The Director General of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has called on all town councils to establish implementable agreements with the broadcaster to strengthen collaboration and benchmarking.

Menesia Muinjo made the remarks during a visit by the Outapi Town Council management, where they outlined development in the town and reaffirmed continued partnership.

Muinjo asserts that these partnerships enable the broadcaster to effectively communicate the stories of each town to the nation.

Muinjo emphasised that collaboration and partnerships are essential for the NBC to fulfil its mandate of informing, educating, and entertaining the nation.

"I will invite all other town councils to sign MOUs and implementable agreements so we can share their stories with the rest of Namibia. And also to appreciate and learn from one another what the other town council is doing."

Muinjo also highlighted the five regions that will have dedicated news teams by the end of May.

This includes the Omusati, Hardap, Ohangwena, Kunene and Oshikoto regions.

She remarked that these regions have received insufficient coverage in terms of news reporting. "I think before the end of May, or towards the end of May, our teams must be in the regions. We do not have all the resources yet, but we believe that with the little that we have, we can already start. And we are saying we're going to use smartphones, so if you see our teams using smartphones and not those big cameras, these phones are the cameras of nowadays, so they can still do the goods, and we should be able to tell the story as it is."

The Outapi Town Council has donated land to the NBC to build an office. Mayor Victorina Neingo said, "Outapi Town Council will donate a flat to NBC for free. Since Outapi is the capital town of the Omusati Region, having the office located there will allow the team to easily reach Ruacana, Onesi, Okahao and Anamulenge."

The Chief Executive Officer of Outapi Town Council, Nashilongo Ananias, emphasised the important role the NBC plays in information dissemination.

"We really find it difficult whenever we have, you know, positive things on our site, which need to be broadcast to inform the nation what is happening here, more specifically in Outapi and Omusati. Why do I mention Outapi and Omusati? Whenever I am with the governor, he also finds it difficult to get someone to cover the events happening there."

The two entities agreed to renew their partnership, with a particular focus on the Olufuko Cultural Festival, which will be held in August; the Win-a-Plot initiative; and cooperation across various other areas.