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CHAIRPERSON: The Chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council Damian Maghambayi. Photo Nikanor Nangolo
CHAIRPERSON: The Chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council Damian Maghambayi. Photo Nikanor Nangolo

Regional council calls for more constituencies in Kavango East

Nikanor Nangolo
The Kavango East Regional Council recently submitted a proposal to the fifth Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission to divide the region into two separate entities and create additional constituencies.

The proposed move is aimed at addressing the region's overpopulation and improving access to services.

The proposal includes dividing the existing constituencies into smaller ones: Mukwe into three constituencies, Ndiyona into two, Ndonga Linena into two, Mashare into three and Rundu Urban into eight. This would result in a total of 19 constituencies for the region. And if the Ncuncuni constituency is reintegrated, it would bring the region to a total of 20 constituencies.

Fastest-growing region

In 2013, the Kavango Region was split into two - Kavango East and Kavango West - due to the rapidly growing population and challenges in accessing services.

At a consultative meeting in Rundu last week, Kavango East Regional Council chairperson Damian Maghambayi said census data indicates that Kavango East is among the fastest-growing regions in the country.

“Despite this growth, the region faces significant social, economic and infrastructure development challenges. The proposed demarcation would ensure equitable access to public services and facilitate overall development,” he said.

"It will enable effective participation in democratic processes, bring government services closer to the people through regional and constituency representation and enable timely, coordinated development through consultative regional development plans and strategies. It will also facilitate regional and national development, including the equitable distribution of resources and services.”

Maghambayi tabled a motion to establish more constituencies in the region last year. The motion went through unopposed, and was supported by all councillors.

Better coordination

“The focus is to demarcate some bigger constituencies within the Kavango East into two for better coordination of development activities. During the last boundary delimitation, a new Kavango East Region was established with only six constituencies. This created unfavourable governance conditions for the Kavango East Regional Council to facilitate socioeconomic development,” he said.

“This is because some constituencies like Mukwe, Mashare and Rundu Urban are big and cumbersome for proper planning and the development of the region.”

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

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