Erongo Governor Neville Andre said that the current state of the economy will have a negative impact on regional electricity distributors in the region.

During his State of the Region Address, André said the global energy landscape is undergoing a significant transition, with renewable energy sources driving a plateau in energy demand by 2030.

Despite these challenges, an electricity distributor such as Erongo RED aims to electrify four rural areas in the region during the current financial year.

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, says contractors who delay national projects must be blacklisted because they fail to honour their obligations with the government.

Despite receiving payment from the government, 319 houses under the mass housing programme at Matutura were not completed because of payment disputes between the main contractor and subcontractors.

The demand for health care services is growing in the Erongo Region due to an ageing population, staff shortages, and an underdeveloped healthcare system.

During his State of the Region Address, Neville Andre says there is an aggravated lack of proper mental healthcare facilities and congested clinics and health centres both in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund districts due to urban migration.
 
Andre said the clinics were not built to accommodate a high number of patients.

The expecting mothers at Otjimbingwe no longer have to travel long distances to Usakos to deliver.

This follows a donation of equipment worth about seven hundred thousand dollars courtesy of Lipidico Chemicals Namibia.

Ojtimbingwe Clinic has been without enough space for emergency deliveries, and patients have travelled to Usakos, 90 kilometres away.

The Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ben Nangombe, said transporting patients for emergencies was challenging and posed a risk to patients.

Erongo Governor Neville Andre has emphasised the need for African countries to strive for economic independence.

Andre said this during the Africa Day commemoration with senior citizens at Walvis Bay.

Africa Day is an occasion to commemorate and honour the achievements of the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union, since its establishment in 1963.

Erongo Governor, Neville Andre has urged men countrywide to reach out for support with mental health issues.

Andre addressed the 2nd Edition of the Namibia National Men's Conference, held at Swakopmund under the theme ''Stop suffering in silence and speak out for a solution''.

Andre says events of this nature are significant as they provide a platform for pertinent issues, such as gender-based violence, suicide, and mental health, to be engaged and deliberated on, equipping men in society with vitally important information.

The Erongo Governor Neville Andre has urged Namibians to be financially educated to avoid falling prey to scammers.

Andre said this during the launch of the first-of-its-kind campaign by the Namibian Deposit Guarantee Authority at Swakopmund.

Andre says during the COVID-19 pandemic, criminals adapted their methods to exploit victims' fears over the coronavirus and are now finding new avenues of attack in the high cost of living crisis.

Close to 700 unemployed fishermen at Walvis Bay have secured permanent and full-time jobs at four fishing companies.

This follows an agreement signed by the Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister with the companies recently.

The fishermen were part of the mass resignations witnessed at Walvis Bay in August last year.

Over 600 resigned because they were not happy with being paid the N$4,000 monthly allowance while they had no active jobs.

Uis community members have alleged that a Chinese Mining company, Xinfeng, and several others are mining Lithium while their licenses were approved to mine semi-precious stones in the Daures Constituency of the Erongo Region. 

The Community Spokesperson Jimmy ||Araseb has requested the Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo to revoke the mining licenses of all operators who are suspected of dodgy dealings.

The Erongo Governor says agriculture is one of Namibia's most important sectors, with around 70 percent of the country's population depending directly or indirectly on it for income and livelihood.

Neville Andre highlighted this during the handing over ceremony of 1 037 gardening tools, wheelchairs, and swinging machines to SMEs at Swakopmund.