Oshana makes massive headway in fight against GBV

Sakaria’s ‘tireless efforts’ applauded
Irimari said the decrease in serious crime was the result of a number of proactive measures put in place by the police.
Tuyeimo Haidula
The Oshana Region has recorded a decrease of at least 52% in gender-based violence (GBV) crimes, recording only 328 cases compared to 636 in the past financial year.

This was revealed by governor Elia Irimari over the weekend during his state of the region address, during which he applauded the police regional commander Naftal Lungameni Sakaria for working “tirelessly” with his team to fight crime in the region.

Irimari said the decrease in serious crime was the result of a number of proactive measures put in place by the police administration. “It is worth noting that there was a slight decrease of the general trend in crime of 0.74% - from 12 576 cases reported during the 2022/23 financial year to 12 484 cases in the 2023/24 financial year,” he said.

He noted that although crimes like robbery and theft under false pretences have escalated during the year under review, he is proud that the men and women in uniform have been equally up to the task of apprehending criminals with the assistance of the community.



Low-cost housing options

Meanwhile, Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa continue to battle with illegal land grabbing and fencing.

Irimari said the Ondangwa Town Council has a mandate to spearhead the town’s development, with N$170.5 million as a total approved budget. The large majority - a massive 98% - of this budget comes from the council’s own resources, and only 2% comes from the government, he noted.

“About 80 houses have been constructed during the 2022/23 financial year and 24 of these houses have been constructed by Namibia Housing Enterprises (NHE),” he said.

Irimari added that the regional leadership will extensively engage banking institutions to allow for alternative building materials in order to achieve low-cost housing options for low-income earners.

“In order to address the housing backlog, we need to create favourable conditions for our people in order for them to be able to qualify for financial support from banking institutions. This could mean reducing interest rates or allowing the people to build at their own pace with their building materials,” he said.



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Namibian Sun 2024-11-21

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