OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 6 July 2018

 

 

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, STATEMENT BY HONOURABLE H. L. NDEMULA, CHAIRPERSON OF THE ERONGO REGIONAL COUNCIL AT THE ORDINARY REGIONAL COUNCIL MEETING, HELD ON THE 6^th JULY  2018 AT THE ERONGO REGIONAL COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT 10H00.

Honourable Governor

Honourable Councillors

Madam  Chief Regional Officer

All ECR Management Cadre and Staff

Distinguish guest

Members of the media

Members of the public

Ladies and gentlemen

It is my profound gratitude that I once again would lead this August House.  Thank you all for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading this region.  Thank you for your confidence in my leadership. I am indeed humbled and honoured to be your servant once more. I therefore, would like to welcome you all to this August House.

Members of the public thank you for making time out from your busy schedules to attend this meeting.

First and foremost, I would like to welcome Ms Ludmilla Habate Doëses, the Chief Regional Officer to this August house, to the Erongo Regional Council and to the entire Erongo Region.  Ms Doëses is not a newcomer to the Regional Government structure, with her experience and knowledge of nine (9) years, we are humbled to tap on her expertise.  I am confident that she will take ERC and the entire region to be the top performer in the service delivery for socio-economic development.  Her foresight of delivering quality and accessible service to the community is beneficial to this region and the Council.  Welcome once again Ms Doëses and we pledge as the Regional Councillors our full support and commitment to your vision.

The Government of the Republic of Namibia, has an agreement with developmental agencies and countries in terms of technical assistance.  Hencewith, the People’s Republic of Cuba availed two (2) technical experts in the fields of civil engineering and architecture  to Erongo Regional Council.  The primary aim of this expertise are to supervise the Government capital projects in the Erongo Region. We welcome the two experts to the family of ERC and wishing them productive and enjoyable stay in Erongo and in Namibia.

Honourable Councillors, Chief Regional Officer, ladies and gentlemen, the month of June 2018 was indeed another milestone in our operations, both on the political and administrative arena.  As such I would like to share with you what has transpired during June 2018:

1. Adhering to the call of quality service delivery, we rolled out sensitization programmes in the region.  The community meetings and consultation were held in various Constituencies and Settlements sharing the importance of the public feedback to improve on service delivery of public sector.  As such suggestion boxes as part of one of the feedback mechanisms had been placed at strategical locations at our offices across the region, accessible to the public.  I am therefore urging the public to share their experiences regarding public service delivery. It is only through your contribution that the public service would improve and enhance on their service delivery.

1. The rural service annual progress review and planning workshop for all Regional Councils was conducted in Ohangwena Region June 2018, and attended by myself, Honourable !Haoseb – Councillor of Dȃures Constituency, Ms Kauari then Acting Chief Regional Officer and Ms //Hoabes, Deputy Director of Rural Services.  The progress was reported as follows:

• Food/Cash for Work programme: nine (9) projects were funded and four (4) projects completed during the 2017/18 financial year.  The reminder of the projects is still on-going
• Micro Finance Scheme: seven (7) projects were funded and one (1) project completed.
• Rural Employment Scheme: all two (2) projects funded were completed.
• Regional Specific Action Plan: all three (3) projects funded were completed.
• One Region One Initiative: one (1) project was funded and is still on going.
• Sanitation Programme:  three (3) locations were identified: Dȃures, Karibib and Walvis Bay Rural Constituencies respectively for the construction of rural toilets and is still on-going.
• Support Resources for poor farmers: nine (9) farmers were identified to be assisted with funds during the period under-view, and three (3) were already assisted in Dȃures Constituency and six (6) are still on-going in Karibib Constituency and Walvis Bay Rural respectively.

Ladies and gentlemen, deriving from above synopsis, I am happy considering the challenges we faced not only in the region but in the whole country, that ERC have indeed performed well.  However, there is room for improvement, I therefore recommend that we study the Private Public Partnership Initiative (PPP) and see how we can make use of this initiative to our advantage for our projects.

Nevertheless, there is a projection, that two (2) programmes Food/Cash for Work programme and Sanitation programme will receive funding for 2018/19 financial year.  Hence, two Constituencies were identified as potential recipients of assistance during 2018/19 Financial Year and they are Dȃures Constituency – Tubusis, Karibib Constituency – Otjimbingwe, and Eurika.  The Sanitation assistance is still under assessment.

Ladies and gentlemen

Consequences of the road fatalities are of great concern to Namibia nation.  It should not be viewed as the Government and leadership responsibility but rather a collective effort is need to combat this national destructive conduct. I am very concerned particularly about the road fatalities in the Erongo Region throughout the year.  The attitude of us, the drivers towards each other, towards the road infrastructure and our surroundings are much to be desired.  The sadness and pain road accidents continues to inflict on society is unimaginable.  Statistics shows that 34.85 fatalities per hundred thousand inhabitants, Namibia’s road fatality rate exceeds that of Africa continent, which is estimated at around 27 per 100,000 population. This is rather an alarming condition. The Erongo Regional Council in partnership with key stakeholder more especially with the National Road Safety Council is trying to address this issue.

One of the interventions are the anticipated Arandis Emergency Response and traffic Management Centre in Arandis, of which the feasibility study is underway.  As cost effective measure to make this intervention a reality, ERC, Arandis Town Council and National Road Safety Council is embarking on fundraising activities.  A fundraising dinner will be held on 20 July 2018, in Walvis Bay and key stakeholders are urged to support this noble initiative.

As of recent, Hepatitis E was detected in Swakopmund.  We therefore urge the community to adhere to the strict hygiene practices at all times. We should encourage the community to wash hands as frequent as possible and to take precautions when handling food.

Having said that, I am of the opinion that we in the Erongo Region will continue to hold hands and pull in one direction both to save lives and encourage safe environment for all of us to live in harmony.

Thank you very much for listening and once again Welcome Ms Doëses to Erongo. May God Almighty bless us all.