The Oshikoto Regional Council has budgeted N$46 million towards accelerating infrastructure development and increasing socio-economic activity in the region.
Governor Penda ya Ndakolo revealed this during his State of the Region Address at Omuthiya.
The budget will, among other factors, cater for the provision of potable water and electricity to rural areas and settlements, as well as other growth centres.
To address high unemployment, the region is on a mission to capacitate SMEs, both in urban and rural areas.
In the year under review, a number of settlements were surveyed.
Ndakolo, though, stated that a lot more must be done in terms of sanitation, highlighting that 69% of the region's population has no access to proper ablution facilities.
"I am proud to report that during the year under review, the Oshikoto Regional Council budgeted for 17 areas to be electrified. Among those seven areas, all were fully electrified with medium- and low-voltage networks. The other ten are in progress, and the majority of them are above the 80% progress rate."
Water provision has improved, and 70% of the region's population now has access to potable water.
That still leaves 30% subject to walking long distances to access clean water or risking using water not fit for human consumption.
Namwater has allocated N$107 million for an environmental impact assessment for the replacement of the Ondangwa-Omuste-Gwonime water pipeline as well as for the Oshivelo-Omuste-Gwonime water supply scheme.
An additional N$13 million was used by the Division of Rural Water Supply to drill fire boreholes, while the Council spent N$4.9 million on a 6,000-cubic-metre groundwater reservoir.
"We cannot deny that the region continues to face water scarcity challenges, especially in the deep rural areas where water pressure is low or salty. The region's heat wave has worsened the current dry and arid conditions, putting further strain on the already existing water difficulties."
In terms of education, the Oshikoto Education Directorate spent a total of N$10,7 million on infrastructure development, including the construction of 20 pre-primary schools and additional classrooms.
Crime remains a challenge in the region, with an increase of 10% this year, dominated by 246 cases of stocktheft, 81 cases of rape, and 46 cases of domestic violence.
The region is home to 181,973 inhabitants, of whom the majority, accounting for 87%, live in rural areas.
Its key economic activities lie in the areas of agriculture, tourism, wildlife, trade and industrial development, manufacturing, and mining.