The Erongo Region's governor has emphasised the need for decisive action to address the ongoing challenges affecting the nation, stating that the majority of issues raised since independence have yet to be adequately resolved.
Speaking at the Capacity Building Workshop with Stakeholders for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Natalia |Goagoses called for tangible measures rather than continued discussions.
|Goagoses stressed the importance of good governance and criticised the frequent use of public funds on workshops, arguing that such resources could be better utilised to uplift communities through infrastructure development, such as the construction of housing.
She called on the regional leadership to extend their outreach beyond Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, encouraging them to hold events in other parts of the region to ensure inclusive engagement with all communities.
"Refuse also to call this region a region of excellence, where I am told there is a 32% unemployment rate. The region that has all the natural resources, the region that provides most of the GDP to the country, has a 32% unemployment rate. I have to figure out Where are these people? 32% of what? Where are they in the different consequences? Youth unemployment is 32% in the Erongo Region. I need to figure out what the issues are. Where can I put them into the different sectors?
|Goagoses highlighted the underutilisation of the region's natural resources, urging government intervention to ensure the assets are fully leveraged for the benefit of the nation.
She proposed that fishing quotas be allocated directly to communities as a strategy to enhance self-sufficiency and economic empowerment.
Addressing concerns over governance practice, she voiced a strong position against informal or backdoor meetings that could foster corruption.
"Like I said, sometimes you hear things happening if a national community comes and talks to a mayor of a town about huge, massive projects sent by the central government, and the government is not aware we need to limit this type of uncoordinated development. It is not serving as well. It's not a curse to have oil and gas. These are God-given resources to all of us. We need to coordinate well to avoid small, small evening meetings to do a transparent job to inform the nation that this is coming from the central government in the Erongo Region. We are ready, and so everybody is included in those serious discussions."
She stressed that social responsibility initiatives must go beyond superficial acts such as food parcel donations, insisting they should have a lasting impact on communities.