The Rundu Rural Constituency councillor says that despite various studies revealing that Kavango East is one of the poorest regions, the central government has not done enough to turn the tide. 

Paulus Mbangu was addressing the Minister of Mines and Energy during an engagement with the Kavango East Regional Council. 

According to Mbangu, four income and expenditure surveys were carried out between 1993 and 2014, and they all established that the Kavango regions were the poorest. 

An agricultural census in 1995 and 2005 had the same result.

Rundu Rural Constituency Councillor Paulus Mbangu has denounced the budget allocations to the two Kavango regions this year.

Speaking in the National Council, Mbangu says the two Kavango Regions were identified as 'crisis regions, yet they were provided with few resources.

This Mbangu state hampers the execution of set agendas, particularly to address poverty in the two Kavango Regions.

He also questioned the central government's commitment to addressing poverty when all regions lack sufficient resources.

The Councillor of the Rundu Rural Constituency, Paulus Mbangu, has called on the Office of the Prime Minister to roll out drought relief in the drought-stricken Kavango East Region.

Mbangu says the Office of the Prime Minister only provided drought relief to selected areas such as the Kunene, Omusati, and Erongo regions.

Residents of Uvhungu-Vhungu and Mutengo Mukuru villages now have clean water following the drilling of boreholes in the area.

About a month ago, the nbc News team visited the village, and people were complaining that they had not seen visible development, particularly the provision of water, since independence.

They fetch water from the river at the same spot where they bathe and the cattle drink.

The Councillor of Rundu Rural, Paulus Mbangu, says the drilling of a borehole was delayed by hold-ups in the procurement process.

The Councillor of Berseba Constituency, Jeremias Goeieman, has called on the government to recognize traditional medicines and regulate their use.

Speaking in the National Council, Goeieman argued that traditional medicines are more affordable and accessible than conventional treatments.

He added that traditional medicines have properties that could stabilize hormones and strengthen the immune system.

The Councillor of Rundu Rural Constituency in the Kavango East Region, Paulus Mbangu, has suggested that government implement a basic income grant that will cater to every unemployed Namibian and so combat poverty and unemployment in the country.

In his contribution to the national budget for 2023/24 in the National Council, Mbangu emphasized, that the grant would prove crucial to tackling pressing socio-economic issues.

Lawmakers in the National Council have called for an emergency plan to respond to the impending drought, which they say has already affected many due to a lack of rainfall.

The MPs in the House of Review are currently discussing the 2023–2024 budget, referred to it by the National Assembly.

MPs stressed the urgent need for an emergency plan that would provide immediate relief to communities affected by the drought.

Namibian Police Chief, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo, is in Kavango East Region addressing crime in the country through engagements with the public and business fraternity.

The Inspector General is on the ground to ensure effective policing by NamPol is enhanced.

The Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, says the government is committed to empowering rural communities and helping them diversify their agricultural activities.

Shifeta said this when he handed over a Moringa processing machine to the Likwaterera Community Forest in Kavango East's Rundu Rural Constituency.

The Likwaterera Community Forest is expected to produce moringa from its 10-hectare farm to be processed at the plant.