Ondangwa scoops top prize

Ondangwa has been crowned the 2019 Namibia Town of the Year in recognition of its efforts to put strategies in place to ensure a cleaner town and a cleaner Namibia.Ondangwa was one of four finalists chosen out of 21 towns that took up the challenge to compete in this year's Town of the Year competition, under the theme A cleaner town, a cleaner Namibia.The competition is an initiative of Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) that aims to promote cleanliness in towns by engaging them to “work towards a cleaner town in Namibia”.Contestants underwent rigorous assessments that looked at the short- and long-term plans in place to implement waste management and recycling programmes and to boost awareness among residents.Oranjemund, last year's winner, as well as Swakopmund and Walvis Bay were runners-up. At the announcement of the winning town on Saturday, at the 2019 Tourism Expo, Maggy Mbako of NMH explained that the winning town is not necessarily the cleanest town, but the prize reflects the passion and plans in place to tackle the challenges they face in terms of handling waste management and promoting a cleaner town. The winning town was chosen based on the assessments carried out (70%), as well as public votes collected through the Town of the Year SMS competition (30%).David Anghuwo, who voted for Ondangwa to help it clinch the top prize, told Namibian Sun his vote was based on the town's vision and commitment towards cleaning up the town as well as creating awareness among residents of the importance of a clean town.“People living in Ondangwa have started to appreciate the importance of hygiene and a clean town. I voted for Ondangwa because I can see the direction it is going, and that development is going very well. The town has a vision.”Loide Shiimi, the cleansing officer within the department of health and safety at the Ondangwa municipality, told Namibian Sun the town has focused on putting in place a strategy to manage waste better. “This helped us win,” she said on Saturday.NMH CEO Albe Botha, who announced the winner, praised the passion Ondangwa showed “to address the challenges they face”.He underlined that that clean towns play a crucial role in ensuring towns become attractive destinations to visit to help promote tourism in the country and a cleaner Namibia overall. As the winning town, Ondangwa will receive advertising and editorial space in NMH publications valued at N$50 000. The town will also receive 30 wheelie bins valued at N$40 000 from the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia.Moreover, the Namibia Tourism Board has invited the town to exhibit alongside them at the 2019 Ongwediva Trade Fair, a spot valued at N$10 000.The runners-up take home advertising and editorial coverage valued at N$25 000. JANA-MARI SMITH

Ondangwa scoops top prize

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-10

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Ondangwa scoops top prize

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-10

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