The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Communication Technology visited the Ongongo tower in the Opuwo rural constituency in the Kunene region as part of their oversight visit to assess infrastructure funded by the government to connect the school and clinic to the Internet.

The tower was commissioned last year under phase one of the Universal Service Fund to connect Ongongo Primary School and Ongongo Clinic to the Internet and give network coverage to Ongongo Village and surrounding villages.

The 60-metre tower, covering a 14-kilometre radius depending on vegetation, provides free Internet to the Ongongo Primary School and clinic for seven years and was constructed at the cost of about two million.

The parliamentarians are happy to see the clinic and the school with nine teachers and 141 learners from pre-grade to grade seven connected, having access to the Internet in a deep remote area.

Parliamentary Standing Committee chairperson Sebastiaan Karupu reiterates, "We are happy that MTC has erected this infrastructure here that is providing free WiFi to the school; teachers are happy, although there are no gadgets for the learners. We also visited the clinic, and they are happy even though the coverage is only within the building."

The school principal at Ongongo Primary, Martin Lilungwe, is grateful, saying access to the Internet has improved their teaching and learning.

"It is now easy for us to prepare for teaching and learning, and secondly, we are attracted to cluster together, and we make use of the facility to explore what is going on in the world through the Internet."

Network availability has also positively contributed to improved health care services.

Karituu Musutua, a resident of Ongongo Village, now has a smartphone that she gives to her children to do their homework and other school work.

"I feel good about the network which was brought closer to us; we are now using our smartphones not for calls only, but we also go on WhatsApp and TikTok to have fun and share the phone with our children to do their schoolwork."