NKURENKURU – Kavango West governor Verna Sinimbo says the region’s developmental needs are aligned to that of the Swapo Party election manifesto.

She said this will make her work a walk in the park.

“The Kavango West region – Developmental Priority Needs are fully-aligned with the priorities outlined in the Swapo Party election manifesto, which provides the policy blueprint for the next five years. Its priorities, ranging from infrastructure development, health, youth employment and empowerment, food self-reliance, education, to social welfare, resonate deeply with what we will strive to achieve as mandated by the electorates,’’ she said during her inaugural speech on Friday. 

Sinimbo said her office will strive to transform these priorities into tangible outcomes, ensuring that the manifesto becomes not just a political promise, but a living reality for the people of Namibia. “The Swapo Party election manifesto and the regional developmental priority needs will serve as our guiding framework to engage with the national government, development partners and private sector stakeholders to drive effective implementation of programmes and policies that will improve the livelihoods of our people,’’ she noted.

The governor said throughout her tenure, she will prioritise inclusive engagement, open communication and a results-driven approach to governance. She added that meaningful development will only be realised when all stakeholders work together, saying the region’s success will be determined by collaborative efforts among stakeholders, including the regional council, local authorities, government offices, ministries and agencies, traditional authorities, churches and the region’s inhabitants.

“Allow me to also take a moment to acknowledge the outstanding work of my predecessor, honourable Sirkka Ausiku, the former governor of this region, who now assumed new responsibilities as a Member of Parliament. Her leadership and dedication have significantly contributed to the progress of our region. I appreciate the strong foundation she has laid, and I commit to building upon it to further advance the development agenda of Kavango West,’’ she promised. 

Former governor Ausiku said she was indeed honored to have served the Kavango West, while bidding farewell to the residents she has worked with for 10 years.

“I still remember standing in front of a big crowd in the community hall on 7 May 2014, being welcomed by the residents of Kavango West. Those who are saying no development took place in the region, let’s start here. This facility was not here when I came. In my statement, I informed you that the expectation of the community to bring development to them was high. There were no government offices operating from Nkurenkuru; all were in Rundu,’’ she stated.

“I informed the community that day that I will ensure the region will have functional structures to bring development and services closer to the people. Although progress was made to establish offices in the region to bring services closer to people, the developmental state of the region is still hampered by the lack of infrastructure development, as highlighted in the Multidimensional Poverty Index Report of 2021, namely the region is still highly rural, with high levels of poverty, and high levels of unemployment, specifically among our youth,” she said.

Ausiku highlighted that the lack of feeder roads, inadequate water infrastructure, lack of rural electrification, shortages of education and health facilities and many others are still hampering development.
“These are the areas our new governor is to continue addressing by engaging with the central government to allocate resources to the region, based on the developmental needs of each region as per the available statistics, to help the region achieve prosperity for all,’’ she continued.