26 Oct 2020

Okavango deputy district commissioner, Mr Thabang Waloka has underscored the need to protect the beauty of the Okavango Delta.  

Speaking during a team-building exercise for employees under the office of the district commissioner (ODC), he stated that it was important to keep the delta clean and safe all the times noting that a clean environment attracted positive attention.

He also said Khwai was a rich and unique area in terms of tourism, adding that it was imperative that all stakeholders including the community were responsible for maintaining a clean and safe environment.

Khwai village is found on the North bank of the Khwai River in the North West District. It is situated just outside the North gate of the Moremi Game Reserve on the Eastern side of the Okavango Delta and the area is host to many safari lodges.

As part of the team-building exercise, ODC employees embarked on an excercise to clean the village and donated food hampers to three families who were reported to be in distress  due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employees also donated 100 masks to the village pre-school in an effort to facilitate prevention amongst the kids.

Mr Waloka noted that besides promoting a healthy and clean environment, they found it fit to extend a helping hand to the needy in an effort to cushion them from the impacts of COVID-19.

He acknowledged that many residents survived through tourism activities but since the restriction of the international movement, some lost their jobs while some closed businesses because of the dependency on international clientele.

He urged residents to remain hopeful that the tourism industry would recover and eventually their livelihoods would be improved.

He said the Khwai community, was lucky as their trust was undertaking many activities aimed at improving their living standard. 

Mr Waloka also advised residents to come up with different ways to generate income. 

Members of the community were urged to play their part in achieving a pillar of Vision 2036 which talks about human and social development. 

The deputy district commissioner said all had a role to plat in driving the vision to achieve prosperity for all by 2036. 

The area councillor who is also the chairperson of North West District Council, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotlho thanked ODC employees on behalf of the villagers. 

The employees, he said, had demonstrated love and care towards Khwai community as it was selected out of the many villages in the district.

He concurred that Khwai was unique and a prime area in terms of tourism adding that the area was well known internationally.

He also stated that the pandemic had forced Safari companies to retrench staff while some closed down. Ends