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Africa News afrol News
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Africa News afrol News
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afrol.com, 8 November - While the Government has embarked on comprehensive projects to raise living standards and economic activity in the provinces, the gains are jeopardized by Namibia's engagement in the wars in Angola and Congo Kinshasa (DRC). Speaking to Traditional Leaders on Tribal Disputes at a conference in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, on 6 November, President Nujoma warned against the dangers of the intrusion into Namibian territory by Angolan UNITA rebels and the tendencies of fragmentation caused by "some misguided secessionist elements" wanting independence for the Caprivi region. Namibia has invested significantly in its rural areas, also the northern provinces worst hit by UNITA rebels/terrorists. President Nujoma boasted that the completion of the TransCaprivi and TransKalahari highways, which form important routes between the Walvis Bay harbour and Namibia’s landlocked neighbours such as Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe; and the deepening of the ports of Walvis Bay and Luderitz, would benefit all regions and villages along the Corridors though job creation and other positive economic spin-offs.
- The Government, President Nujoma said, "has also embarked on a massive rural electrification programme since independence to boost economic activities in all 13 regions of the country. The Government has furthermore been improving the water supply services to more than 300 000 Namibians by developing boreholes and creating fixed water points." President Nujoma admitted that the Government’s commitment to improve the standards of living of all the Namibian people was being disturbed by conflict in Congo Kinshasa (DRC), and the civil war in neighbouring Angola. "We all know that without peace there can be no economic development," he said. - The Government of the Republic of Namibia is doing all it can to protect its citizens from these UNITA bandits. It is through cooperation that we can UNITA criminals, the Namibian President told. He did, however, not mention whether Namibia would stop letting Angolan Government forces use Namibian territory as a base for their operations against UNITA, seen as the main cause for UNITA's sudden operations within Namibia. Social conditions have severely deteriorated in rural areas close to the country's 1,376 km long border with Angola. Landmines have been placed in great numbers, reportedly by both Angolan rebels and Government Forces, already causing several deaths and mutilations. Landmines also keep villagers from cultivating or herding, severely curbing economic activities. The majority of people in these region depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. As there have been many attacks on Namibian villages, mostly by night, there are reports that people in some areas do not dare to sleep in their houses, but collectively sleep in open air to hide from the bandits. Robbery of livestock and other resources has also turned frequent, as have abductions. The Namibian Government has strengthened its military presence in the region to protect its citizens. However, UNITA rebels, trained by decades of civil war in Angola, operate at night and little enemy contact has been made. Namibia further used significant resources in its engagement in the DRC, allied with Congolese President Kabila. Meanwhile, the border between Namibia and Angola in the Kavango region remains closed. Several abductions of Namibians crossing the border by Angolan Government Forces and rebels have been reported lately. President Sam Nujoma officially closed the border between the two countries in 1994.
Sources: Based on Namibian Government sources
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