Kamanjab Constituency Councillor Nikodemus Amutenya says the anticipated road upgrade at the village will bring the much-needed relief to help address youth unemployment at the settlement.
Amutenya expressed this following his first community and stakeholders meeting on the development of the Kamanjab and Khorixas road in the Kunene Region over the weekend.
He said currently, there is little or no economic activity benefiting the youth in the area, adding the imminent road upgrade of the 105-kilometre stretch from gravel to tar will be a lifeline for many.
The project is valued at N$1.3 billion.
“We invited the RCC to turn up to come and highlight the community of Kamanjab about their development and about the process of how the road is going to be and how the people are going to be employed by the RCC, and most of the things they indicate that 105 people will be employed whereby the 19 SMEs will also get the chance, and those are the fully registered SMEs in Kamanjab, so we are thankful for this update, and then we are waiting for these opportunities as Kamanjab residents,” Amuntenya noted.
Also under discussion was the electrification of houses in the village, including water challenges, as boreholes are drying up due to erratic rainfall patterns.
The electrification of houses is also on the cards.
“We had a highlight from Cenored where they indicated there is money reserved for the community of Kamanjab, whereby they indicated that for Ourab phase two they are going to electrify at N$1.2 million, and also we talked about N$600,000 reserved for Extension 2 and new land, whereby the leftover houses will be electrified, and we are also going to look into the issue of street lighting, which they said they will fund the street lights of Kamanjab.”
Another request expressed by community members is for banking institutions to set up offices at the settlement, better shopping centres and a hospital, as most are forced to travel to Opuwo, Outjo or Otjiwarongo for services.
The constituency is home to over 11,000 inhabitants.