OHANGWENA, May 4 – Deputy Minister of Works and Transport Veijko Nekundi, has reiterated that Namibia has made strides and transitioned from a poorly governed occupational territory, into a stable, peaceful democracy.
“We have worked hard to ensure that our people can overcome many of the ills of the past. From the onset, government’s primary focus has been on improving the welfare of all Namibians, and we have done that and continue just to do that. The undeniable fact is, we have improved and expanded access to primary education; we have expanded access to medical care; and we have expanded the supply of safe and clean drinking water to rural areas,” said Nekundi.
Speaking during belated Independence celebrations held at Etsapa Village in the Epembe constituency, Nekundi explained that the Government’s rural electrification program had brought electricity to thousands of Namibians.
In addition, the country has expanded its physical and communications infrastructure, including building new roads, and rolling out mobile telecommunications technology throughout the country, he said.
“Thus we are called upon to shamelessly always remember that the independence which we have received and enjoys today is the result of fights and sacrifices of our freedom fighters. We should never forget this.”
Up until sunrise of independence, on 21 March 1990, the nation was dragged under severe poverty, people were denied access to quality and education of their choice, “reduced to kaffers, our people were denied to benefit and enjoy the richness of our resources, our people were kept in the dark, no electricity, our people were systematically denied access to portable water, our people were denied to medical facilities within reach, above all freedom of speech and expressions were deniable rights,” Nekundi recalled.
Nekundi observed that 32 years down the line, under the leadership of SWAPO Party government, despite many challenges and limitations, the nation enjoyed the fruits of independence.
Turning to the constituency of Epembe, he assured that it was a great part of the Namibian house, and was not excluded from the fruits of independence.
“Since independence in Epembe Constituency our government have constructed 10 fully electrified schools, amongst them are Ewanifo Combined School and Oshiweda J. Primary; three clinics namely Epembe clinic, Omhuhongo clinic and Onangolo clinic all electrified and connected to water pipe line, two MTC towers, namely Onhinda and Epembe, eight Boreholes drilled, namely Ohakafiya, Oshidute, Ondilinawa, Onduludia,
Onesio, Uukala, Oshidute and Ohamikoka, Nghishongwa Earth dam at Oshamono Village was constructed, of the 58 villages in the constituency, thirty-nine have access to potable water with 114 community water points while twenty two villages have been electrified.”
He however said that despite achieving a number of milestones, there was much more to be done to curb social ills and challenges
“In the case of Epembe challenges are such as lack of roads, water distribution to the remaining villages, and high unemployment rate amongst our youth.”
Nekundi urged Namibian people not to lose hope in the government, systems, leaders, and our Namibia.
“We are the sons and daughters of fearless freedom fighters like Mandume Ya Ndemufayo, Chief Hendrik Witbooi, Samuel Maharero
Iipumbu Ya Tshilongo, Sam Nujoma, Hifikepunye Pohamba and Hage Gottfried Geingob just to mention a few, and because of that, we need to remain united as a nation under our principle of One Namibia, One Nation. I assure you that your government remain committed to address these challenges in our life time for the benefit of the current and generations to come.” – musajnr@yahoo.com
