The Kavango West Region has requested four additional constituencies to improve service delivery.
The proposal was handed to the Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission at Nkurenkuru during public consultation.
The Kavango West Region was established during the 4th Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission in 2013, with Nkurenkuru being its capital and only local authority.
Kavango West is 92% rural, with only 8% of its population residing in urban areas.
Currently, the region consists of eight constituencies, and residents are requesting four additional constituencies, which will bring the total to twelve if approved.
"The slow development in the region warrants re-demarcation of its boundaries to speed up development and to bring services closer to communities in remote villages to address poverty. It's against this background that KWRC put together a technical committee of stakeholders with clear terms of reference that went out to all our constituencies, as well as visited our traditional authorities, and compiled a report that will be submitted to the Commission. At the same time, I am encouraging oral or written submissions to the Commission. The region is looking forward to the fact that the commission will consider the submission from the two-day regional consultation meeting positively," explained Sirrka Ausiku, the Regional Governor.
She says the region is faced with challenges such as insufficient development budget allocation, a lack of infrastructure, and a poor cellphone network, to name a few.
Egidius Nambara, the planning director in the Kavango West Region, also contributed to the submission. "The plight of the inhabitants of the Kavango West Region and the need for the creation of additional constituencies supersedes the financial costs that Namibia as a country will incur in the interest of the development of her citizens. Inequality and poverty endanger social harmony, peace, and democracy. The overall views and inputs from all stakeholders consulted and the general public expressed the greatest need and placed emphasis on subdividing a number of constituencies according to the number of eligible voters."
Kavango West Region has a population of 123,266 people.