Ahead of the national elections in November, Popular Democratic Movement President McHenry Venaani says his party is ready to set up a coalition government to govern the country.
Venaani made the remarks at a packed rally at Okakarara.
Venaani described this year's upcoming Presidential and National Assembly Elections as highly contested, urging the youth to vote for young leaders like him to occupy the highest office in the land.
Plans to improve the Otavi Magistrate's Court are on the recommendation cards following a visit by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Capital Projects and Legal Affairs, which found the building not conducive to court sessions.
This was confirmed by committee chairperson Tjekero Tweya during a courtesy call to the Otjozondjupa Governors Office, represented by Regional Council Chairperson Marlene Mbakera.
The Otjozondjupa Regional Police have received three brand new police vehicles from the Road Fund Administration (RFA) for the police stations of Okakarara, Grootfontein, and Otjiwarongo.
One of the vehicles has been mounted with the jaws of life equipment.
It will be temporarily stationed at Farm Sukses, south of Otjiwarongo, to assist until the emergency centre has been set up to cut response time between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja.
The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, has appealed to financial institutions to provide low-income earners with loans to build houses.
Uutoni was speaking at the handover of serviced plots at the MTC Land Delivery Ground-breaking Ceremony at Okakarara.
Although all citizens have the right to decent shelter, the unaffordability of houses for the majority remains a concern.
This has resulted in more than 25% of the population living in shacks, a figure that continues to grow rapidly.
Family, friends, and former colleagues of the late Rikuetjua Tjombonde paid their last respects during his memorial and funeral services.
The nbc's Director General, Stanley Similo, was among the mourners who paid their tribute. Survived by 11 children and his wife, Veziruapi, Tjombonde was described by mourners as having lived a life well lived. He served the nbc for decades, from the time of the SWABC.
In 2009, Tjombonde was appointed manager for the Otjiwarongo contribution centre; the same year, his health became a matter of concern.
Homeowners under the Okakarara Shack Dwellers Federation have been living in unhygienic conditions due to a faulty drainage system.
The town's Chief Executive Officer, Ehrnst Katjiku, says the affected residents will, in the meantime, be provided with a short-term solution.
More than 1,000 Okakarara residents own houses through the Shark Dwellers Federation.
However, since 2019, residents say three of their drainage systems have been faulty, causing sewers to overflow and producing a stench.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, has called on health centres not to allow challenges that require immediate solutions to persist, saying some minor issues do not need to go through the bureaucratic system for approval to be corrected.
Dr. Shangula made these remarks at Omatako Clinic, where he concluded his visits to health facilities in the Otjozondjupa Region.
The team, including the regional health management, visited the health facilities in Okakarara, Grootfontein, Etunda, Otavi, and Kombat.
The challenges of a lack of aging ambulances in the Otjozondjupa Region are finally receiving attention.
The region only has two functioning ambulances out of a fleet of six to transport patients to and from the district hospitals of Okahandja, Otjiwarongo, and Grootfontein.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, acknowledged the shortage of ambulances and gave assurance that the ministry would speed up the process to procure one for Okakarara.
Land grabbers at Okakarara in the Otjozondjupa Region still refuse to vacate the land earmarked for the airport and the construction of houses by the Shack Dwellers Federation.
When the nbc News crew arrived at the site, we found some residents still busy erecting shacks.
Residents say they decided to settle on the piece of land as they did not receive feedback on their applications for land.
A group of farmers from Okakarara Constituency is demanding that the Magistrate's Court stop granting bail to stock theft suspects.
The farmers, under the banner of the Okakarara Residents Association Fighting for Development, claim repeat offenders set free on bail continue with the same criminal activities.
The fed-up farmers held a demonstration on Monday in front of the Okakarara Magistrate's Court, where the spokesperson, Mbimbi Kambaekua, said they are losing livestock to rustlers every other week.
