Gibeon set for water, music projects
Gibeon is set to be considered for two development projects, a bottled water production facility and a music school under the University of Namibia (UNAM) as government seeks community input on the proposed initiatives.
Prime Minister Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare late last week engaged residents on the projects, which are still at the initial planning and consultation stage.
Ngurare said the first proposal seeks to tap into the town’s underground water resources through a processing or bottled water facility. “We have spoken, you know it, you have a lot of good underground water here,” Ngurare told residents, adding that he had approached the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF), UNAM and the relevant ministry to establish whether such a project could be developed in Gibeon.
“And they said it is doable. That is project number one,” he said. The second proposal is for a UNAM presence in Gibeon through a school dedicated to music. Ngurare said the institution could be named the Hendrik Witbooi School of Music or Campus of Music, in recognition of the late Reverend Hendrik Witbooi, whom he described as a musician, freedom fighter and former SWAPO vice-president.
“All of you know the late Reverend Doctor Hendrik Witbooi was a musician and he was also a freedom fighter,” Ngurare said. He said discussions around establishing a UNAM presence in Gibeon had been ongoing, with the proposed music school forming part of those considerations. However, the Office of the Prime Minister’s public relations officer, Maxmus N Halwoodi, stressed that the initiatives remain at an early stage.
“At the moment, all these initiatives are still at the initial planning and consultation stage. They form part of the Government’s broader development plans and efforts towards the realisation of NDP6,” Halwoodi said.
He said government was also exploring value-addition opportunities in other regions, including a proposed mango processing plant in Katima Mulilo, where UNAM has already developed a prototype mango juice.
“Similarly, the Government is looking at ways to add value to the water from the fountain in Gibeon,” Halwoodi said.
He added that a similar approach would be applied elsewhere in the country, depending on available resources and the economic potential of individual regions.
