Keetmanshoop
//Karas regional governor Lucia Basson insists she made the right choice in picking Kosis as an under-serviced area to benefit from instant government development.
President Hage Geingob last year requested her to identify an under-serviced area with the aim of instantly developing and bringing government services to the particular area.
Basson chose Kosis and last August a high-level government contingent, led by the Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah who is also the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, engaged the governor and visited the area where they engaged the community members at a town hall meeting.
But nine months on from that visit, which filled Kosis residents with hope of seeing their area developed, nothing seems to have happened and it seems impossible for Kosis to be developed as the place is still not yet proclaimed.
Basson however insists she made the right decision despite these circumstances, indicating the proclamation of the place is not important, and that what matters is that people living there should get government services like any other Namibian.
“Proclamation is not that important, the people are there, so what proclamation?” she said when asked if she made the wrong choice.
She explained that as governor she has a responsibility to serve all residents of the region and Kosis residents are part of that and thus there should be no excuse that services can’t be taken to certain areas due to proclamation issues.
Basson stated that places such as Kosis should in fact be the easiest to help develop further as the infrastructure is already there.
She singled out the clinic building at Kosis as one of the many infrastructures that can be used for developmental purposes, as it requires less funds.
She indicated it is unacceptable such infrastructures are becoming white elephants, while residents are forced to walk long distances to seek medical attention.
“Even if they are 10, they are Namibians and we can call them a farm or peri-urban, but the fact remains that they are there and development must reach them,” she stressed. Basson conceded the regional council might not have a developmental plan, stating that she will in her capacity as governor try to get the clinic up and running during her term of office, but that overall development should be from the office of the president.
Recommendations in the report of last year’s visit, seen by New Era, indicated the regional council should lead the process of developing and fighting poverty at Kosis.
The report further suggests the regional council should draw up a developmental plan for Kosis in consultation with the community.
This however seems not to have been done, and when contacted for comment, //Karas Regional Council (KRC) chairperson Jan Scholtz seemed unaware of the progress on those recommendations and referred this reporter to the governor, saying “that was from the governor’s office so she can tell you more”.
KRC chief regional officer Saul Kahuika could not be reached for comment yesterday as he was said to be in a management meeting.