Aminuis Constituency Councillor Peter Kazongominja says there is a great need to uplift the living standards of the Bakgalagadi community in his constituency.

He said this during a planning session for 2023 with the community at Corridor 21 in the Omaheke Region.

Kazongominja stated that the only way to improve the living standards of the community, with a population of about 3,000, is through livestock farming and income-generating projects.

He also suggested that the Bakgalagadi community be classified as a marginalized group, and submission to this effect will be made to allow them to directly benefit from key programs.

"This community doesn't have livestock; this community survives only from social grants; that is the only source of income. Whether there is a drought or not, these people don't have food on the table. These people have nothing, and our current struggle is to get the central government to recognize this group as a marginalized community to receive government food aid assistance, which will improve their living conditions."

There is also a need for an outreach program in the community to minimize travel costs to access health services.

"One of the things we were thinking about was having a mobile clinic so that they could be visited twice a week and have access to a mobile clinic."

The Chairperson of the Bakgalagadi Traditional Authority, Andreas Kaiser, welcomed the initiative by the councillor, saying his community is lagging behind in terms of development.

"In fact, we had a fruitful meeting with the constituency leader, where we talked about the livelihoods of people facing challenges and what they need, particularly the issue of being considered marginalized."

Kaiser also requested a solar water system for his village to allow the community to engage in crop production.