Vice president Lucia Witbooi has expressed the government's support for rural development during her visit to the RuralRevive initiative at Maltahöhe last week.

RuralRevive is a non-governmental organisation that aims to build resilient and equitable tourism and conservation economies.

Witbooi was accompanied by Hardap governor Riaan McNab, where they engaged directly with farmers, youth trainees and women entrepreneurs and listened to their accounts.

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Having previously taught at Maltahöhe and originating from Gibeon, a neighbouring community with shared history and present realities, Witbooi's return carried personal significance.

Her visit aligns with president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's national call for food self-sufficiency, local production and youth-driven development.

During her visit, she reminded RuralRevive that the government and community actors are working in the same direction to establish platforms for opportunity, while keeping open a shared space to explore alternatives collaboratively and place Namibia on a sustainable pathway.

Initiated in 2021 under the Wolwedans Foundation's AridEden Project, RuralRevive has offered training to over 200 local farmers to supply tourism facilities and improve local food systems, as well as created over 40 new direct and indirect jobs through the laundry and infrastructure projects.

Maltahöhe, like many rural towns in Namibia, faces high unemployment, poverty and social decline.

Luxury tour buses pass through on their way to the desert, while local residents watch from the roadside, present but excluded from the surrounding economy.

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