22 Mar 2017

North West District council chairperson, Mr Reaboka Mbulawa has implored the district leadership to take advantage of the Local Economic Development initiative and come up with viable projects.

He said such projects would help address the problem of unemployment and contribute to economic growth.

Delivering a speech during a full council meeting, he said Ngamiland District was a tourism and entertainment centre for both foreigners and locals hence the need to create sustainable jobs which would grow the local economy.

He said there was need to improve the provision of basic infrastructure such as water supply, electricity and Information Communication Technology (ICT) as they were the main enablers for attracting investors.

He said the country still depends on mining and called for diversification of non-mining sectors such as transport and communications, hotels and restaurants, business and services.

Mr Mbulawa also informed councillors that cabinet has approved NDP 11 to the tune of P101 406 billion, and that projects and programmes worth P22 527 billion (22 per cent) have been approved to be implemented in the North West District during DDP 8.

In addition, he pointed out that the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services has the highest share in the district with projects amounting to P6 298 billion followed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to the tune of P4 010 billion and third being the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security at P3 480 billion for the entire plan period.

The remaining ministries have been approved to a tune of P8 738 billion from the total approved for Ngamiland DDP 8.

“This shows that the government is concerned about the development of Ngamiland and primarily of great importance is the P6 928 billion for improvement of water and sanitation in the district which will be able to attract investors to the district hence ra eduction in relying in the mining sector alone to boost the economy,” he stated.

The council chairperson also observed that the government prioritised agriculture as the district was allocated P3 480 billion as opposed to only P2 250 billion set aside for tourism in DDP 8.

He said it was an indication that the government was committed to farmers.

Mr Mbulawa also appreciated the budget for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, saying it would go a long way in touching the lives of many as the budget would cater for services to help the needy.

Furthermore, he informed councillors about the introduction of another programme, constituency community projects, adding that the district would be funded to the tune of P40 million.

He said the programme has been introduced to enable communities to embark on development projects that were not possible to be delivered through the district development budget.

The programme would  be effected during the coming financial year and funding would be done on a constituency basis, said Mr Mbulawa.

He urged fellow councillors to work as a team as they start the implementation of DDP 8, and  that monitoring of projects and programmes was in order. ENDS