Omaheke Governor, Pijoo Nganate, said Omaheke continues to be the champion in beef production, with emphasis on breeds that capitalise on maximum output of beef.

The governor made these remarks while delivering his second State of the Region Address in Gobabis on Friday.

He said following devastating droughts that peaked in 2019, adversely affecting farmers and leading to the death of livestock, Nganate said the good rainfall season experienced by the region had a positive impact on the rangeland, which he said is currently on the verge of recovery.

“The region is expecting an increase in the livestock numbers with a resultant increase in the off-take as auctions,” said Nganate.

He added that the market remains steady on the high side throughout this year, stating that over 300 000 cattle are expected to pass through auction pens in 2021 alone.

According to the governor, the Directorate of Veterinary Services in Omaheke facilitated 111 auctions during the 2020/2021 financial year, through which a total number of 61 393 livestock was sold.

In addition, Omaheke achieved an estimated 61 per cent overall progress in budget execution for rural development amongst numerous programmes, including rural sanitation, where an amount of N.dollars 1.8 million out of a total amount of N.dollars 2.2 million was used to pay contractors to construct 226 dry toilets in all seven constituencies in the region.

In terms of community development, an amount of N.dollars 3.5 million out of N.dollars 4.8 million was utilised to procure services and goods for different projects within the region, including the renovation of school amenities, rural electrification and household solar installation.

Under the Regional Specific Action Plan, the Omaheke Regional Council received a total amount of N.dollar 261 213 from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to implement projects aimed at increasing food security at household level.

According to Nganate, this amount was divided equally between the Okorukambe and Kalahari constituencies.

Furthermore, a support resources programme aimed to assist poor farmers and under which N.dollar 204 000 was divided between the Epukiro and Otjombinde constituency, was established and under this programme, N.dollars 201 521 was utilised to procure 163 goat-ewes, which benefited nine households.

The region also achieved a 98.7 per cent prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV; standing at 2.27 per cent less than the two per cent target.

Source: Namibia Press Agency