16 Nov 2017

Somelo residents in the Ngamiland District have been urged to revive the spirit of self-reliance in order to reduce dependency on government.

Speaking at a community leadership engagement after a tour of some projects in Somelo, North West District Counil chairperson, Mr Duncan Enga encouraged the village leadership to come up with new ideas, which could sustain them noting that going forward, the settlement would reach a point where it would be declared a recognised village.

Somelo is a settlement established in 1998 and assisted under Rural Area Development Programme (RADP), which aims to improve the living standards of the communities far from services.

Most of individuals in the settlement were assisted with five cattle and 15 goats in an effort to improve their livelihoods.

There is also a borehole, which supplies livestock with water, some kraals, while some individuals were assisted with shelter.

He advised the residents to work as a unit in an effort to develop their village noting that all the committees and public servants should collaborate with leadership.

He said the community should support their children’s education adding that parents must heed the school management meetings without fail.

For his part, council secretary, Mr Charles Amos concurred with residents stating that the population was growing fast, and due course, the settlement would be gazatted to be a village.

In the last population census, he indicated that it stood at 481, and was about to reach 500, which is one of the requirements to be recognised as a village.

He informed residents that if their settlement was upgraded to be a village, it means that all services provided under affirmative action would cease and the villagers would enjoy services like other communities in recognised villages.

“Once Somelo is declared a village, you would go the same route like other villagers to access services and developments so I urge you to plan ahead for the transformation,” he added.

Mr Amos revealed that currently, 156 residents have been assisted with cattle and noted that if those cattle were taken care of, they could bring wealth to the village.

The total cattle in the village stood at 1 300 and council secretary adding that those cattle  were worth P6 million, if were to be sold.  

He encouraged beneficiaries to look after their livestock adding that they should take them as business because they were worth millions in the market.

He also expressed concern about some vandalism caused at the borehole, tank and wasted water and urged residents to report any damages on time so that they could be assisted.

Earlier on, Kgosi Mokutshwane Komee appreciated developments and services in the settlement but raised a concern about late response by the council to attend to issues.

He said efforts were made to report incidents on time but it was frustrating as the council delay without any consultation.

He cited the breakdown of the borehole, which made some beneficiaries lose cattle due to severe water shortage. BOPA