Prime Minister Saara Kuugogelwa-Amadhila is calling on the leadership of the Otjozondjupa Region to up their game in terms of performance and implement the Performance Management System in their respective offices.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by the top leadership of the region, such as Governor James Uerikua and Regional Chairperson Marlayn Mbakera, visited the Kalkfeld settlement, where only about 100 of its 4000 inhabitants are employed.

A small group of women have started a sewing project and recently added laundry services until the old washing machine they used stopped working.

To assist them in continuing to be productive, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila donated a new washing machine and three ironing boards to the project.

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila also visited the oxidation pond, which is about to overflow, where she applauded the councillors for putting up a boundary wall.

That development followed after at least six minors drowned in the pond.

The visit to the Otjiwarongo state hospital was marked by numerous complaints raised by the hospital superintendent, from the dilapidated state of the hospital building to a lack of space to accommodate patients and a faulty air conditioning system.

The Premier acknowledged that those in leadership have a lot of ground to cover in providing residents with critical services. 

"We need to have performance contracts that are based on performance plans. These contracts must have performance benchmarks and performance targets that must be aspired to, and there must be a review process to assess the progress that they are making and achieve our performance target. Where we find that we have not been able to achieve these targets, we need to understand the reasons and we need to undertake interventions in order to rectify the situation."

She urged the local authority to be mindful of what it wants to achieve and assess its performance based on that.