2015-08-05Staff Report 2 Witvlei The Deputy Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Christine //Hoebes, yesterday ordered the Witvlei Village Council to renovate and reopen the Joel Kaapanda stalls that have become a white elephant at the village since 2006. “It is unacceptable that government spends millions in building infrastructure for it to end up becoming a white elephant,” //Hoebes told the village management during a meeting at Witvlei. The meeting was attended by over 30 village officials, most notably the mayor Levi van Wyk and the village CEO Chris Murangi. “I am instructing this village council to make sure that the stalls are renovated and opened within one month from today,” //Hoebes ordered. //Hoebes, who herself hails from Witvlei, said young people are getting into trouble because they have nothing to do. She added that giving them places to work would help prevent crime among the youth. Furthermore, the deputy minister urged the village council to avail land to landless people at the village. “As we all know land has become a problem in this country so let us avail land to landless residents,” she said. She also used the opportunity to encourage village staff to work hard and stay focused to achieve their goals. “Do away with this don’t care attitude – you applied for a job, so make sure you deliver services to the people.” She said President Hage Geingob has declared war against poverty and it is only through hard work that the national dream of eradicating poverty would be realised. She further urged village staff to create opportunities for the youth to exchange ideas and views on the future of Namibia and propose solutions to identified challenges. “True success is a long journey that requires focus and commitment,” she added. Today the deputy minister will address the Witvlei community before having lunch with the elders at the village. Tomorrow she will meet stakeholders in the education sector in Aminuis to discuss ways to improve Omaheke Region’s pass rate. According to //Hoebes, education in Omaheke has become a “nightmare”. “I have asked stakeholders in the education sector in the region to meet in Aminuis so that we can discuss how we can rescue this,” she said. The Omaheke Region has over the years been one of the poorly performing regions at grade 10 and 12 level, although the region has recorded significant improvement over the last two years. In the November 2012 Grade 10 examinations, Omaheke was placed last in terms of performance, but improved to number nine in 2013 - making it the most improved region during that year’s examinations. 2015-08-05Staff Report 2
