Irene !hoaës
4 September 2008
Windhoek — Like all other regions, the Kunene Region has plans to develop itself, following the Participatory Poverty Assessment.
Kunene has widespread poverty, where a shocking 52 percent of households were rated as poor, of whom 41 percent were rated poor and 11 percent extremely poor.
In its submission to the Third National Development Plan (NDP3) the regional council plans to sustainably develop the full economic potential of the region's tourism, agriculture, mining, trade and industry sectors.
An additional objective is to develop the human resource potential of people of all ages and backgrounds as well as to build the capacity of the regional council to support, co-ordinate and spearhead regional development.
Thirty-five percent of the population's income in the region comes from farming; thus it is planned to conduct small gardening projects and promote community agricultural projects in order to encourage the establishment of agri-industries.
Kunene has a dualistic economy, where there are well-developed formal businesses and commercial farming sectors, tourism enterprises and accommodation, supermarkets, shops, bakeries, butcheries and an underdeveloped and extremely poorly resourced subsistence agricultural sector.
In order to bridge inequality in the region, Council plans to establish new pay points for pensions and social grants so that distances to be travelled are decreased.
Ten percent of the inhabitants receive pensions, which is among the major sources of income for the region after farming and wages and salaries.
Cultural centres in all constituencies are a mechanism to promote cultural values and practices. This is specifically aimed at the youth of the region.
Economically active people are migrating out of the region in search of work, thus decreasing the prospects for local economic development, with the region becoming more dependent on transfer payments because of continued out-migration.
Like many people in the country, the Kunene Region is also concerned about the quality of education, thus plans are in the pipeline to strengthen Early Childhood Development initiatives in the region.
Because employment opportunities are rare in the region, enhancing entrepreneurship and vocational training efforts and establishing an Education and Training Trust Fund is envisaged. The region wants to enhance its information-sharing system by installing Internet services at circuit offices and cluster centres to provide information to learners, teachers and the broader community members.
On the health front, the provision of effective health services through construction and upgrading of clinics and health centres, construction and renovation of mortuaries and provision of more staff accommodation and mobile clinic services, are envisaged.
The Kunene Region has the lowest incidence of HIV/AIDS, with a mere seven percent compared to other regions, which stands at 40 percent.
Households that have access to safe drinking water make up 72,9 percent, while 22 percent has access to electricity.
Main sources of income include farming with 35 percent, pensions 10 percent, wages and salaries 37 percent, business, non-farming seven percent, cash remittance also seven percent and four percent from other unidentified income.
Tourism-related employment is increasing in the region and with the completion of the road from Ruacana to Kamanjab, places such as former Kaokoland, Damaraland and Ruacana will become more accessible to tourists.
At its main centres such as Khorixas, Opuwo, Kamanjab and Outjo, the region has facilities such as primary and secondary schools, clinics and hospitals as well as electrical power supply.
These facilities might not be always sufficient to provide for all the needs of the community but the necessary infrastructure for further development is available. The veterinary cordon fence divides the region into two distinct parts, the northern Kunene and southern Kunene.
The fence separates farms and wildlife areas for effective disease control. The Ovahimbas, Damara-speaking and Otjiherero-speaking people populate the north and west, while largely white commercial farmers populate the south-east of the region.
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