20 Jan 2021

Parents have been urged to partake in the education of their children by actively working with teachers for improved results.

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

Mr Kapinga said for children to have a better future, it could only be through education and attainment of good academic results.

The Okavango MP was worried about poor school results in the constituency, saying that improved results in Okavango was one of his priorities as an MP.

“I want the people of Okavango to be an educated community, and that will also mean a prosperous Okavango economy. As Members of Parliament in the North West District, we had planned for an education Pitso as another strategy of an improved education in the region. Unfortunately we could not do it because of COVID-19,” he said.

Mr Kapinga cited poverty as one factor that contributed to poor academic results in Okavango, noting that many families in the region lived under extreme poverty.

Ms Cathrine Maromo, a resident of Xakao, said another factor that could be affecting school performance was lack of early childhood education, saying Okavango had gone for a long period without such.

Mr Thifura Magundu blamed Xakao parents for not keeping a close eye on their junior school children at night.

“These children are roaming the streets at night instead of reading. Young as they are, they are also already engaging in sexual activities,” he said. How do we expect them to perform well in school?” he asked.

Another issue that Mr Kapinga said would be his focus in the next five years was advocating for better prices for cattle sales in Okavango.

He said farmers in Okavango constituency were at a disadvantage when it came to cattle sales because of low prices.

The MP urged all farmers in the constituency and the community to join him and produce one strong voice that could be heard by government.

Mr Kapinga also talked about the worn out Sehitwa-Mohembo road, saying it needed to be constructed.

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

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

Regarding constituency community projects, Mr Kapinga said in future they intended to do away with sharing the P10 million among all villages, and would rather focus on bigger projects that would benefit people of such villages. Ends