Windhoek — SWAPO Member of Parliament and Deputy Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo has called on Government to seriously consider empowering more people in mineral-rich areas.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Kazenambo said it was unacceptable that communities in mineral-rich areas were poverty stricken while others were benefiting from so-called Namibianisation schemes.

The Local Government Deputy Minister cited as an example the Karas and Kavango regions, where mining activities take place without benefiting local people.

"In mining it's Kazenambo.

In tourism it's Kazenambo.

In agriculture it's Kazenambo.

It's notorious.

The Government must say that it is not economic empowerment but a monopoly by certain people," an emotional Kazenmbo said.

He said people living near the Ruacana hydropower plant had no electricity.

Kazenambo was supporting another Swapo MP, Ida Hoffmann, who also bemoaned the fact that people in certain areas such as the South were deprived of the benefits of the mineral resources mined in their areas.

Kazenambo said their concerns were genuine and would only be misunderstood "by those with vested interests".

Both spoke during the debate on the Ministry of Mines and Energy's budget.