10 Dec 2014

The Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr France van der Westhuizen, has told parliament that in 2008, government approved the establishment of 19 additional sub districts, Okavango East being one of them with its headquarters at Sehithwa.

Mr van der Westhuizen said these were to be established during NDP 10 and beyond and at the time the cost of establishing each sub-district was P30 million. The assistant minister said due to the economic recession experienced since then to date, none of the 19 sub-districts was established as planned.

He said those that were operational like Mogoditshane and Tsabong were established through rationalising existing meager resources available to the relevant local authorities.

Mr van der Westhuizen said he could not say with any degree of certainty as to when the Okavango East (Sehithwa) sub-district would be established save to indicate that during NDP 11, it will compete with others subject to resource availability when prioritising them for implementation.

MP for Ngami, Mr Thato Kwerepe had asked the minister when the establishment of Sehithwa as a sub-district would commence. ENDS