Mayeyi Traditional Authority chief Boniface Shufu has labelled Sangwali village in the Zambezi region as the least developed in the area.
He said this during the annual Batshara Cultural Festival at the village on Sunday.
Shufu said Sangwali village is about 129km from Katima Mulilo, forcing villagers to travel long distances daily to access basic services.
“During the recent state of the region address, Sangwali was not mentioned anywhere in the regional report or included in future regional development plans.
“Sangwali, as the headquarters of the Mayeyi, ought to be on the region’s development agenda. A village council would bring government services closer to our communities and would equally bring about businesses in the area to curtail the travelling distance to town to access required services,” he said.
Shufu said the authority has made land available to the government to develop a village council to drive development, but this has been to no avail.
He said that perennial rivers have dried up as a result of drought, and both humans and livestock depend on boreholes.
He called for the extension of the current water pipeline ending at Kapani to Kongola.
“Water is life and a human right for all, and excluding some communities makes us feel left out, while our government has made a commitment to ensure inclusivity in the provision of resources to the citizens,” he said.
Shufu called for a border to be set up between Botswana and Kawedumu or Lyanshulu to strengthen ties with Botswana and shorten travel distances for trade and access to healthcare services.
“Equally important, we appeal to the ministry [of Health and Social Services] to consider a clinic at Sauzuo to cater to the communities of that area so as to mitigate the distance being travelled between Sauzuo and Sangwali or Choi to access healthcare services,” he said.
Vice president Lucia Witbooi at the occasion said the government is aware of Shufu expressing the need for developmental initiatives such as green scheme projects, tourism, rice production, and many other projects in his area and the Zambezi region at large.
She assured him the government is committed to working with him to bring more developmental projects to the region.
“Projects of this nature are indeed necessary, and when realised, they will help create jobs, eliminate poverty, and create additional revenue streams for the government through taxes.
“This region, especially, has great potential to become the food basket of the entire Namibia and one of the tourism hubs in our country, and the government will work tirelessly to help make this a reality,” she said.
