Bukalo still waiting for development 36 years later

Residents of Bukalo village in the Zambezi region say few development goals have been achieved in their area since independence.

Bukalo was proclaimed a village council in 2013.

Residents say the only visible government infrastructure development at the village is the council offices, schools, clinics, and roads.

Sylvester Kabajani says these institutions have laid the foundation for development, but have not gone beyond it.

He says there is a serious need for tangible development that will elevate the economic activity in the area.

“. . . especially industrial development to address the high unemployment rate in the area. Furthermore, the empowerment of small businesses, which is currently non-existent, is very imperative.

“Transparent and accountable local governance will also be key to ensuring that development benefits all residents,” Kabajani says.

Zambezi Development Association chairperson Blessing Maanda says the association is not happy with the slow pace of development in the area.

This is in contrast with how fast the government has developed and upgraded Omuthiya and Nkurenkuru to town councils, he says.

“It has been 36 years since independence, but there are no police station buildings, home affairs offices or courts, leaving residents to travel to Ngoma or Katima Mulilo,” he says.

Maanda says an investor who wanted to build a shopping complex last year questioned the association on the safety of the village council if there is no police station nearby.

“Investors want security where they put up investments. However, Bukalo is without such services and unfairly losing out on investment opportunities.

“Bukalo leaders are willing to deliver more development to the residents, but it is limited by government development funding. In my view Bukalo, Kongola, and Katima Mulilo all suffer from the government’s slow development due to too little funding,” he says.

Another resident, Grant Kabajani, says mismanagement during the process of transforming from settlement to village council has also impacted development.

He says delayed compensation has resulted in many families not giving up their plots to pave the way for development.

“Most plots were sold to people who didn’t have an interest in building, and they just turned into bushes,” he says.

Kabajani says the mere fact that Bukalo does not even have banking services such as ATMs speaks volumes about the state of its development. “The only banking institution we had, NamPost, closed down due to numerous incidents of burglary,” he says. Bukalo will host the regional 36th Independence Day event on Saturday.

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