The people of the Kunene region gathered in solemn remembrance as they paid befitting tributes to the late President Hage Geingob during their regional memorial service held in Opuwo.

The atmosphere was filled with soothing hymns, poetry, and traditional mourning practices.

The Ombimbi cultural group led the procession in Dr. Geingob's honour.

Emotional scenes played out at Opuwo, as replications of cultural rituals of mourning practices by the Ovahimba and Ovaherero communities came to the fore in paying tribute to Dr. Geingob.

The Opuwo Urban Constituency Councillor, Ueutjerevi Ngunaihe, has expressed dissatisfaction over the criteria set for the Youth for Green Hydrogen Scholarship programme. Ngunaihe, who was speaking at the information sharing session conducted by the Southern Africa Science Services Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) in Opuwo, stated that the set standards' disadvantage marginalised residents of the Kunene Region.

Opuwo Mayor Rosa Mbinge Tjeundo has commended the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) management for opening a satellite office at Opuwo.

Tjeundo, who was speaking at a stakeholder consultation, said residents have been relieved of travel costs to acquire services.

Previously, NamRA only had an office in Khorixas, which was closer to the residents who resided in the southern part of Kunene Region, while those in the north used to travel to Oshakati, which was a costly exercise for them.

About 601 learners have enrolled from various schools in Opuwo at the new Otuzemba Primary School.

At present, the school has 16 teachers.

The school, which opened its gates at the beginning of this term, is expected to cater for learners from the surrounding locations and villages.

Otuzemba Primary School was necessitated by the huge number of learners from villages such as Okondaunue, Orutjandja, Otuzemba and Onduunje who travelled long distances to attend school at Kameru Primary School.

A roundtable discussion under the theme "creation of a lucrative livestock market for farmers in the communal areas" was held at Opuwo in the Kunene Region.

The meeting, which was organised by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, was attended by communal farmers from the region to discuss how they can acquire a reliable livestock marker for their animals to derive income from their livestock.

Kunene is one of the vast regions in Namibia, and for the past seven to eleven years, the region has failed to get sufficient rainfall.

33 years after independence, the Kunene Region remains one of the most underdeveloped regions in the country, and its administrative leadership says it is doing all it can with the available resources to change the dire status quo.

Scores of people wandering the dusty streets of the Kunene regional capital, Opuwo, paint the picture of a public holiday, but it remains a normal working day.

The town of Opuwo has many government offices, though few private firms are visible, and residents wandering the streets are predominantly unemployed.

Rufus Sheehama, station manager at Kunene Community Radio, says the station is swamped with addressing social and economic development challenges faced by the community around Opuwo.

He says that on a daily basis, the talk radio station receives complaints from community members about a lack of services such as water and mobile network coverage.

The Bank of Namibia on Monday launched and activated the modified N$20 banknote at Opuwo.

The modified N$20 note contains the signature of the current central bank governor, Johannes !Gawaxab. The N$20 and N$200 notes were last reprinted in 2018.

!Gawaxab said this at the launch that was held in Opuwo to promote financial inclusion. 

Ali Dharani of the Rani Group of Companies says donations should not be made in anticipation of favours but to plough back into communities.

Dharani made the remarks at the donation of 700 wheelchairs to the governor's office at Opuwo.

The 700 wheelchairs, worth N$2.5 million, will be distributed to all regions to aid those who are bedridden and in dire need of the wheelchairs. 

Last year, the Rani Group of Companies donated 350 wheelchairs.

One of Namibia's liberation icons, the late Viongeka Uazohini Tjisuta, was buried near Ongongo Village in the Opuwo Rural Constituency, Kunene Region.  

Tjisuta died aged 74.

Tjisuta was one of the country's liberation stalwarts who remained inside the country and contributed immensely to Namibia's liberation struggle. During the bitter apartheid era, Tjisuta was an active member of PLAN combatants.

In the 1980s, he sustained injuries during a skirmish with enemy forces in the Kombat area, where he was also captured and arrested.