Tsumkwe constituency councillor Petrus Mutji has set his sights on the area featuring its own agricultural schemes to reduce residents’ reliance on the government.
He says the area has vast and fertile land and he is optimistic that if residents engage in agricultural projects, they will become self-sufficient while generating income.
“I’ve really been considering agricultural schemes . . . I want the people of Tsumkwe to be self-reliant so we can at least relieve the pressure on the government,” he says.
Mutji says Tsumkwe already has one agricultural scheme, which has been reduced to 45ha from 65ha and is currently inactive.
He says his office is looking for solutions to revive the scheme and establish additional agricultural projects in the constituency.
The councillor says he has been advocating for a vocational training centre at the settlement to help those who cannot move to other parts of the country for education purposes.
He says one of the biggest issues is that only a few pupils in the area tend to go elsewhere to further their education after completing high school.
“If we can bring the centres close to them, we can also uplift the youth and even older people who want to study,” he says.
Another service Mutji deems necessary is business registration. He says residents find it difficult to register businesses as they have to wait for the services to be brought to them or travel elsewhere, because Tsumkwe has no business registration centre.
“Maybe the ministry itself or the Business and Intellectual Property Authority could open up a centre at Tsumkwe,” he says.
Mutji urges Tsumkwe residents to work together and come up with ideas and projects that could benefit the community, instead of relying on the government.
– Nampa
