27 Jan 2020

Parents in Okavango villages have been urged to have a hand in the education of their children by actively working with teachers.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Ngarange recently, Member of Parliament for Okavango, Mr Kenny Kapinga, said education was crucial in people’s lives, hence the responsibility of both teachers and parents to ensure good results.

He said for children to have a better future, it could only be through education.

The Okavango MP was worried about poor academic results in the constituency, to which he said improved results in Okavango would be one of his priorities.

“I am still going to meet with secondary schools management, teachers and parents to talk about the state of education in our area. The JC results are really bad. I am told Ngambao JSS in Seronga attained 14. 1 per cent overall pass rate, while Gowa JSS in Xakao got 14.8 per cent. Something is wrong, we need to identify what it is,” said Mr Kapinga.

Another issue that Mr Kapinga said would be his area of focus in the next five years, was that of a better or higher price for cattle sale in Okavango.

He said farmers in Okavango were at a disadvantage when it came to benefiting from their cattle sale because of low prices.

The MP, therefore, called upon all farmers’ association members in the area and the community to join him in addressing the issue with one voice.

Mr Kapinga also talked about the Sehitwa-Mohembo road that needed to be constructed, but was not included in the National Development Plan 11.

He said without better roads, infrastructural developments in Okavango would forever be slow.

“Better roads are also influential in the growth of every villages’ economy. With a good road, it would also mean reliable public transport unlike now,” said the MP.

Meanwhile, Ngarange Village Development Commitee chairperson, Mr Davies Mudimbura, said it had been years since Seronga Sub-land Board had allocated residential plots in Ngarange.

He said the delay had resulted in many people resorting to being squatters.

Mr Mudimbura also complained about the persistent water outages in Ngarange, noting that the village had grown and supply did not meet the demand.

He said the water situation was bad such that some people drank water from the Okavango River, something he said was a health hazard. ENDS