to Ueitele and the Regional Councillor for Kalahari Constituency, Ignatius Kariseb, for bearing the pressure from community members to ensure they receive the network tower.