Jobless woes bite sleepy Divundu
Young people are wasting away without jobs, while those who are employed say they are unable to sustain their families.
The Divundu community is demanding more job opportunities, with residents currently limited to scrambling for low-paying employment at lodges along the Okavango River or at shebeens and Chinese-owned businesses.
They are calling on investors who are willing to set up industries and absorb the high number of youth on the streets, who are eager to work but lack opportunities.
Divundu, situated strategically along the Okavango River, has a number of well-established four and five star lodges that attract many tourists, because of the beautiful scenery and boat rides. It is also in close proximity to the Bwabwata National Park, which is a few kilometres away. However, residents living near lodges and the significant number of Chinese-owned shops are suffering in terms of making ends meet.
They say any semblance of development is taking place at a snail's pace. They say residents who are employed earn low salaries that cannot sustain their families. On a recent visit to Divundu, Namibian Sun observed few economic activities taking place.
Young people were seated under trees selling food and other snacks, while others were enjoying the cool air.
With no shopping mall, one fuelling service station and a limited amount of ATMs, the community relies on Rundu, which is about 200 kilometres away, when residents have to shop or access other services that are unavailable at Divundu.
Alfred Kakwenga, who was one of those seated under a tree, is a casual worker at one of the lodges. He described life in Divundu as difficult.
“Life is not easy for us here. Most of the people in Divundu and in surrounding communities depend on working at the lodges, because there are no proper job opportunities,” he said.
Apart from teachers, police officers and other government officials employed at the town, the majority of residents seek employment at lodges, Chinese-owned shops or shebeens as casual workers. Kakwenga said although salaries differ, entry level workers earn about N$1 200 a month, while some take home N$2 000.
He said to earn up to N$4 000 per month, one has to work many years and be a supervisor of some kind. Kakwenga said many residents prefer to work at lodges, rather than Chinese-owned shops or shebeens, because they earn peanuts and end up quitting. Kakwenga said not much development has happened at Divundu.
He explained that food prices are high in Divundu, as items are brought in Rundu and then marked up significantly.
“We have no shopping mall, as you can see. We only have one service station. In terms of development of infrastructure, I must say government ministries have tried to open offices here, but in terms of investors coming with projects that will reduce the unemployment rate in the area, not much has happened.”
He called on investors who are willing to set up big projects to come to Divundu to help address unemployment and uplift the village. Making reference to Botswana citizens who frequently visit Divundu, Kakwenga said the buying-power is there and therefore investors should not fear that their investment will not yield profits.
“If an investor comes to Divundu and does research about this place, he or she will not be disappointed, because there are a lot of opportunities,” he said.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, concurred with Kakwenga, saying where one finds people, there will always be opportunities; it just depends on whether one's product or service speaks to the needs of the community.
“In Divundu there are a lot of opportunities, we do not have the capital to start or establish businesses; this is why it will be better if investors come and apply for land and set up big businesses. All we want is to work and feed our children,” the resident said.
Projects in the pipeline
Divundu village council CEO Athanasius Maghumbo said they are a newly proclaimed local authority and have so far been advocating through the media for investors to come and invest.
“So far we have some potential investors who have shown an interest and have thus made applications to the council, which are still under consideration.
“These range from property development, a milling plant, a hospitality establishment and an application to construct a shopping complex.
“The council is also equally affected by the economic downturn and it hampers our efforts in terms of service delivery, in general, and the servicing of land, in particular.
For example, the council is unable to develop new erven due to lack of adequate funding,” he said.
Asked when Divundu would become a town and what progress was being made towards this, Maghumbo said at the moment their efforts are geared towards addressing current pressing issues like housing provision and other services.
“It is my opinion that once the mentioned objectives have been achieved, then it becomes a measure of success and only then can we start contemplating a status change for our (village and) local authority. Of course it is our long-term objective that we achieve town council status someday in the future,” he added.
They are calling on investors who are willing to set up industries and absorb the high number of youth on the streets, who are eager to work but lack opportunities.
Divundu, situated strategically along the Okavango River, has a number of well-established four and five star lodges that attract many tourists, because of the beautiful scenery and boat rides. It is also in close proximity to the Bwabwata National Park, which is a few kilometres away. However, residents living near lodges and the significant number of Chinese-owned shops are suffering in terms of making ends meet.
They say any semblance of development is taking place at a snail's pace. They say residents who are employed earn low salaries that cannot sustain their families. On a recent visit to Divundu, Namibian Sun observed few economic activities taking place.
Young people were seated under trees selling food and other snacks, while others were enjoying the cool air.
With no shopping mall, one fuelling service station and a limited amount of ATMs, the community relies on Rundu, which is about 200 kilometres away, when residents have to shop or access other services that are unavailable at Divundu.
Alfred Kakwenga, who was one of those seated under a tree, is a casual worker at one of the lodges. He described life in Divundu as difficult.
“Life is not easy for us here. Most of the people in Divundu and in surrounding communities depend on working at the lodges, because there are no proper job opportunities,” he said.
Apart from teachers, police officers and other government officials employed at the town, the majority of residents seek employment at lodges, Chinese-owned shops or shebeens as casual workers. Kakwenga said although salaries differ, entry level workers earn about N$1 200 a month, while some take home N$2 000.
He said to earn up to N$4 000 per month, one has to work many years and be a supervisor of some kind. Kakwenga said many residents prefer to work at lodges, rather than Chinese-owned shops or shebeens, because they earn peanuts and end up quitting. Kakwenga said not much development has happened at Divundu.
He explained that food prices are high in Divundu, as items are brought in Rundu and then marked up significantly.
“We have no shopping mall, as you can see. We only have one service station. In terms of development of infrastructure, I must say government ministries have tried to open offices here, but in terms of investors coming with projects that will reduce the unemployment rate in the area, not much has happened.”
He called on investors who are willing to set up big projects to come to Divundu to help address unemployment and uplift the village. Making reference to Botswana citizens who frequently visit Divundu, Kakwenga said the buying-power is there and therefore investors should not fear that their investment will not yield profits.
“If an investor comes to Divundu and does research about this place, he or she will not be disappointed, because there are a lot of opportunities,” he said.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, concurred with Kakwenga, saying where one finds people, there will always be opportunities; it just depends on whether one's product or service speaks to the needs of the community.
“In Divundu there are a lot of opportunities, we do not have the capital to start or establish businesses; this is why it will be better if investors come and apply for land and set up big businesses. All we want is to work and feed our children,” the resident said.
Projects in the pipeline
Divundu village council CEO Athanasius Maghumbo said they are a newly proclaimed local authority and have so far been advocating through the media for investors to come and invest.
“So far we have some potential investors who have shown an interest and have thus made applications to the council, which are still under consideration.
“These range from property development, a milling plant, a hospitality establishment and an application to construct a shopping complex.
“The council is also equally affected by the economic downturn and it hampers our efforts in terms of service delivery, in general, and the servicing of land, in particular.
For example, the council is unable to develop new erven due to lack of adequate funding,” he said.
Asked when Divundu would become a town and what progress was being made towards this, Maghumbo said at the moment their efforts are geared towards addressing current pressing issues like housing provision and other services.
“It is my opinion that once the mentioned objectives have been achieved, then it becomes a measure of success and only then can we start contemplating a status change for our (village and) local authority. Of course it is our long-term objective that we achieve town council status someday in the future,” he added.
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