regional development profile for the kavango east …

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFILE FOR THE

KAVANGO EAST REGION

DECEMBER 2015

Final Report

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FOREWORD BY THE HONOURABLE GOVERNOR

The need to understand the current status of Development in the Kavango East Region

has prompted us to formulate a Regional Development Profile to provide factual

information on the state of development in the region across all sectors. The division of the

former Kavango Region into East and West further enhanced the need for a Regional

Development Profile specifically targeting the Kavango East Region.

The profile serves as lead on potential programmes and projects that need to be

implemented in the region. It is a tool that the public and private sectors should use as a

guide towards achieving regional development and socio-economic growth. It should be

used in conjunction with the Local Economic Development Strategy for the Kavango

Region as well as with the Kavango Integrated Regional Land Use Plan.

Information contained in the Kavango East Regional Development Profile is up-to-date

and has been sourced from existing publications and from the regional stakeholders. As a

result, it provides a clear reflection of the state of development in the region as well as

outlining the regional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is imperative that

both the public and private sectors acquaint themselves with the regional comparative

advantages to determine how they can contribute towards the social and economic

development of the Kavango East Region.

The regional development profile fully documents regional socio-economic development

challenges which provide factual information to political and public office bearers to

present their cases to the central government for budget allocation. It also provides

information to the private sector, NGOs, development partners and religious organisations

to determine how they could best contribute to achieve a higher rate of economic

growth and improved standard of living, economic self-reliance, social justice and

modernisation of the regional economy.

The Kavango East Regional Development Profile serves as an interface and creates inter-

linkage between the national policies and regional development. Therefore, I would like

to emphasise that the Kavango East Regional Development Profile serves as a guide to

support different sectors in identifying programmes and projects as per the needs of the

region.

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The Kavango East Region has numerous potentials, mainly in agriculture, manufacturing,

tourism services and the construction sector. By immediately focusing on these sectors, the

socio-economic wellbeing of the region and its people could be changed for the better.

It is then against this background that I would like to say that the Kavango East Regional

Development Profile should serve as both a reference and source document when it

comes to spatial planning, development planning and implementation of developmental

projects in various sectors so as to improve the well-being of all inhabitants and

subsequently, contribute to the national development for a prosperous Namibia.

___________________________________________

Dr. Samuel Mbambo

Honourable Governor: Kavango East Region

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TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF FIGURES viii

LIST OF TABLES x

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xxvii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxviii

1 INTRODUCTION TO THE REGION 1

1.1 BACKGROUND 1

1.1.1 LOCALITY AND SIZE 3

1.1.2 POPULATION 4

1.2 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 5

1.2.1 RAINFALL AND CLIMATE 6

1.2.2 SOIL TYPES 7

1.2.3 VEGETATION 10

1.2.4 TERRESTRIAL DIVERSITY 11

1.2.5 SURFACE AND GROUND WATER RESOURCES 13

1.3 GOVERNANCE AND PLANNING STRUCTURE 15

1.3.1 MANDATE OF THE REGIONAL COUNCIL 15

1.3.2 REGIONAL COUNCILLORS 15

1.3.3 REGIONAL MANAGEMENT 15

1.3.4 PLANNING STRUCTURE 16

1.4 VISION OF THE REGION 18

1.5 METHODOLOGY 18

2 KEY STATISTICS 20

2.1 POPULATION 20

2.1.1 POPULATION GROWTH 20

2.1.2 POPULATION SIZE AND DENSITY 21

2.1.3 AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION 22

2.1.4 HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND SEX OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD 24

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2.2 EMPLOYMENT, INCOME AND POVERTY 25

2.2.1 LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION 25

2.2.2 EMPLOYMENT RATES 26

2.2.3 STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT 27

2.2.4 HOUSEHOLD INCOME 28

2.3 HOUSING CONDITIONS 30

2.4 ACCESS TO EDUCATION 32

2.4.1 EDUCATION FACILITIES 32

2.4.2 LITERACY 33

2.4.3 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT 35

2.4.4 SCHOOL ENROLMENT 35

2.4.5 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT 36

2.5 PROTECTED AREAS: NATIONAL PARKS, COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES AND COMMUNITY FORESTS 37

2.5.1 NATIONAL PARKS 38

2.5.1.1 Bwabwata National Park 38

2.5.1.2 Khaudum National Park 39

2.5.1.3 Popa Game Park 39

2.5.2 COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES 39

2.5.3 COMMUNITY FORESTS 41

2.6 STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT 42

2.6.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 42

2.6.2 ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN 43

3 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL AREAS 45

3.1 ECONOMIC SECTOR 45

3.1.1 AGRICULTURE 46

3.1.1.1 Green Schemes 46

3.1.1.2 Small Scale Commercial Farms and Subsistence Farming 48

3.1.1.3 Horticulture 49

3.1.1.4 Livestock Farming 50

3.1.1.5 Indigenous Fruit and Vegetables 50

3.1.2 TOURISM AND WILDLIFE 51

3.1.2.1 Business and Trade Tourists 51

3.1.2.2 Leisure Tourists 54

3.1.2.3 Bwabwata National Park 54

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3.1.2.4 Khaudum National Park 55

3.1.2.5 Popa Falls Game Park 55

3.1.2.6 Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) 56

3.1.2.7 Khaudum North Complex 56

3.1.2.8 Bwabwata-Okavango Ramsar Site. 56

3.1.3 TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 57

3.1.4 FORESTRY 58

3.1.5 MINING 60

3.1.6 FISHERIES AND MARINE RESOURCES 62

3.1.7 MANUFACTURING 63

3.2 SOCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT 64

3.2.1 HOUSING 64

3.2.2 HEALTH 65

3.2.2.1 Health Facilities 65

3.2.2.2 HIV Prevalence Rates 67

3.2.3 WATER AND SANITATION 69

3.2.4 RURAL DEVELOPMENT 71

3.2.4.1 Cash/Food for Work Projects 71

3.2.4.2 Income Generating Projects 72

3.2.4.3 Rural Employment Scheme 72

3.2.4.4 Food Security and Nutrition 73

3.2.4.5 One Region One Initiative 73

3.2.5 LAND AND RESETTLEMENT 75

3.2.6 SOCIAL WELFARE/POVERTY 75

3.2.7 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 78

3.2.7.1 Small Grant Fund 79

3.2.7.2 Woman and Youth Cleaning Programme 79

3.2.8 EDUCATION AND TRAINING 79

3.2.9 LAW AND JUSTICE 80

3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE 81

3.3.1 TRANSPORT 81

3.3.1.1 Road Network 81

External Transport Links 82

Regional Transport 83

Urban Transport 83

Future Road Infrastructure 83

3.3.1.2 Air 83

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3.3.1.3 Rail 84

3.3.1.4 Water 84

3.3.2 ENERGY 84

3.3.3 WATER, SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE 86

3.3.4 TELECOMMUNICATION 91

3.4 INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES SECTOR 93

3.4.1 FINANCIAL SERVICES 93

3.4.2 SOCIAL SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS 93

4 REGIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 95

4.1 THE CONSTITUENCIES 95

4.2 Rundu Urban 95

4.2.1 INTRODUCTION 95

4.2.2 SIZE, LOCATION AND POPULATION 96

4.2.3 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES 96

4.2.4 INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOCIAL SERVICES 97

4.2.5 POTENTIAL AREAS OF INVESTMENT 98

4.3 Rundu Rural 98






4.4 Mashare 100






4.5 Ndonga Linena 103





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4.6 Ndiyona 105






4.7 Mukwe 108






5 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 111

5.1 AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 111

5.2 MINING POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 113

5.3 MANUFACTURING POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 113

5.4 RETAIL AND WHOLESALE POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 113

5.5 SERVICES SECTOR POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 114

5.6 TOURISM POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 114

5.7 HUMAN RESOURCE POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES 115

5.8 PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE 115

5.9 RUNDU 116

5.10 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 116

5.11 CONCLUSION 117

WORKS CITED 119

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Locality of Kavango East Region ..................................................................................... 3

Figure 2: Kavango East Population Distribution, 2014 ................................................................... 4

Figure 3: Mean Annual Rainfall ........................................................................................................ 6

Figure 4: Kavango East Minimum and Maximum Temperatures ................................................ 7

Figure 5: Kavango East Soil Types .................................................................................................... 8

Figure 6: Kavango East Areas of Agricultural Potential ................................................................ 9

Figure 7: Kavango East Vegetation .............................................................................................. 10

Figure 8: Kavango East Terrestrial Diversity ................................................................................... 12

Figure 9: Flow Diagram of the National Development Planning Process ................................ 17

Figure 10: Approximate Kavango East Region Population Growth 2001-2011 (Old

delineation) ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Figure 11: Kavango East Population Pyramid, 2011 .................................................................... 22

Figure 12: Kavango East Percent of Female-headed Households, 2001-2011 ....................... 24

Figure 13: Kavango East Average Household Sizes, 2001-2011 ................................................ 25

Figure 14: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 15+ Participating in the Labour

Force, 2011 ....................................................................................................................................... 25

Figure 15: Kavango East Percent of Unemployed Population aged 15+, 2001-2011 ............ 27

Figure 16: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Households by Main source of income,

2011.................................................................................................................................................... 29

Figure 17: Kavango East Access to Schools ................................................................................. 32

Figure 18: Kavango East Literacy Rates, 2011 ............................................................................. 34

Figure 19: Kavango East Percent Change in Literacy Rates, 2001-2011 ................................. 34

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Figure 20: Kavango East Protected Areas, Communal Conservancies and Community

Forests ................................................................................................................................................ 38

Figure 21: Kavango East Community Conservancies ................................................................ 40

Figure 22: Kavango East Community Forests ............................................................................... 42

Figure 23: Kavango East Percent Employed Population by Main Sector, 2011...................... 45

Figure 24: Kavango East Green Schemes .................................................................................... 48

Figure 25: Kavango East Small-Scale Commercial Farms .......................................................... 49

Figure 26: Kavango East Tourism Facilities .................................................................................... 53

Figure 27: Kavango East Mining Exploration Licences ............................................................... 62

Figure 28: Kavango East Region Access to Health Facilities ..................................................... 68

Figure 29: Kavango East Percent Changes in HIV Prevalence Rates: 1994-2012 ................... 69

Figure 30: Kavango East Percent Household Access to Services, 2011 ................................... 70

Figure 31: Kavango East Police Stations ....................................................................................... 81

Figure 32: Kavango East Road Network ....................................................................................... 82

Figure 33: Kavango East Electricity Network and Proposed Electrification Localities ........... 85

Figure 34: Kavango East Water Provision ..................................................................................... 89

Figure 35: Kavango East MTC Coverage ..................................................................................... 92

Figure 36: Locality of Constituencies ............................................................................................. 95

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Kavango East Region Demographic Statistics, 2011 ................................................... 22

Table 2: Kavango Region Distribution of Age Groups, 2001 and 2011 (Old delineation) ..... 23

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Table 3: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 15+ Participating in the Labour Force,

2001-2011 (Old delineation) ........................................................................................................... 26

Table 4: Kavango East Percent of Unemployed Population aged 15+, 2001-2011 (Old

delineation) ...................................................................................................................................... 27

Table 5: Kavango East Percent of Population aged 15+ by Employment Status, 2011 ........ 28

Table 6: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Household Income, 2001 and 2011 (Old

delineation) ...................................................................................................................................... 30

Table 7: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Households by Type of Housing Unit, 2011 ... 31

Table 8: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Households by Main Material Used for Walls,

2011.................................................................................................................................................... 31

Table 9: Education Indicators and Trends .................................................................................... 33

Table 10: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 0-4 by Early Childhood Development

Attendance, 2011 ............................................................................................................................ 35

Table 11: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 5-24 by School Enrolment, 2011 ........ 36

Table 12: Kavango East Percent of Population by Change in School Enrolment Rates, 2001-

2011.................................................................................................................................................... 36

Table 13 : Kavango Region Percent of Population aged 15+ who left school by Highest

Level of Educational Attainment, 2001 and 2011 ....................................................................... 37

Table 14: Kavango East Community Forests ................................................................................ 58

Table 15: Kavango East Percent Household Access to Services, 2001-2011 (Old delineation)

............................................................................................................................................................ 71

Table 16: Kavango East Cash/Work for Food Projects, 2010-2014 ............................................ 71

Table 17: Kavango East Income Generating Projects, 2009-2014 ............................................ 72

Table 18: Kavango East Rural Employment Schemes, 2012-2014 ............................................. 73

Table 19: Kavango East Food Security Projects, 2012-2014 ....................................................... 73

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Table 20: Kavango East One Region One Initiative Projects, 2012-2014 ................................. 73

Table 21: Changes in Poverty and Extreme Poverty in Namibia and the Kavango Region,

1993/4-2009/10 ................................................................................................................................. 77

Table 22: NHIES Poverty lines, 2003/4 and 2009/10 ..................................................................... 77

Table 23: Gini Coefficients for Namibia and the Kavango Region, 1993-2004 ...................... 78

Table 24: Education Indicators and Trends .................................................................................. 79

Table 25: Kavango East - Households by Main Source of Energy, 2011 .................................. 85

Table 26: Kavango East Electrification Priorities .......................................................................... 86

Table 27: Kavango East Percent Households by Access to Safe Drinking Water, 2011 ........ 87

Table 28: Kavango East Percent Households by Type of Toilet Facility, 2011 ......................... 90

Table 29: Kavango East Percent Households by Type of Garbage Disposal, 2011 ............... 91

Table 30: Kavango Region (old delineation) Percent Population with Access to ICT, 2011 92

Table 31: Kavango East HIV/AIDS Support Organisations .......................................................... 94

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

The objectives of the Kavango East Regional Development Profile are to comprehensively

describe the social, economic, infrastructural and institutional environments prevailing in

the Region, to highlight the competitive advantages, to identify challenges and limitations

and highlight opportunities to guide development in the Region.

In preparing the Regional Development Profile, existing information was used and it made

extensive use of the information contained in the national and regional census

documents, the Kavango Integrated Regional Land Use Plan and the Local Economic

Development Strategy for the former Kavango Region.

The Kavango East Region stretches from just west of Rundu up to the eastern boundary of

the former Kavango Region. The Region covers an area of 23 983.2 km2 and constitutes

about 2.9% of Namibia’s extent. The region is bordered by the Kavango River and Angola

to the north, the Zambezi Region and Botswana to the east, the Kavango West Region to

the west and the Otjozondjupa Region to the south. There are 6 Constituencies in the

Kavango East Region: Rundu Urban, Rundu Rural, Mashare, Ndonga Linena, Ndiyona and

Mukwe. Rundu is the capital of the Region.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Kavango East Region generally receives more rainfall than the rest of the country,

except for Zambezi. The highest rainfall usually occurs in the summer months with the

periods of highest rainfall normally in January and February. Temperatures are mild but

some frost occurs close to the Kavango River. Soils are generally sandy with low nutrient

levels with more fertile soils occurring along a thin strip next to the Kavango River.

Agricultural potential in the region is therefore generally low except for the floodplains and

soils close to the river.

Vegetation in the region is fairly homogenous Kalahari Woodland comprising broad-

leafed deciduous forests that vary according to topography and soil quality. Another

important plant area is the Kavango River Valley, which is important wetland system with

some endemic and near endemic plant species as well as a number of critically

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endangered species of ground orchids. Deforestation in the woodlands as well as on the

banks of the river is a challenge.

Terrestrial diversity is high with a number of core wildlife areas, national parks and the river

accommodating an impressive range of fish and wildlife. The most conspicuous and

important feature in the region is the perennial Kavango River which is the main source of

life in the region.

THE POPULATION AND ITS RESOURCES.

The table below provides a summary of key statistics at a glance.

Indicator Kavango East Namibia

Population

Population size

Total 136,823

Females 72,936

Males 63,887

Total 2,113,077

Females 1,091,165

Males 1,021,912

Pop. Size as a % of National Pop. 6.47%

Annual Growth Rate 0.7% 1.4%

Urban n/a 43.0%

Rural n/a 57.0%

Sex Ratio: Males per 100 Females 87.6 94.0

Area in sq. km 23,983 824,116

Pop. Density (persons / km2) 5.7 2.1

Area of region as % of Namibia 2.9%

Age Composition

<5 Years 15% 14%

5 - 14 Years 26% 23%

15 - 59 Years 52% 57%

60 Years & Above 7% 7%

Main language spoken at home Kavango languages

91%

Climate & Rainfall

Mean max temp in summer 32°-36°C

Mean minimum in winter 4o-6°C

Mean annual rainfall 450- 600mm

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Rainfall in Nov-April 80%

Average Growing Period 61-90 days

Household and Housing Characteristics

Total No. of Private Households 30,467 464,839

Average Household size 5.8 persons 4.4 persons

Household Headship

Female 44.6% 44%

Male 55.4% 56%

Literacy and Education

Literacy Rate 81% 85%

Enrolment rates among 5 - 24 year olds

Boys

64.6

Girls

59.7

Boys

62.4

Girls

64

Learner-teacher ratio 27.2 24.8

Labour Force & Economic Conditions

Labour force participation rate (2011) Male:

63%

Female:

65%

Male:

67%

Female:

61%

Unemployed (2011) Male:

47%

Female:

59%

Male:

30%

Female:

43%

Main Sources of Income:

Farming 33% 16%

Wages & Salaries 29% 48%

Cash Remittance 7% 5%

Business, non-farming 14% 12%

Pensions 12% 15%

Poverty Indicators (Former Kavango Region)

Severely poor (2009/2010) 24 % of h/h 9.6% of h/h

Poor 43.4 % of h/h 19.5% of h/h

Ave. annual income per capita N$5,682 N$14,559

Poverty Share of total national poverty 22.4%

Access to services (Former Kavango Region)

Households with access to health

service within 10 km (2009/10) 82.6% 78.9%

Proportion of households walking ›1km

to safe water source (2009/10) 24% 10.9%

Proportion of households without a

safe toilet facility 75% 49%

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The Kavango East Region has three National Parks that fall under the jurisdiction of the

Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET): the Bwabwata National Park (including the

Ramsar Site), the Khaudum National Park and the Popa Game Park. The parks are a

major focal point for tourism in the region.

There are currently four registered Communal Conservancies in the Region and two

emerging conservancies that are in the process of being registered. There are also seven

gazetted and one emerging community forest.

Kavango East is well endowed with natural resources and its scenic beauty related to the

river, the woodlands and its wildlife linked with higher than average rainfall makes it a very

attractive region. The key challenges related to the state of the natural environment

relates to the risk of over abstraction of water from the Kavango River, the impact of

mixed subsistence farming practices, especially overstocking and deforestation, the

adequate provision of services where concentrations of people are found, obviously in

the urban areas of the region and then specifically related to sewage treatment and solid

waste management and the uncontrolled utilisation of resources such as sand and wood.

THE ECONOMY

The economy of Kavango East is vested in the agricultural, manufacturing, trade, and

services sectors (which includes government services), and tourism. These are noted as the

key economic sectors.

The statistical figures illustrate that the agricultural sector is the most important sector in

Kavango East, with 47% of the employed population being active in this sector.

The agricultural sector in Kavango East is vested in the subsectors of large scale crop

farming, small scale commercial farming and mixed communal farming. Forestry and

Fishing also plays a significant role.

The Green Scheme is a government scheme set up by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water

and Forestry which aims to encourage the development of irrigation based agronomic

production in order to increase the GDP contribution of agriculture, and to uplift local

communities in the proximity of these schemes. Five of the twelve Green Schemes

operational in Namibia are currently located in Kavango East.

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The Green Schemes are considered somewhat successful in that they have created

employment opportunities, and they have contributed towards food security for Namibia.

Despite the employment opportunities created, jobs generated have been lower than

expected.

Communal farms are typically an average of 1.9 ha in size, and the main crops grown

include mahangu, sorghum and maize, as well as a limited amount of vegetables.

Vegetables are mostly produced for domestic consumption. These farmers also keep

livestock such as goats and cattle.

Small-scale commercial farms (SSCF) mostly consist of dry farming activities. These farms

are located further inland (further away from the Kavango River) and suffer from various

problems such as lack of farm infrastructure, poor accessibility and low access to markets.

Horticulture products are grown as part of the Green Scheme projects, on some of the

small-scale irrigation farms, as well as a part of community gardens. These crops are

therefore exclusively grown along the Kavango River and in the back yards of

homesteads.

Livestock is farmed for both commercial gain and through the SSCF units. However, most

livestock farming is not used for commercial purposes (cattle and goats), but rather as a

measure of wellbeing. Therefore, cattle are only slaughtered on special events and to

cover specific expenses.

A large variety of indigenous fruit and vegetables are found and these are collected

throughout the year and used for food and for traditional healing. Although not currently

used commercially, a number of products have the potential for commercial uses such as

cosmetics and as medicines.

The forestry sector holds potential for economic development, however currently there is

a ban on the harvesting of all forestry products. This is due to over-utilisation which has

hindered growth in this sub sector as well as having negative spin-off effects on other

sectors such as the craft industry

Fish is the preferred diet of the local inhabitants of the Kavango East Region, and thus

fishing plays an important role in terms of food security. However, it has less value from an

economic perspective. There are two types of fishing currently occurring in the region.

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Freshwater fishing currently occurs along the Kavango River and is mostly associated with

subsistence fishing. There is also currently one commercial aquaculture facility operating in

Kavango East, namely Karovo which is located close to Mukwe and is a community–

based fish farm which produces tilapia and catfish. This farm however has a low yield and

productivity.

Currently mining in Kavango East plays a relatively unimportant role in the economy and

there are no mining licences or mines within the region. Although some Exclusive

Prospecting Licences (EPLs) have been given out within the region; the majority of these

are for precious stones, base and rare metals; industrial metals; industrial minerals and non-

nuclear fuel minerals. Some sand mining activities were taken note of in the region and

this activity has the greatest potential.

The manufacturing sector in the Kavango East Region is not well developed and only

accounts for 2% of the jobs created in 2011. Most of the industries can be classified as

micro and small scale enterprises, which implies that very few businesses have employees

and many of the businesses only operate part time. Most of the businesses are located in

the major settlements and in particular in Rundu and Divundu.

The retail sector and the financial and business sector each contribute 8% towards

employment in the Kavango East Region. The majority of retail and commercial activities

take place in Rundu in the form of specialised retailers, which illustrates its importance as a

trading centre for the surrounding agricultural areas.

The Kavango East Region also has a strategic location and the Trans Caprivi Highway links

this region with Walvis Bay on the coast with the neighbouring countries of Botswana as

well as further inland to Zambia, the DRC and Zimbabwe. This creates opportunities for a

logistical hub to be developed in towns such as Rundu as well as to promote additional

specialised retailers focusing on agricultural implements and equipment.

The services sector in the Kavango East Region is fairly well diversified and accounts for

24% of employment opportunities. It is however important to note that a large number of

these jobs are created in the government sector.

Most of the services are located in Rundu. However, most of these businesses are small

and 82% of identified activities have been reported by the RTC as falling into the non-

formal sector with 80% trading as sole proprietors.

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Tourism in the Kavango East Region is an important activity. The region has diverse

biodiversity and wildlife, a number of natural attractions (Kavango River, scenic areas)

three national parks, cultural heritage, and has been experiencing increased trade from

neighbouring areas.

Currently there are three National Parks, three communal conservancies, two emerging

conservancies and larger consolidated areas such as the Transfrontier Conservation Area,

Khaudum North Complex and the Proposed Ramsar site.

Currently, an estimated 73 000 leisure tourists visit the former Kavango Region however, it is

estimated that due to the fact that Kavango East has more tourism attractions, better

tourism infrastructure as well as more accommodation facilities; most of those tourists visit

the Kavango East Region.

It is estimated that there are currently about 120 000 shopping tourists who visit the former

Kavango Region to shop for goods that are either not available in their countries of origin

or are cheaper from the surrounding countries of Angola, Botswana, Zambia and

Zimbabwe. However given the function of Rundu as a regional centre, it can be assumed

that the majority of these tourists visit the Kavango East Region. Despite this number, it is

estimated that these numbers (especially with tourists from Angola) could be significantly

increased with new infrastructure development.

There are 32 existing tourism accommodation facilities in Kavango East. Most of the

accommodation facilities are located around Divundu (which has good access to the

more scenic parts of the region), the existing national parks and conservancies as well as

in and around Rundu.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION

The international and interregional road network in the Kavango East Region is well

developed. Especially the Trans Caprivi Highway is of great benefit for the Kavango East

Region with regards to access to local and foreign markets, as well as for tourism.

However, the local and urban road infrastructure is poorly developed and the condition

of these roads is often poor. An airstrip in Rundu handles medium-sized airplanes and the

Bagani Airstrip light aircraft.

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The electricity network in the Kavango East Region is limited to areas adjacent to the river

and the main roads. With the exception of the Rundu Urban Constituency, the majority of

residents in the region do not have access to power from the grid and make use of

traditional sources of energy or gas.

The Kavango River is the main source of water for people living along the river, while

people in the rest of the region are dependent on wells or boreholes as a source of water.

Access to water for grazing and crop cultivation is one of the most important constraints

for development further inland removed from the river.

Access to toilet facilities in the Kavango East Region is poor, but improving. Efforts have

been made to improve access to toilets in Divundu and in the rural areas by the provision

of VIP toilets.

In order to stimulate development within the region, especially the rural areas, the

provision of rural water supply, improved road network, telecommunications and

electricity are urgently required.

SOCIAL SERVICES

The KRC and RTC have overseen the construction of 297 houses in the Kavango East

Region from 2007-2011 and 298 are currently being constructed. A further 129 building

plans for private investors have been approved by the RTC.

The MURD undertook various rural development programmes since 2009, including

cash/food for work projects, income-generating projects, rural employment schemes,

food security and nutrition programmes and the One Region One Initiative. However,

these projects have not been monitored and therefore cannot be assessed for

effectiveness and likely suffer from similar constraints as the gender empowerment

projects.

Land resettlement efforts in the Kavango East Region have been focused on the

establishment and support of 363 Small Scale Commercial Farms. The objective of land

resettlement efforts is to provide land for the landless and destitute, but the majority of

land owners live elsewhere, therefore the success of resettlement efforts is limited if

measured against resettlement objectives. The roads and water infrastructure is also poor,

impacting the productivity of the farms.

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Poverty can be defined in economic terms, as well as ownership and access. However,

according to all the measures, the former Kavango Region performs below average.

According to both the 2003/4 and 2009/2010 Namibia Household Income and

Expenditure Surveys, the former Kavango Region had the highest levels of poverty in the

country and, in 2009/2010 had the second highest level of extreme poverty. A positive

development is that the income inequality in the region is decreasing.

Community Development programmes in the town of Rundu include a small grant fund

and the women and youth cleaning programme. The Small grants fund includes

gardening projects, centres for orphans.

INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES SECTOR

Various financial institutions have branches in Rundu, while the rest of the Kavango East

Region has banking access via ATMs or from NamPost.

The Rundu Magistrate Court is the main legal authority in both the Kavango East and

Kavango West Region. In the Kavango East Region a Control Magistrate administers Court

in Rundu, while two Magistrates operate at the district level at periodic courts in Mukwe

and Ndiyona. However, most rural citizens make use of traditional courts proceeded over

by the four Traditional Authorities since they are more easily accessible.

The distribution of police stations is concentrated along the Trans Caprivi Highway and at

the border posts to Angola and Botswana.

Churches, Constituency Councillors and Social Support Organisations provide valuable

moral and social support to residents in the Kavango East Region. The support

organisations mostly focus on HIV/AIDS awareness and support.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Kavango East Region has always been the part of the former Kavango Region where

the most development took place and to where the most money for development was

allocated by both the private and the public sector. However, with a large rural

population spread over a large area, it is difficult and costly to provide services to people

in the rural areas who live far apart in individual homesteads or in small villages.

xxi

Development challenges (which mostly need to be attended to by the government

through the regional council) as well as opportunities and advantages which can be

exploited by both the public and the private sector to create employment and bring

much needed development to the region were identified.

Development generally follows infrastructure, be it roads or water or electricity or even

other large scale projects such as the Green Scheme. Government has, since

independence, already achieved much to provide infrastructure which is required to

stimulate and motivate people and investors to identify and make use of development

opportunities available in the region.

The agricultural sector in Kavango East is one of the most important sectors both in terms

of food security as well as job creation and latent opportunity. The Green Scheme is an

important factor in this regard and can be further expanded to increase this potential.

Opportunities in this sector include the extensive biodiversity of the region, which allows for

a wide range of different agricultural products to be cultivated and processed for value

addition and expansion of the manufacturing sector and the Kavango River, which

creates the opportunity to expand the Green Scheme / Irrigation along the river. This is

especially true if high value crops are cultivated rather than staple foods. It further include

the Fresh Produce Hub at Rundu, which improves access for farmers to training, cold

storage and marketing infrastructure, indigenous products, which can be utilised for value

addition and commercialisation, forest resources which can be processed to expand the

manufacturing sector and the opportunity to transform rural farming in the area to market

orientated businesses. The imminent development of an abattoir in Rundu is likely to be

another important opportunity to transform current farming practices.

Challenges within this sector which need to be addressed include the “Red Line” and the

restriction this places on the trade of livestock with the rest of Namibia. Traditional livestock

ownership patterns, which often result in farmers unwilling to sell or trade in livestock; the

difficulty in gaining ownership of land for communal farmers which in turn results in the

difficulties for farmers to access financial assistance and loans; the lack of infrastructure on

SSCFs, conflicts over land uses between conservation activities and traditional farming

(human wildlife conflict); poor soil, lack of access to markets; the over utilised fishing sector

and the timber ban all add to this.

xxii

With respect to Manufacturing, there are opportunities to add value, particularly to the

primary sector with regards to agricultural products that are produced in the region. The

wood harvesting ban also needs to be eliminated so that the timber industry, which holds

a lot of potential, can be developed.

In terms of retail and wholesale trade, The Kavango East Region is strategically located

and these opportunities need to be expanded, particularly links to countries such as

Botswana, Zambia and Angola. There is also the opportunity to develop more specialised

retailers, particularly within sectors of opportunity such as agricultural implements and

equipment. The main urban areas in the region are likely to grow substantially and at a

reasonably fast rate, which should further increase opportunities for trade.

Despite these opportunities, challenges are that the entrepreneurial spirit is lacking to a

large extent in businesses and therefore changing market conditions are not optimised.

Improvement of the organisation and cooperation between businesses is required as well

as with public institutions. Further training and mentorship of businesses is also required.

There are a number of opportunities pertaining to services in Rundu (regional support)

which can be expanded on and the proposed increase in growth in Divundu will also

make it an increasingly important node in terms of service delivery, especially to the

various tourism establishments in the area. Despite these opportunities, challenges are

that the services sector lacks specialisation which has resulted in limited employment

opportunities.

In terms of Tourism, the diversity of the region creates the opportunity to create unique

products for local and international tourists. The bridge connection proposed to link

Rundu with Angola should increase opportunities for shopping tourists. The temporary

floating bridge that has recently been constructed already caused an increase in visitors

from Angola. Other opportunities include increasing communal conservancies and wildlife

corridors in the eastern part of Kavango East especially around the Cuito to Divundu

tourism node, the expansion of farming activities by SSCF farmers in the Khaudum –SSCF

node into tourism activities such as lodges, rest camps, hunting lodges and trophy hunting.

There is also opportunity to expand tourism activities at the Bwabwata and Khaudum

National Parks, with a focus on cultural tourism, 4X4 off road adventures, trophy hunting,

scenic landscapes and wildlife viewing. The Ramsar site has a lot of tourism potential and

xxiii

the expansion of this site up to Mukwe (in phases) will increase this tourism potential for the

general region.

There is further opportunity to create craft markets on the main tourism routes of Divundu

and Rundu and to create and promote restaurants and accommodation establishments

along the Kavango River and in Rundu. These however should be of an international

standard.

Despite the opportunities for the tourism sector, there are challenges around infrastructure

and improved signage is required as well as a tourist information centre in either Rundu or

Divundu.

Skill levels are generally low and this makes meaningful employment creation difficult. If

manufacturing and processing should become one of the key drivers in the economy, it

will need to be augmented with substantial improvements of skills in the region. While skill

levels in the region are improving, it does unfortunately take time for a population to

improve skill levels to a point where it will support the manufacturing and value addition

sectors. Education and vocational training is therefore a major opportunity and a

challenge at the same time.

In terms of Infrastructure, the Trans Caprivi Highway, water and electricity provision next to

the river, ICT connectivity close to the main infrastructure areas, and urban infrastructure

provides opportunities. However, local and urban road infrastructure on the other hand is

poorly developed and this is a challenge to development and service provision in outlying

areas. Off-grid solar systems could be investigated to supply electricity for lighting in the

deep rural area and especially at schools, hostels and clinics. However this should always

be coordinated with the existing rural electrification programme.

Rundu is a primate urban area in the Kavango East Region and the second largest urban

area in Namibia (in terms of population size). Rundu is well established as a regional centre

and already attracts business and traders from all over the region, as well as from other

regions such as Kavango West and even further afield such as Angola, Zambezi and

Zambia. However, Rundu is still struggling to transform from a small formal town with large

informal settlements without services around it. The provision of affordable housing and

services is now one of the key challenges. At the same time it is also an opportunity for

xxiv

investors and developers to take on property development projects, even in partnership

with the Rundu Town Council.

Rundu is also the place where one finds most of the government ministries and it therefore

has the most salaried positions in the region. Growing and developing Rundu and creating

an investor friendly environment is probably the best opportunity to draw manufacturing,

retail, wholesale and agro processing enterprises into the region. The key to all of this from

an institutional perspective is to ensure that serviced land is available for both residential

and business purposes to attract investors. This should create substantial competitive

advantage over other towns and cities in Namibia, all of which face similar challenges.

xxv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The contributions of the following people who made this profile possible and their inputs

are herewith acknowledged with thanks.

Honourable Governor, Dr. S Mbambo

The Chief Regional Officer of the Kavango Region, Mr S H Kantema

The Director of Planning and Development Services of the Kavango Regional

Council, Mr. A T Makongwa

The Town and Regional Planner of the Kavango Regional Council, Mr. J T Heita

Hon Councillor B Wakudumo of the Mashare Constituency

Hon Councillor N M Muremi of the Rundu Urban Constituency

Hon Councillor H K Mangundu of the Ndiyona Constituency

Hon Councillor M C Kalyangu of the Mukwe Constituency

Hon Councillor M M Shikongo of the Rundu Rural East Constituency

All the Regional and National stakeholders for the valuable inputs they made to the

Regional Development Profile

Urban Dynamics Africa (Pty) Ltd who led the consultant team

Knight Piesold Consulting Engineers for the infrastructure evaluations

Urban Econ for the economic assessment and inputs

Maproom for compiling the GIS maps of the various themes

xxvi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

ATM Automatic Teller Machine

CBO Community Based Organisation

CF Community Forest

ECB Electricity Control Board

ECD Early Childhood Development

EMIS Education Management Information Systems

EPL Exclusive Prospective License

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GRN Government of the Republic of Namibia

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IPA Important Plant Areas

IRLUP Integrated Regional Land Use Plan

KRMP Kavango Roads Master Plan

Km2 Square Kilometres

KRC Kavango Regional Council

LED Local Economic Development Plan

MAWF Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry

MET Ministry of Environment and Tourism

MLR Ministry of Land Reform

xxvii

MME Ministry of Mines and Energy

MOE Ministry of Education

MURD Ministry of Urban and Rural Development

MTC Mobile Telecommunications Company

MWT Ministry of Works and Transport

NAMCOL Namibian College for Open Learning

NANGOF Namibia NGO Forum

NDC Namibia Development Cooperation

NDP National Development Plan

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

NHIES Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Surveys

NPC National Planning Commission

NSA Namibia Statistics Agency

PPP Public-Private Partnership

RED Regional Electricity Distributor

RDCC Regional Development Co-ordinating Committee

RDP Regional Development Plan

REMP Rural Electrification Master Plan

RTC Rundu Town Council

RVTC Rundu Vocational Training Centre

RWSDP Rural Water Supply Development Plan

SADC Southern African Development Community

xxviii

SME Small and Medium Enterprise

SSCFs Small Scale Commercial Farms

TIPEEG Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth

UNAM University of Namibia

VIP Ventilated Improved Pit Latrine

1

1 INTRODUCTION TO THE REGION

1.1 BACKGROUND

First demarcated after independence, the former Kavango Region initially covered 42 771

km2. A section of the Zambezi Region was later added, increasing it to 48 463km2. The

Kavango River is the lifeline of the Kavango East Region and its most important feature.

According to archaeological records, there is a

long history of settlement along the river,

which has been home to people for tens and

perhaps hundreds of thousands of years and

many modern Kavango people likely are the

descendants of those early farmers. Life was

probably rather easy in many respects

because abundant water, fish, relatively fertile

soils, grazing, wildlife and useful plant products

were available to the small population.

However, nowadays the Region is home to 136 823 residents with the majority residing

within an approximately 10km wide ribbon along the river. The lack of open, arable land

and grazing along the river has led to settlement further away from the river where

conditions are less favourable (Mendelsohn & el Obeid, A digest of information on key aspects of Kavango’s

geography and sustainable development prospects, 2006).

However, the sheer size of the region and its elongated form made it difficult to be

managed and developed as a single region. Therefore, the government of Namibia

changed the boundaries of the former Kavango Region in 2013 effectively splitting it into

two regions namely the Kavango East and Kavango West regions.

Due to the creation of two new Kavango Regions, the Kavango Regional Council (KRC)

has identified the need to formulate up-to-date separate Regional Development Profiles

for each region with the objective of providing guidance on potential programmes and

projects that need to be implemented. The comparative advantages of the two new

regions for social and economic development are not fully exploited by either public or

private sectors because current information on each region is not available.

2

Therefore the KRC commissioned the formulation of regional development profiles to

encourage the exploitation of the regional economic potential and the satisfaction of the

needs of its people.

The former Kavango Region has been the subject of a variety of plans since

independence. The first Regional Development Profiles for all regions in Namibia were

prepared just after independence and basically consisted of a set of status quo

information on the economic, social, infrastructural and institutional sectors. The Regional

Development Profiles were followed by Regional Development Plans. These plans were

also formulated for all the regions and went a little further to define the development

needs and potentials within each region and to identify development projects required to

reach specific sectoral development objectives set out by the plan. However, the actual

implementation of these development plans was problematic in all regions, perhaps

because the institutional framework for its successful implementation was not in place.

Subsequent to the Regional Development Plans, a number of sectoral master plans such

as the Kavango Roads Master Plan (KRMP), Rural Water Supply Development Plan

(RWSDP), Rural Electrification Master Plan (REMP), Local Economic Development (LED)

Plan and Integrated Regional Land Use Plan (IRLUP) were prepared for the region.

Especially the LED Report and the IRLUP Reports (Volumes I and II) are considered to be

detailed and comprehensive, although the data refers to the former Kavango Region in its

entirety and not the newly created Kavango East and Kavango West Regions. These

reports will thus be extensively referred to and, as far is possible, care was taken to

disaggregate the data into the East and West Regions.

The objectives of the Kavango East Regional Development Profile are to comprehensively

describe the social, economic, infrastructural and institutional environments prevailing in

the Region, to highlight the competitive advantages, to identify challenges and limitations

and highlight opportunities to guide development in the Region.

3

1.1.1 LOCALITY AND SIZE

The Kavango East Region stretches from just west of Rundu up to the eastern boundary of

the former Kavango Region. The Region covers an area of 23 983.2 km2 and constitutes

about 2.9% of Namibia’s extent. The region is bordered by the Kavango River and Angola

to the north, the Zambezi Region and Botswana to the east, the Kavango West Region to

the west and the Otjozondjupa Region to the south. There are 6 Constituencies in the

Kavango East Region: Rundu Urban, Rundu Rural, Mashare, Ndonga Linena, Ndiyona and

Mukwe. Rundu is the capital of the Region. In extent, Mashare is the largest of the

constituencies, while Rundu Urban is the smallest.

Figure 1: Locality of Kavango East Region

4

The distribution of people speaking different languages broadly follows the tribal areas of

the region. Some 46% of the population in the former Kavango Region speak Rukwangali

as their mother tongue, a language that is spoken by the Vakwangali and Mbunza tribes;

21% speak languages of Angolan origin (mainly Nyemba), while 18% speak Rumanyo, a

language spoken by the Vagciriku and Shambyu tribes. Eight percent speak the

Thimbukushu language of the Mbukushu tribe, while 5% speak other Namibian languages

(mainly Oshiwambo) and 2% use European languages (NPC, Regional Poverty Profile for Kavango

Region, 2006, p. 6).

1.1.2 POPULATION

While 43% of Namibians reside in urban areas, the Kavango East Region is 47% urbanised

with people residing mostly in and around the town of Rundu. Historically, people settle

where water and soils permit farming, creating a pattern of unevenly distributed

settlements within the region with nearly three-quarters of the population living near the

Kavango River.

Figure 2: Kavango East Population Distribution

5

More settlements away from the river developed due to a lack of open, arable land and

grazing along the river on which they can farm. The provision of water from boreholes

and the opening of roads also allowed people easier access to unsettled areas. The

establishment of cattle posts by wealthier farmers with large cattle herds furthermore

expanded into small villages. However, living conditions in small, remote villages away

from the river and main roads are difficult with little access to services and limited chance

of participating in the retail and cash economy. Land available for crop cultivation is also

increasingly limited. As a result, many of the villages have shrunk, often causing local

public services such as schools to become redundant or uneconomical. (Mendelsohn & el

Obeid, A digest of information on key aspects of Kavango’s geography and sustainable development prospects, 2006, p.

6).

1.2 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Kavango East Region lies in the middle of the Kavango Basin, bordering both Angola

and Botswana. The two main Angolan rivers, the Cubango and Cuito rivers, carry water

from the Angolan highlands into the Kavango River, which runs through both the Kavango

Regions into Botswana's Okavango Delta where rainfall is lower than anywhere else in the

Basin. Drainage lines that are now dry, such as the Omatako Omuramba, used to carry

water into the Okavango during much wetter times long ago. (Mendelsohn & el Obeid, Sand and

Water. A Profile of the Kavango Region, 2003).

The flow of the Kavango River is the main

artery of the Region and is impacted by and

impacts on all its physical characteristics

from rainfall to the soil structure and carrying

capacity, which again impacts on the

vegetation and animal life that is found in

the Region. This, in turn, impacts on the

economic activities and livelihoods of the

residents of the Region, which is heavily dependent on agriculture and tourism. As such,

the Kavango River is the very lifeline of the Region and its most important feature.

6

1.2.1 RAINFALL AND CLIMATE

The former Kavango Region generally receives more rain than the rest of the country

(except Zambezi) with an annual average rainfall that varies between about 450 and 600

mm with the highest rainfall in the most northern areas.

As with most of Namibia, the Kavango East Region receives summer rainfall with the first

early rains coming to the region in October and November. The highest rainfall usually

occurs in January and February and the months from May to September tend to be dry.

(Mendelsohn, Jarvis, Roberts, & Robertson, 2002)

Figure 3: Mean Annual Rainfall

While about 80% of all rain falls between December and April, the amount, timing and

effectiveness of rainfall varies greatly from year to year and also from place to place,

making rain-fed crop production very risky. For instance, a period of about four weeks

with dry, hot weather can cause failure of mahangu fields, the staple and favourite crop

for most smallholder farmers (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)).

Furthermore, as in the rest of the country, the evaporation rate is high.

7

The potential for solar power is good, as solar radiation levels are generally high

throughout the year. (Mendelsohn, Jarvis, Roberts, & Robertson, 2002). The Kavango East Region

experiences average maximum temperatures of over 30°C for nine months of the year

and average minimums of 4-6°c during the winter months of June, July and August. While

temperatures below freezing point are only rarely recorded and mostly occur in the low-

lying valleys, such as those of the Kavango River, they nonetheless rule out the option of

growing any frost-sensitive tropical fruits (e.g. litchis, macadamia nuts) in the irrigable

areas close to the river. On the other hand, in summer the very hot and dry conditions can

prevent fruit ‘setting’, which is why most citrus varieties do not do well in Former Kavango

(MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)).

Figure 4: Kavango East Minimum and Maximum Temperatures

Wind speeds in the former Kavango Region are generally very low, and in most months it is

completely calm for over half the time (Mendelsohn, Jarvis, Roberts, & Robertson, 2002). Therefore,

there is little potential for wind power, and wind-driven water pumps (MLR, Draft Integrated

Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)).

1.2.2 SOIL TYPES

In terms of soils, the former Kavango Region is an undulating plain of unconsolidated

sands that gradually slope down northwards to the Kavango River and eastwards to the

lowest areas along the river before it enters Botswana. The plains undulate from sculpting

of the sand into long, low east-west oriented dunes that are covered in vegetation and

not generally visible. The plains are traversed by small ephemeral river channels, the most

prominent one being the Omuramba Omatako that meets the Kavango River east of

Rundu.

8

Soil is often taken for granted as the substance that soaks up rainwater and in which

grasses, trees and crops grow. With the exception of farmers, most people lack the

understanding of how soils vary and how their qualities affect its suitability for crop

production. Different types of soils impact on the quantity of water that is retained, the

depth to which a plant’s roots may extend, and what nutrients the soil contains for plant

growth. Furthermore, the combination of these qualities dictates important features like

which plant species can grow and the structure of plant communities (Mendelsohn & el Obeid,

2003, p. 62).

Figure 5: Kavango East Soil Types

In general, the soils of the Kavango East Region are not well suited for agriculture. The

predominant soil type, arenosol, has a sandy and porous texture that drains rapidly

leaving little moisture in the soil and holding few nutrients. However, as can be seen in

Figure 5, along the Kavango River nutrient-rich fluvisols are deposited during floods, which

are more suited for crops. Still, due to periodic flooding, these areas are only suitable for

small-scale cultivation, which utilises areas as floodwaters recede, and not for large scale

irrigation faming. Furthermore, over time the soil becomes modified by repeated

ploughing and crop growth, referred to as anthrosols, which is a mixture of fluvisols and

arenosols that progressively decrease soil fertility.

9

Calcisols contain slightly higher proportions of clay and silt that improve the water

retention of the soils and therefore have a slightly improved potential for crops. Calcisols

are found in the inter-dune valleys and dry river beds to the south and north-central parts

of the Kavango East Region. However, the soils remain fairly infertile to low levels of

organic matter and the predominance of sand. Finally, a block west of Khaudum

contains solonetz soils with high levels of sodium (salt) and low soil fertility. (MLR, Draft Integrated

Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)) These soils typically form where salts are abundant

and evaporation rates are particularly high. Only a few specialised plants are able to

grow in these areas (Mendelsohn, Jarvis, Roberts, & Robertson, 2002, p. 59).

Figure 6: Kavango East Areas of Agricultural Potential

For the intent of mapping the suitability of areas for irrigation and dry land crop farming, a

working hierarchy of soil suitability (from best to worst) was listed in the Kavango

Integrated Regional Land Use Plan and is illustrated in Figure 6 above (MLR, Draft Integrated

Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)):

Fluvisols

Calcisols

Anthrosols

10

Arenosols

Solonetzes

1.2.3 VEGETATION

Due to the limitations of the climate, the vegetation in the former Kavango Region is fairly

homogeneous Kalahari Woodland that is comprised of broad-leafed, deciduous

woodlands that vary according to topography and the nature of the soils that support

them. Broadly speaking, the relatively larger and deep-rooted trees, such as Teak and

Mangetti, are more prevalent in deep sands, while various species of shrubs and grasses

can be found in the shallower soils in valleys.

Figure 7: Kavango East Vegetation

Initially, the banks of the Kavango River supported forests with distinctive trees, such as

Knobthorn, Weeping Wattle and Jackalberry with dense shrubby undergrowth. However

presently only a few, localised patches remain almost entirely within the protected area of

Bwabwata National Park in the eastern part of the region. The river banks and terraces are

open with few trees, although some Mangetti trees are still prevalent due to their value as

fruit trees.

11

Large areas of reeds grow in the river margins in the floodplains of the Kavango River.

There are also permanently swamped areas (e.g. in the vicinity of the Cuito confluence)

with meanders, oxbow lakes and waterlogged floodplains, fringed with papyrus and other

reeds and swamp vegetation (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)).

According to Hofmeyer (cited in MLR, 2013(a)), two Important Plant Areas (IPAs) are recognised

in Kavango East: the Kavango woodlands and the Kavango River valley, which recognises

sites with exceptional botanical richness and/or outstandingly rare, threatened and/or

endemic species, and/or vegetation of high botanic value. However, an IPA status does

not confer conservation protection to an identified area.

The Kavango woodlands are unique in Namibia, although they do not contain endemic

species. Fires and timber collection operations that are currently banned in the Region

pose threats to this resource. Tree diversity in the woodlands is high and there are several

special interest species.

The Kavango River Valley, which is a small strip that runs along the Kavango River in the

north-central part of the Kavango East Region, is an important wetland system with some

near-endemic plant species as well as a few Endangered and Critically Endangered

species of ground orchids (Bethune cited in MLR, 2013 (a)). Over 95% of the Riverine forests that

used to line the banks have been cleared with only a few isolated patches remaining, e.g.

around Popa Falls and on rocky islands in the river near Mukwe. The main threat to the

riverine forest is the slash-and-burn cultivation system. As fields become unproductive after

a few years, new land is “slashed and burned” constantly claiming new land.

1.2.4 TERRESTRIAL DIVERSITY

Due to the clearing of land and hunting, much

of the wildlife that used to occur along the

Kavango River has now disappeared and

most of the remaining wildlife is now

concentrated in the Bwabwata and Khaudum

National Parks. The Mahango area of

Bwabwata, specifically, has the highest

concentration of large mammals as well as

12

the greatest diversity of birds in Namibia. This led to it being registered as a Ramsar

Wetland of International Importance (MET, Bwabwata National Park Profile, 2014 (a)). Other species of

conservation priority in Bwabwata include pangolin, African Clawless Otter, Sitatunga,

reedbuck and bushbuck. Large species, such as hippo and crocodile, also occasionally

move from the park into upstream, inhabited parts of the river. Elephants move between

Khaudum and Bwabwata, some taking a short cut through Botswana, and mainly

breeding herds following routes north of Khaudum and west of Bwabwata in Namibian

territory (MLR, 2013 (a)).

Figure 8: Kavango East Terrestrial Diversity

In the Kavango River fish are very diverse and abundant due to the wide habitat diversity

provided by the rapids (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)). Khaudum

National Park is one of the few refuges in Namibia where the rare and endangered roan

antelope, Tsessebe and African wild dog occur. The park is a stronghold for African wild

dog, which also tend to move westwards (over farmlands) towards Mangetti National

Park. Khaudum is not fenced on its northern, western and southern borders, but the

eastern border, being the international border with Botswana is fenced (MET, 2014 (b)). The

unfenced park allows for the wildlife to move freely across the communal areas to the

north, west and south, thereby establishing important wildlife movement corridors. This

13

emphasises the importance of the park as a core conservation area from where animals

may populate the neighbouring conservancies. (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan.

Volume I., 2013 (a)) The park also has about 2,500 elephant and there is seasonal movement

of elephant to and from the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy immediately south of the park.

Elephants also move northwards into the George Mukoya and Muduva Nyangana

Conservancies, and westwards along the omuramba that extend about 20 km beyond

the park boundary.

1.2.5 SURFACE AND GROUND WATER RESOURCES

The most conspicuous and important feature in the region is the perennial Kavango River,

making up 350 km of Namibia’s northern border before crossing the region and flowing

into Botswana. Almost the entire runoff of the Okavango basin is generated in the

Angolan highlands with the main Rio Cubango providing over half the total runoff. The Rio

Cuito joins the Kavango River about 100 km downstream of Rundu, and has a more even

flow rate and later flood peak. (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a))

The average total runoff in the river as it leaves Namibia is about 9,800 Mm3 (Mendelsohn, Jarvis,

Roberts, & Robertson, 2002), although flows are quite variable from season to season and year to

year, depending on rainfall.

Where the Kavango River runs along the Namibia-Angolan border it is a large, sluggish,

low-gradient river until the summer floods. Summer floods in Angola start from about

September and usually reach Namibia in January or February, continues to rise until April,

and take several months to recede. During this period, the valley becomes inundated

with water three to four times higher than the lowest levels in November. During low flow

periods the water is confined to the main channel which is seldom more than 100 m wide

and less than one metre deep in places. (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I.,

2013 (a)) In the north-eastern arm of Kavango the river cuts through the former Caprivi Strip

on the western edge of the Babwata National Park and enters Botswana where it empties

into the Okavango Delta.

The flat landscape and high permeability of the sandy soil produce very little surface

runoff. Occasionally, water collects and flows in some of the shallow omurambas, or the

pans in shallow depressions, but these events are short-lived.

14

Considering the physical characteristics of the region discussed above, one can surmise

that due to the abundance of natural resources close to the Kavango River, life is

comparatively easy and vegetation and animals can be easily supported. However,

living conditions in small, remote villages away from the river and main roads are difficult

with little access to services and limited economic opportunity. Furthermore, land

available for settlement, grazing and crop cultivation is also increasingly limited close to

the river.

With reference to the climate, the variability in rainfall limits the cultivation of certain fruit

crops. Solar radiation levels are generally high throughout the year and solar power holds

potential.

Due to the clearing of land and hunting, also before independence, much of the wildlife

has now disappeared and is concentrated in the national parks. Still, the parks have the

highest concentration of large mammals as well as the greatest diversity of birds in

Namibia. This provides great wildlife based tourism potential. The natural beauty of the

region as well as the river floodplain scenery (image below) further contributes to the

tourism potential.

15

1.3 GOVERNANCE AND PLANNING STRUCTURE

The region is headed by the Governor, representing the Office of the President and all

government institutions in the region. The Governor for the Kavango East Region is Mr

Samuel Mbambo. When following an integrated planning approach, the roles and

mandates of the implementing agencies, in this case the Kavango Regional Council,

need to be understood and are summarised below.

1.3.1 MANDATE OF THE REGIONAL COUNCIL

The mandate of the Regional Council is contained in the Regional Councils Act (1992),

which provides for the election of regional councils; defines the rights, powers, duties and

functions of such regional councils; and provide for incidental matters (GRN, 1992, p. 2).

1.3.2 REGIONAL COUNCILLORS

The region is divided into 6 political constituencies namely Rundu Urban, Rundu Rural,

Mashare, Ndonga Linena, Ndiyona and Mukwe. Since councillors for the new regions will

only be assigned after the coming elections at the end of 2015, both Regions are still

being governed by the current Kavango Regional Council, although each Region has

been assigned a Governor.

1.3.3 REGIONAL MANAGEMENT

While the urban areas fall under the direct jurisdiction of the applicable Local Authority

and is governed by the Local Authorities Act, settlement areas fall under the jurisdiction of

the Regional Council in terms of the Regional Councils Act. Urban land is managed as

Municipalities, Towns, Villages or Settlements under the auspices of the Ministry of Urban

and Rural Development (MURD). The Local Authorities Act and the Regional Council’s Act

make provision for the management of Local Authorities and Settlement Areas (MLR, Draft

Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)).

In terms of planning control within proclaimed towns, villages and settlements as per the

definition of the MURD, is controlled by the Townships and Division of Land Ordinance and

Town Planning Ordinance. Rundu and Divundu are the only proclaimed towns in Kavango

16

East while there is one settlement namely Ndiyona. Currently, in the Kavango East Region

only the town of Rundu has a Town Planning Scheme and Structure Plan (MLR, Draft Integrated

Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I., 2013 (a)).

In terms of regional/rural management, the regional council together with the line

ministries are responsible for sectoral development and management utilising grass roots

communication and planning structures such a constituency development committees

(CDCs) and the Regional Development Coordinating Committee (RDCC).

1.3.4 PLANNING STRUCTURE

The Medium Term planning framework currently focuses on macro-economic

development and the compilation of the 5 yearly National Development Plans (NDP’s),

which primarily consists of centrally administered planning activities revolving around

formulating the macro-economic framework, specifying the national development

strategy, sectoral and cross-sectoral development goals and objectives, devising sector

policies and developing the Public Sector Investment Programme. Filtering down to a

regional level, the formulated NDP should reflect the national representation of the

consolidated 14 Regional Development Plans (RDP’s)

Regional development planning is facilitated at both regional and central levels. It is

governed by the Regional Planning and Development Policy as well as the National

Decentralisation Policy, which aim to anchor the national planning system on

fundamental democratic principles with emphasis on a comprehensive participatory

approach intended to be supported and sustained by a decentralised institutional

framework. The key institutions involved within the regional planning process include the

National Planning Commission (NPC), the MURD, the Sector/Line Ministries as well as the

Regional Authorities and communities. The fundamental institutional framework related

thereto is depicted below:

17

Figure 9: Flow Diagram of the National Development Planning Process

Th

e

co-

ord

ina

tio

n

of

reg

ion

al

pla

nni

ng

ac

tivit

ies

by the Regional Council is facilitated through the Regional Development Co-ordinating

Committee (RDCC), which is composed of representatives from line ministries, Local

Authorities, Traditional Authorities, NGO’s and CBO’s. The views and inputs of the Village

and Constituency Development Committees should be noted and reflected within the

interventions of the RDCC. The RDCCis chaired by the Chief Regional Officer and must

consider the development plans for all the line ministries against the background of

National Planning Commission

Department of Regional and Sectoral Planning

Ministry of Urban and Rural

Development Sector Ministries

Directorate of Development Planning

Regional Planning Division

Ministerial Planning Units

Regional Council

Regional Ministerial Offices

Regional Council: Directorate Planning

and Development Services

Regional Developme

nt Coordinatin

g

Locality Developme

nt Committee

Village Developme

nt Committee

Constituency

Development

Committee

Central Level

Regional Level

18

community needs, the interests of the line ministries and the planning standards which

guide development decision making.

This development planning process has been used since the late 1990’s. When it

commenced, many problems related to the creation of the institutional framework,

capacity building within these frameworks, the availability of planning information and the

building of technical skills within the regional councils were experienced. The coordination

between the regional councils and the line ministries were also problematic and the

RDCC’s struggled to function effectively. Over the years significant capacity increases

within the regional councils, improved understanding of the development planning

process, improvements in the institutional structures to ensure grass roots participation,

improved availability of information and better technical skills led to marked

improvements in the planning process gauged from the regional perspective. However,

much still remains to be done to obtain optimal performance from the overall process.

1.4 VISION OF THE REGION

While a Vision statement for the former Kavango Region existed, it was proposed that a

new vision be created for the Kavango East Region, which specifically describes the

region as unique compared to the other Regions in Namibia. Collectively, the

Stakeholders decided on:

Vision: Kavango East Region is prosperous, enjoys socio-economic benefits and is a

preferred destination for all.

1.5 METHODOLOGY

This Regional Development Profile is based on existing information, interpreted and re-

formulated by a multi-disciplinary team of planners (Urban Dynamics Africa), economists

(Urban Econ), engineers (Knight Piesold Consulting Engineers) and social scientists (Urban

Dynamics). Firstly, a wide variety of data and statistics were collected from various sectors.

Sources of information were mostly published documents and reports such as the 1991,

2001 and 2011 Population and Housing Censuses, the various Household Income and

Expenditure Surveys, the Education Management Information System Reports, Sentinel

Surveys, Labour Force Surveys and a number of reports and publications dealing with the

former Kavango Region. Various laws and policies were also consulted to determine

19

institutional mandates, while a number of master plans provided insight into the planned

future interventions in the region.

Based on this data, a draft profile was then compiled. This was followed by a regional

workshop attended by a wide variety of regional stakeholders where the key statistics

were presented to regional stakeholders and consultation was done on the economic

opportunities located through-out the Region. A new vision statement for the region was

formulated to guide the process of profile formulation. The Stakeholders Workshop in the

Kavango East Region was held at the premises of the University of Namibia (UNAM) in

Rundu on Tuesday the 18th of November, 2014.

A draft Regional Development Profile was then finalised and submitted to the KRC for

comments and submission to the NPC for comments. Once the final comments were

received, they were incorporated into the final report, which was presented to the

regional stakeholders at a regional feedback meeting. Comments received during the

stakeholders meeting were discussed and included in the report if so resolved by the

meeting.

20

2 KEY STATISTICS

This section focuses on key socio-economic indicators to reflect the prevailing conditions

in the Kavango East Region. The current status quo data was sourced from the 2011

Population and Housing Census for Kavango East Region and includes descriptions on

both the regional and the constituency level. The Kavango East Region is comprised of six

constituencies: Mashare, Mukwe, Ndiyona, Ndonga Linena, Rundu Rural and Rundu

Urban. (NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census. Kavango East Regional Tables based on 4th Delimitation, 2014 (b))

However, as discussed under the Methodology, trend data is vital for identifying changes

in the population. This is complicated by the fact that the boundaries of the previous and

new constituencies have changed. The trend data was therefore calculated using the

2001 Census data and the 2011 Census data for the former Kavango Region and its

Constituencies that best correspond to the new Kavango East Region. These are the

Mukwe, Ndiyona, Mashare, Rundu Rural East and Rundu Urban Constituencies. The trend

data will thus only be an approximation, but does allow for the description of key trends.

The constituencies used for the trend data are referred to as the “old delineation”, while

constituencies used to describe the status quo for the new constituencies are referred to

as the “new delineation”.

Where data is not yet available for the partitioned Kavango East and West Regions, for

example with the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (NHIES), it is

reported for the combined regions.

2.1 POPULATION

2.1.1 POPULATION GROWTH

The current population residing in the Kavango East Region was enumerated at 136 823 in

2011 (NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census. Kavango East Regional Tables based on 4th Delimitation, 2014 (b)) at

an approximate growth rate calculated at 0.7% by using the total population of the five

constituencies (Mukwe, Ndiyona, Mashare, Rundu Rural East and Rundu Urban) that

approximate the new region. The growth rates for these constituencies are illustrated in

Figure 10. The Mashare Constituency experienced a negative growth rate of -0.2%, while

the Mukwe and Ndiyona Constituencies also grew very slowly from 2001 to 2011. The

21

growth rates in the Rundu Rural East and Rundu Urban Constituencies are the highest, so

growth appears to be centred in and around the town of Rundu.

Figure 10: Approximate Kavango East Region Population Growth 2001-2011 (Old delineation)

(NSA, 2011 Census: Kavango Regional Profile, 2014 (a))

With a population of 63 431, growing at a rate of 3.6% from 44 413 in 2001 and at 8.7% from

19 366 in 1991, the rapidly growing town of Rundu is now the main administrative and

economic centre of the Kavango East Region. Due to its strategic location, Rundu has

become the hub of trade and development in the north, especially with rebuilding efforts

in Angola and the Trans Caprivi Highway that links the country and its main port in Walvis

Bay to the rest of Africa (RTC, 2006).

2.1.2 POPULATION SIZE AND DENSITY

As is also the norm in urban areas, the highest population density by far in the Kavango

East Region is found in the Rundu Urban Constituency (407 people per km2) followed by

the Rundu Rural Constituency. Outside of Rundu, the Mashare (15 688) and Mukwe (27

690) Constituencies have the most constituents, although due to its large size, the Mashare

Constituency is the least densely populated area in the region, as can be seen in Table 1

overleaf. Combined with its negative population growth, it is likely to become even less

dense, unless opportunities that attract residents to the area are created.

3.6%

-0.2%

1.4%

0.2%

0.6%

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

Po

pu

lati

on

Kavango East Population Growth, 2001-2011 (Old delineation)

Mashare

Mukwe

Ndiyona

Rundu RuralEast

Rundu Urban

22

Table 1: Kavango East Region Demographic Statistics, 2011

(NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census. Kavango East Regional Tables based on 4th Delimitation, 2014 (b))

2.1.3 AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

Table 1 indicates that the sex ratio in the Kavango East Region of 88 men per 100 women

is considerably below the national average of 94, suggesting that men leave the region to

find employment in other parts of the country. The highest ratios of men in the region

reside in the Mukwe and Mashare Constituencies.

Figure 11: Kavango East Population Pyramid, 2011


The gender distribution in the region, as illustrated by the population pyramid in Figure 11,

further demonstrates how the sex ratio varies between age groups. The sex ratio remains

fairly equal for younger age groups, until about age 15, after which women are the

10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10

0-45-9

10-1415-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-6465-6970-7475-7980-8485-8990-94

>95

Percent

Age

Cat

ego

rie

s

2011: Kavango East Region Population by Age and Sex (New delineation)

%female

%male

Kavango East

Region

Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona Ndonga

Linena

Rundu

Rural

Rundu

Urban

Population size

136 823 15 688 27 690 9 551 11 082 9 381 63 431

Area (km2)

23 983.2 9 140.2 5 537.0 5 231.0 2 850.6 1 068.7 155.8

Density (ppl per

km2) 5.7 1.7 5.0 1.8 3.9 8.8 407.1

Men per 100

women 88.0 91.0 93.0 87.0 84.3 89.0 85.0

23

predominant gender. This indicates an out-migration pattern of men, when they become

of working age.

Furthermore, despite an above average urbanisation rate of 47%, the Population pyramid

is akin to a growing rural population with the percentage of the population under the age

of 15 decreasing and the population aged 15 and older increasing. This can be clearly

seen in the changes in the age group distribution as shown in Table 2 below for the former

Kavango Region.

Table 2: Former Kavango Region: Distribution of Age Groups, 2001 and 2011

Age groups % 2001 2011

Under 5 15 16

14-May 29 27

15-59 48 50

60+ 6 7

(NPC, 2001 Population and Housing Census. Kavango Region Basic Analysis with Highlights, 2004), (NSA, 2011 Census:

Kavango Regional Profile, 2014 (a))

This change in the age group distribution suggests decreasing fertility and mortality levels.

Fertility levels for 2011 are also only available, for the old delineation and shows a steady

decrease in fertility from 7.1 children per woman in 1991 to 5.5 in 2001 and 4.5 in 2011. The

fertility levels were still high in comparison to the national average, which decreased from

6.1 children per women in 1991 to 4.1 in 2001 and 3.6 in 2011.

Mortality rates and life expectancy for 2011 are not yet available for the former Kavango

Region and are thus reported for 1991 and 2001. The life expectancy decreased from 59

years in 1991 to 41 years in 2001 for women and from 55 years in 1991 to 42 years in 2001

for men in the former Kavango Region. Nationally, the life expectancy decreased for

women from 63 years in 1991 to 50 years in 2001 and for men from 59 years to 48 years.

Infant mortality also decreased from 84 infant deaths per 1000 live births in 1991 to 70

infant deaths per 1000 live births in 2001, although it was high in comparison to the

national average of 52 infant deaths per live births in 2001.

24

44 44.6 43.7 42.246.4 46.2 44.6 45.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

Nam

ibia

Kav

ango

Eas

t

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Nd

on

ga L

inen

a

Ru

nd

u R

ura

l

Ru

nd

u U

rban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Female-headed Households, 2011 (New delineation)

3032343638404244464850

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Ru

nd

u R

ura

l Eas

t

Ru

nd

u U

rban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Female-headed households, 2001-2011 (Old delineation)

2001

2011

2.1.4 HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND SEX OF HOUSEHOLD HEAD

Female-headed households, on average, tend to have smaller household incomes and

therefore serve as an indicator of standard of living. Overall, the percentage female-

headed households in the Kavango East Region (44.6%) is comparable to the national

average (44%), although it is high compared to the most urbanised region, the Khomas

Region, where only 39% of households are headed by females.

Considering the trends in the four Constituencies that approximate the Kavango East

Region, the proportion of female-headed households also increased in all the

Constituencies with the exception of Ndiyona. Nationally, the proportion female-headed

households decreased to some extent from 45% in 2001 to 44% in 2011.

Figure 12: Kavango East Percent of Female-headed Households, 2001-2011

(NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census Main Report, 2013 (b)), (NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census. Kavango

East Regional Tables based on 4th Delimitation, 2014 (b))

As Figure 13 shows, household sizes in the region are notably large with the largest

households found in the Rundu Rural and Mashare Constituencies, which can add

additional strain on the household income. However a positive trend can be seen with

households decreasing in size in all the Constituencies that approximate the Kavango East

Region.

25

012345678

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Ru

nd

u R

ura

l Eas

t

Ru

nd

u U

rban

Nam

ibia

Nu

mb

er

of

pe

op

le

Kavango East Average Household Size, 2001-2011

(Old delineation)

2001

2011

4.4

5.8 6.1 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.45.6

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7N

amib

ia

Kav

ango

Eas

t

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Nd

on

ga L

inen

a

Ru

nd

u R

ura

l

Ru

nd

u U

rban

Nu

mb

er

of

Pe

op

leKavango East Average Household size, 2011

(New delineation)

Figure 13: Kavango East Average Household Sizes, 2001-2011



2.2 EMPLOYMENT, INCOME AND POVERTY

2.2.1 LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION

The labour force refers to the proportion of the economically active population in a

given population group within the working age group of 15 years and above, which

excludes all persons who are not available for work, including full-time learners or

students, homemakers (people involved only in unpaid household duties), ill, disabled

or on early retirement (NSA, 2013 (a)). The proportion of the labour force that participates

in the labour force is the labour force participation rate and is illustrated in Figure 14.

Figure 14: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 15+ Participating in the Labour Force, 2011

(NSA, 2013 (b)), (NSA, 2014 (b))

6763 57 57

61 6459

6861 65

5562 59 63 64

69

0

20

40

60

80

Nam

ibia

Kav

ango

East

Reg

ion

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Nd

on

gaLi

ne

na

Ru

nd

uR

ura

l

Ru

nd

uU

rban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Labour Force Participation Rates, 2011 (New delineation)

Labour ForceParticipation % Male

Labour ForceParticipation % Female

26

The Labour Force Participation rates amongst women in the Kavango East Region (65%)

are slightly higher than the Namibian average with (61%), however a smaller percentage

of men participate regionally (63%) than nationally (67%). The highest proportion of both

men and women participating in the labour force is in the Rundu Urban Constituency,

while Mashare and Mukwe had the smallest proportions. Looking at the trends in Table 3,

the labour force participation rate has also increased considerably in the decade

between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, notably so in the Ndiyona Constituency.

Table 3: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 15+ Participating in the Labour Force, 2001-2011 (Old

delineation)

% Population Aged 15+ 2001 2011

Male Female Male Female

Mashare 42.4 38 57.1 54.8

Mukwe 43.4 35.6 57.2 61.8

Ndiyona 35.2 28.7 62.5 61.1

Rundu Rural East 55 48 62.5 66.5

Rundu Urban 59.2 49.4 65.6 66.5



2.2.2 EMPLOYMENT RATES

The tendency to migrate to urban areas due to the (often incorrect) perception of more

employment opportunities can also be seen in the Rundu Urban Constituency that has

both the highest proportion of its men and women participating in the labour force, as

well as the highest proportion of its men and women unable to find employment, as seen

in Figure 15.

Overall, the unemployment rates for both men and women in all the Constituencies were

above average. Except for the Ndonga Linena Constituency, unemployment levels were

higher for women than for men across the region. Unemployment, overall, was the lowest

in the Mukwe Constituency.

27

Figure 15: Kavango East Percent of Unemployed Population aged 15+, 2001-2011

(NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census Main Report, 2013 (b)), (NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census. Kavango East

Regional Tables based on 4th Delimitation, 2014 (b))

In the Constituencies that approximate the Kavango East Region, unemployment levels

increased for both men and women in the Rundu Urban, Rundu Rural east and Mashare

Constituencies from 2001 to 2011, although a greater proportion of people were

employed in 2011 in the Mukwe and Ndiyona Constituencies than in 2001.

Table 4: Kavango East Percent of Unemployed Population aged 15+, 2001-2011 (Old delineation)

% Population Aged 15+ 2001 2011


Mashare 24.2 20.1 29 30.9

Mukwe 31 36.6 19.4 23.6

Ndiyona 40.1 38.4 27.4 26.9

Rundu Rural East 29.6 33.7 40.1 50.5

Rundu Urban 26.5 32.5 30.5 40.8



2.2.3 STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT

Table 5 shows that the private sector provided jobs for the largest proportion of employees

(39.8%) in Namibia, followed by subsistence/communal farmers (without paid employees)

(21.3%) and government (16.7%). In contrast, the vast majority of workers in the Kavango

East Region and all its Constituencies, except Rundu Urban, are subsistence farmers

without employees. These farmers mostly produce food for their own survival with little

surplus left to sell and earn a significant income. In addition, as these farmers have no

paid employees, there is no benefit of job-creation to address the high levels of

unemployment in the region.

30

47 51

3444 44 51 52

43

59 56

3845 44

55

72

0

20

40

60

80

Nam

ibia

Kav

ango

Eas

tR

egio

n

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Nd

on

gaLi

ne

na

Ru

nd

u R

ura

l

Ru

nd

uU

rban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Unemployment Rates, 2011 (New delineation)

Male

Female

28

In the Rundu Urban Constituency, most workers are employed by the government, which

is also the second largest employer in the rest of the Constituencies (after subsistence

farming). The majority of the remaining workers are employed in the private sector.

Considering gender, overall, men tend to be employed by the private sector, while

subsistence farming (without paid employees) is dominated by women.

Table 5: Kavango East Percent of Population aged 15+ by Employment Status, 2011

% Population Aged 15+ Namibia Kavango

East

Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona Ndonga

Linena

Rundu

Rural

Rundu

Urban

Subsistence/Communal

Farmer (With Paid

Employees)

1.8 1.7 2.7 0.9 8.1 0.5 1.1 1.1

Subsistence/Communal

Farmer (Without Paid

Employees)

21.3 43.6 65 71.6 74.1 74.8 85.3 1.4

Commercial Farmer (With

paid employees) 1.2 0.3 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.9 0.3 0.2

Other Employer 2.3 2.3 1.7 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.3 4.8

Own Account Worker 3.2 3.1 1.2 1.1 0.5 0.8 1 6.3

Employee (Communal

Farms) 1.6 0.3 1.7 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.1

Employee(Commercial

Farms) 4 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.5 0.9 0.2

Employee (Government) 16.7 24.6 12.3 13.4 8 10.6 5.2 44.2

Employee (Parastatal) 5.7 2.5 0.6 1.4 1.3 2.6 0.8 4.1

Employee (Private) 39.8 18.5 10.1 7.4 3 5.9 4.5 35.5

Unpaid Family Worker

(Subsistence/Communal) 1.2 1.3 0.9 2.1 3.6 1.1 0.3 0.7

Other Unpaid Family

Worker 0.7 0.7 2.3 0.8 0.6 0.8 0 0.5

Other 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 0 0.5 0 0.7



2.2.4 HOUSEHOLD INCOME

The greater source of household income in the Kavango East Region remains farming.

However, as this is mostly subsistence farming, it helps with food security without truly

generating much income for the family. Wages and salaries are also an important source

of household income, especially in the Rundu Urban Constituency.

There is an above-average reliance on cash remittance, with the exception of the Mukwe

and Mashare Constituencies. On average, reliance on pensions is lower in the Kavango

East Region than nationally, although there is great variance among the Constituencies.

In fact, pension is the second most important source of household income in most of the

29

16

33

53

60

57

40

55

10

12

14

7

6

6

6

7

23

48

29

13

16

7

20

7

46

15

12

17

13

18

21

16

7

5

7

3

3

7

10

10

9

4

5

8

3

4

5

5

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Namibia

Kavango East Region

Mashare

Mukwe

Ndiyona

Ndonga Linena

Rundu Rural

Rundu Urban

2011 Kavango East Main source of Household Income (New delineation)

Farming

Business, non-farming

Wages andsalaries

Pension

Cash remittance

Other

Percent

constituencies, except Rundu Urban and Mukwe. If you consider that most people only

receive a government Pension of N$1000 per month, it is hardly sufficient to sustain

households that average 5.8 members (Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare personal communication on 2

December, 2014).

Figure 16: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Households by Main source of income, 2011



In the 2011, new categories have been included in the main sources of household

income, including retirement fund, orphan’s grants and disability grants. In order to be

able to compare the data to the categories used in the 2001 Census, the retirement fund

has been added to pensions and the orphan’s grants and disability grants have been

added to the category of others. The trends have been listed in Table 6.

Although it remains the predominant source of income for most households, household

reliance on income from farming has decreased from 2001 to 2011 in most of the

constituencies, with the exception of the Mukwe Constituency. Household reliance on

income from business (non-farming) also decreased, except for the Rundu Rural East

Constituency where it increased from 16% in 2001 to 18% in 2011. Wages and salaries also

mostly decreased as the main source of household income, although it increased in the

Mashare Constituency by 2% for the same period. Pension and cash remittance have

thus increasingly become the main source of household incomes for most of the

constituencies that approximate the current Kavango East Region.

30

Table 6: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Household Income, 2001 and 2011 (Old delineation)

% Population

Aged 15+ Year Farming

Business,

non-

farming

Wages and

salaries Pension

Cash

remittance Other

Mashare 2001 63 10 11 9 3 4

2011 53 10 13 18 3 4

Mukwe 2001 58 9 17 8 5 3

2011 60 6 16 14 3 2

Ndiyona 2001 58 9 17 8 5 3

2011 48 6 13 21 9 4

Rundu Rural East 2001 39 16 26 6 6 7

2011 32 18 20 14 10 6

Rundu Urban 2001 4 27 57 3 4 5

2011 4 24 55 4 9 5

(NPC, 2001 Population and Housing Census. Kavango Region Basic Analysis with Highlights, 2004), (NPC, 2001 Population and

Housing Census. Kavango Region Basic Analysis with Highlights, 2004)

2.3 HOUSING CONDITIONS

Table 7 indicates that traditional dwellings are the norm nationally, making up 37.7% of all

households in Namibia, as well as in the Kavango East Region at 64%. On the Constituency

level 4 out of every 5 households reside in traditional dwellings, except in the Rundu Urban

Constituency where most households reside in detached or semi-detached houses.

Detached or semi-detached housing is the second most prevalent type of housing unit in

all other Constituencies. Improvised housing units (shacks) are found largely in urban areas

where they constitute 11% of the housing units in the Rundu Urban Constituency, although

5.2% of households in Ndiyona and 4.1% in Ndonga Linena also reside in shacks.

31

Table 7: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Households by Type of Housing Unit, 2011

% Households

Detached/

Semi-

detached

house

Flat Traditional

Dwelling

Improvised

Housing Other

Namibia 37.8 5.6 37.7 16 2.9

Kavango East 26.1 1.5 64 6.4 2

Mashare 5.4 0.2 92.1 1.1 1.2

Mukwe 10.5 0.4 86 1 2.1

Ndiyona 9.4 0.1 83.2 5.2 2.1

Ndonga Linena 13.4 1.2 80.9 4.1 0.4

Rundu Rural 12.9 0.7 85 0.5 0.9

Rundu Urban 43.5 2.7 40.4 11.1 2.3


While the majority of Namibians reside in housing units that have walls constructed of

cement bricks, most households in the Kavango East Region construct their housing using

sticks with mud, clay or cow dung (28.9%) or from wood poles or sticks or grass or reeds

(22.3%), although bricks made from mud or clay (14.9%) are also frequently used. Cement

bricks are only used in the construction of 20.1% of housing units in the Kavango East

Region and, on the constituency level, are the most used material only in the Rundu Urban

Constituency. In the other constituencies, housing units are predominantly constructed

from sticks with mud, clay or cow dung, or from wood poles or sticks or grass or reeds, or

from bricks made from mud or clay. Shacks, which are mostly an urban occurrence, tend

to be constructed from corrugated iron and is used mainly by households in the Rundu

Urban Constituency (18.5%) and with a much lesser frequency elsewhere.

Table 8: Kavango East Percent Distribution of Households by Main Material Used for Walls, 2011

% Households Namibia Kavango

East Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona

Ndonga

Linena

Rundu

Rural

Rundu

Urban

Cement bricks 41.1 20.1 6.6 10 3.4 10.4 4 34.8

Burnt bricks 0.8 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.1 0.9

Mud/Clay bricks 7.7 14.9 16.6 22.1 19.9 18.8 19.7 9.7

Corrugated

iron/zinc 20.5 9.7 1.3 1.8 0.5 1.4 2.6 18.5

Prefabricated

materials 3.1 2.16 0.5 1.2 0.9 3.5 1.4 3

Wood poles/sticks

or grass/reeds 16.8 22.3 25.7 33.3 50.8 43.3 22.2 9.4

Sticks with

mud/clay/ dung 8.4 28.9 48.6 30.1 23.3 21.1 48.9 23

Tin 0.7 0.2 0.2 0 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2

Other 0.9 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.6 1 0.5



32

2.4 ACCESS TO EDUCATION

2.4.1 EDUCATION FACILITIES

Education statistics available include the literacy rate, early childhood development

(ECD), school enrolment rates and educational attainment. As far as possible, trends

have been reported, although the age categories between Census periods sometimes

differ, which makes comparison challenging. In 2012, there were 116 Primary Schools, 24

Combined Schools and 13 Secondary Schools in the Constituencies that approximate the

current Kavango East Region. However, if you consider the distribution in Figure 17,

students in the central, southern and eastern parts of the region have no access to

schools, which are all concentrated towards the north and along the Trans Caprivi

Highway to the west.

Figure 17: Kavango East Access to Schools

It was also noted in the Kavango Poverty Profile that not all communities had schools or

children had to walk long distances and, as a result, small children would often not attend

school and it was generally accepted that small kids couldn’t enrol as the school is simply

33

too far from them. Schools were also described as too small, ill equipped and in some

cases understaffed (NPC, Regional Poverty Profile for Kavango Region, 2006, p. 9).

Table 9: Education Indicators and Trends

Namibia

Former Kavango

Region Namibia

Indicator 2008 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011

Total Number of classrooms 19,460 2,287 2,274 2,295 2,326 20,740

Traditional structures as % of all classrooms 7.0% 8.8% 8.6% 8.9% 8.9% 6.5%

Learner/Teacher Ratio 27.7 21.7 27.8 27.6 27.2 24.8

% of Primary Teachers qualified to teach 71.1% 61.5% 64.2% 66.8% 68.6% 78.7%

% of Secondary Teachers qualified to teach 90.1% 87.7% 88.7% 90.5% 91.8% 93.7%

(Ministry of Education, 2011)

The indicators in table 9 shows that the former Kavango Region lagged behind in the

sense that it had a higher percentage of traditional structures serving as classrooms than

nationally, and also that there are about 2.4 students more per teacher than in Namibia

as a whole. Also, a smaller percentage of teachers in both primary and secondary school

are qualified to teach than is the situation nationally. In terms of trends, the number of

classrooms are increasing, yet the percentage of traditional structures serving as

classrooms remained more or less the same between 2008 and 2011. Learner/teacher

ratios and teachers qualifications are, however, on the increase and this point to an

improving situation.

Higher education institutes in the Kavango East Region include the Rundu Vocational

Training Centre (RVTC), Community Skills Development Centre (COSDEC), the Triumphant

College, the Institute for Open Learning, the Namibian College for Open Learning

(NAMCOL) the University of Namibia and the Mashare Agricultural Development Institute.

2.4.2 LITERACY

Literacy refers to the ability to both read and write in a language. Considering the

regional literacy rates, men (86%) in the Kavango East Region are slightly more literate

than the national average (85%), while women (77%) performed below average. At the

constituency level, all the constituencies had below-average literacy rates for both men

and women, with the exception of women in Ndiyona (85%) and both men and women in

the Rundu Urban Constituency.

34

66 66 69 70

90

61 58 63 63

8773 75 76 80

93

0

50

100

Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona Rundu Rural East Rundu Urban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Literacy Rates, 2001: Ages 15+ (Old delineation)

Total

Female

Male

72 75 78 77

94

67 70 73 72

9378 80 84 83

96

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona Rundu Rural East Rundu Urban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Literacy Rates, 2011: Ages 15+ (Old delineation)

Total

Female

Male

Figure 18: Kavango East Literacy Rates, 2011



Still, the trend data in Figure 19 does show an increase in the literacy rates across all the

constituencies that approximately comprise the current Kavango East Region, so there is

an overall improvement from 2001 to 2011. Especially the Mukwe and Ndiyona

Constituencies experienced an overall increase in literacy of almost 10% each. In

Namibia, the literacy rate improved from 81% in 2001 to 89% in 2011, so the rate of

improvement in most of the Constituencies is comparable.

Figure 19: Kavango East Percent Change in Literacy Rates, 2001-2011



85 8173 75 79 78

73

8885 8678 80

74 7367

858577

67 70

85 83 79

91

0102030405060708090

100

Nam

ibia

Kav

ango

East

Reg

ion

Mas

har

e

Mu

kwe

Nd

iyo

na

Nd

on

gaLi

ne

na

Ru

nd

uR

ura

l

Ru

nd

uU

rban

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Literacy Rates, 2011: Ages 15+ (New delineation)

Total

Male

Female

35

2.4.3 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

A child’s developing years lays the foundation for future performance and attendance of

Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes play an important role in improving

children’s school readiness. ECD refers to both Edu-care programmes, like day-care,

crèches and kindergartens) and Pre-primary school attendance.

As listed in Table 10, attendance of ECD programmes in the Kavango East Region is below

average for both boys and girls (ages 0-4). On the constituency level, the lowest levels of

ECD attendance were in the Rundu Rural and Mashare Constituencies and the highest in

the Ndonga Linena and Ndiyona Constituencies. According to the 2001 Population and

Housing Census, the average ECD attendance of girls (15.3%) and boys (14.7%) was higher

than in 2011, although as it was measured for the 3-6 age group of the former Kavango

Region and the data is therefore not truly comparable to the 2011 data.

Table 10: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 0-4 by Early Childhood Development Attendance, 2011

% Population Aged 0-4 Boys Girls

Namibia 13 13.8

Kavango East 10.7 11.1

Mashare 9.6 10.7

Mukwe 11.1 10.8

Ndiyona 12.9 10.5

Ndonga Linena 11.1 13.1

Rundu Rural 8.5 7.3

Rundu Urban 10.6 11.7


2.4.4 SCHOOL ENROLMENT

School enrolment among 5-24 year olds was higher for boys than girls in all constituencies,

especially the Rundu Urban, Ndonga Linena and Rundu Rural Constituencies.

Attendance by girls was below average for all the Constituencies. Only the Rundu Urban

Constituency had a higher ratio of girls enrolled in school than boys. The lack of school

enrolment by girls in the region is certainly a matter to be considered under the future

gender development programmes undertaken in the region.

36

Table 11: Kavango East Percent of Population Aged 5-24 by School Enrolment, 2011

% Population Aged 5-24 Female Male

Namibia 64.0 62.4

Kavango East 59.7 64.6

Mashare 57.3 60.0

Mukwe 57.4 61.4

Ndiyona 54.4 56.7

Ndonga Linena 55.1 61.3

Rundu Rural 58.4 65.7

Rundu Urban 62.9 68.9

(NSA, Personal Communication, November 2014)

Table 12 shows that school enrolment decreased both nationally and in all the

Constituencies that comprise the approximate Kavango East Region, with the exception

of the Rundu Urban Constituency. The sex ratio of boys to girls has decreased in all the

Constituencies, except Rundu Rural East, although it remains notably higher than the

national ratio.

Table 12: Kavango East Percent of Population by Change in School Enrolment Rates, 2001-2011

% Population 2001 School Enrolment(% ) ages 6-24 2011 School Enrolment ages 5-24


Namibia 64 65 62.4 64

Mashare 64 59 60 57.3

Mukwe 67 59 61.4 57.4

Ndiyona 65 58 59.1 54.8

Rundu Rural East 68 60 66.3 59.6

Rundu Urban 66 62 70 65

(NPC, 2001 Population and Housing Census. National report with Highlights, 2003) (NPC, 2001 Population and Housing

Census. Kavango Region Basic Analysis with Highlights, 2004), (NSA, 2011 Census: Kavango Regional Profile, 2014 (a))

2.4.5 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Another measure of education is educational attainment, or the highest level of

education that was achieved by the population that has already left school. Educational

attainment for 2011 is currently only available for the former Kavango Region and has not

been reported on the constituency level. Educational attainment on the national level

has only been reported for the employed population and not for the entire population

older than 15 that have left school. Considering the trend data for the former Kavango

Region, there has been an overall increase in the highest level of educational attainment

for both men and women from 2001 to 2011 with the majority of the population having

37

completed at least primary school. A greater percentage of both men and women

attained a tertiary education in 2011 than in 2001

Table 13 : Former Kavango Region Percent of Population aged 15+ who left school by Highest Level of

Educational Attainment, 2001 and 2011

% Population Aged 15+

Namibia Former Kavango Region

2001 2011 2001 2011

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

No formal education/not stated 4.6 3.3 1.5 1.5 1.5 2 3.4 2.7

Incomplete primary 34.7 32.4 25.1 22.5 32.9 36.4 47.6 57.3

Primary education 38.8 43.8 46.6 50.1 47.4 49.1 33 35.5

Secondary education 15.9 15.2 20.8 20.3 14.5 10.1 9.7 5

Tertiary education 5.3 6 6 5.7 3.7 2.4 3.8 1.9


2.5 PROTECTED AREAS: NATIONAL PARKS, COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES

AND COMMUNITY FORESTS

With the exception of the National Parks, the Kavango East Region is state land and once

was under the jurisdiction of the four recognised Traditional Authorities, these being the

Mbunza; Shambyu; Gciriku and Mbukushu Traditional Authorities. Communal land is

owned by the state and provision is made under the Communal Land Reform Act for

Traditional Authorities to have a certain degree of control over the communal land within

their jurisdiction by providing the initial approval for leaseholds and for allocation of land

after which the final approvals rests with the Communal Land Board or the Minister,

depending on the size and lease years (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume I.,

2013 (a), p. 24).

38

Figure 20: Kavango East Protected Areas, Communal Conservancies and Community Forests

2.5.1 NATIONAL PARKS

Nationals Parks are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET),

which is currently compiling Management Plans with zonings for each of the National

Parks (MLR, 2013 (a)). The Kavango East Region has three National Parks: the Bwabwata

National Park (including the Ramsar Site), the Khaudum National Park and the Popa

Game Park. The parks are a major focal point for tourism in the Region and will be

discussed in terms of tourism in Section C, while a description of the physical and social

environments for each park follows below.

2.5.1.1 Bwabwata National Park

The Bwabwata National park has a long history from being a declared military area by the

SADF until after Independence in 1990. It consists of the former Caprivi Game Park,

(proclaimed in 1966), as well as the Mahango Game Park and the “Kwando Triangle”

(previously State land without conservation status), which jointly became proclaimed in

2007 as the Bwabwata National Park. The Bwabwata National Park covers 627,412 ha

and, according to the Tourism Development Plan, is the most visited park in the north

39

eastern Namibia. This is likely due to its strategic location as it is traversed by the Trans

Caprivi Highway and therefore easily accessible. There are approximately 5,500 residents

living in this multiple use area of which about 80% are from the minority San group – the

Kwe. (MET, Bwabwata Mamili Mudumu Tourism Development Plan, 2009)

2.5.1.2 Khaudum National Park

The Khaudum National Park covers 3,842 km², was proclaimed as a national park in 1989

and forms part of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservancy Area (KAZA TFCA). To

the west of the park there are a number of newly proclaimed Small Scale Commercial

Farming (SSCF) units and to the south of the park the well-known Nyae-Nyae

Conservancy. The Khaudum National Park also forms part of the Khaudum North Complex

together with the conservancies of George Mukoya and Muduva Nyangana situated

adjacent to and north of the park. The livelihood activities within the complex is still mainly

based on livestock herding and crop cultivation with the exception of the Khaudum

National Park where only wildlife conservation takes place. However with the forming of

the complex a diversification of livelihoods is possible, such as trophy hunting and tourism

related activities, although accessibility remains a challenge as the park is only accessible

via single tracks through thick sand.

2.5.1.3 Popa Game Park

Popa Game Park is located on the eastern part of the Kavango East Region in proximity of

the Bwabwata National Park and was proclaimed in 1989. It is Namibia’s smallest game

park at a mere 0.25 km2, but boasts the Popa rapids and a high diversity of birds.

2.5.2 COMMUNAL CONSERVANCIES

As a result of uncontrolled human activities that has taken place, the wildlife in the

Kavango East Region has increasingly diminished over the years to only a few areas where

intensive conservation is taking place, such as the national parks. The establishment of

communal conservancies in proximity to the National Parks are excellent ways to ensure

the sustainable growth of the wildlife, as well as providing income opportunities for the

communities.

40

The Nature Conservation Amendment Act of 1996 made provision for the devolution of

management of wildlife and of related tourism and hunting activities, to communal area

residents through the establishment of conservancies. Communities could register

resource areas with approved boundaries with the MET. Registration requirements include

a legal constitution providing for the sustainable use of game, a defined membership and

a committee representative of all members. All adult residents may become members of

the conservancy. Conservancies must operate according to a wildlife management plan,

as well as a plan for the equitable distribution of returns. The MET provides support to a

variety of activities and must ensure that conservancies remain compliant with legislation

(NACSO, 2013 ). The main aims of establishing conservancies are to:

Improve natural resource management within the conservancy

Generate income for the community through activities such as tourism, craft sales,

trophy hunting and so forth

Figure 21: Kavango East Community Conservancies

41

There are currently four (4) registered Communal Conservancies in the Kavango East

Region:

Joseph Mbambangandu

Shamungwa

Muduva Nyangana

George Mukoya

There are also two emerging conservancies of Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy and

Kamutjonga Conservancy (Fishery) that is in the process of being registered.

2.5.3 COMMUNITY FORESTS

Community Forestry is one of the core programmes of the Directorate of Forestry under

Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and the programme aims to establish

community forests and the transfer of forest resource management rights to local

communities. The use of all indigenous plant resources is regulated by the Directorate of

Forestry within the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry. The Forestry Act of 2001 and

the Forestry Amendment Act of 2005 enable the registration of community forests through

a written agreement between the Directorate and a committee elected by a community

with traditional rights over a defined area of land. The agreement is based on an

approved management plan that outlines the use of resources. All residents of community

forests have equal access to the forest and the use of its produce (NACSO, 2013 ).

As shown in Figure 22 there are 8 registered (gazetted) and emerging community forests in

the Kavango East Region, although the Ncaute community forest stretches across both

the Kavango East and West Regions. Only the Shamungwa community forest is still

emerging.

42

Figure 22: Kavango East Community Forests

2.6 STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

As part of the preparation of the Kavango Integrated Regional Land Use Plan, the

Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment prepared a Strategic

Environmental Assessment to ensure that due consideration is given to environmental

considerations (Southern Africa Institute for Environmental Management, 2014).

2.6.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Kavango East’s scenic beauty and its rich diversity in woodland and wildlife are part of the

region’s assets that characterises the state of the region’s natural environment. In

addition, the perennial Okavango River is very valuable because of its near pristine

condition with high values for water quality and ecological integrity. Other important

features of the natural environment are:

High average rainfall, compared to the rest of Namibia.

Mainly sandy soils of low fertility with a thin strip of more fertile alluvial soils along the

Kavango River.

43

Substantial areas in the Kavango East Region are designated protected areas.

These are Khaudum National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Popa Game Park and

the Bwabwata – Okavango Ramsar Site which forms part of the Kavango –

Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). There are also 4 registered and 2

emerging communal conservancies while 7 registered and one emerging

community forest complete the picture.

Natural Resources are important for livelihoods in the region. These include crops,

grazing, fishing, harvesting of hardwood trees, harvesting of reeds and grass and

wildlife related tourism including consumptive use.

Rundu is a fast growing trade hub seeing high levels of urbanisation and population

growth. This provides settlement options to a growing population and relieves

pressure from the land being farmed communally.

2.6.2 ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN

Water abstraction from the Kavango River is currently sustainable and stands at about 5%

of the mean annual runoff of the river. However, declared plans for future large scale

irrigation works in Angola, Namibia and Botswana will increase the takeoff rate to beyond

safe limits and could potentially destroy the system. It is therefore necessary that Green

Scheme Projects need to be reconsidered in terms of irrigation method and crop types to

get to a point where water efficient irrigation methods are used to produce high value

crops or a suitable staple/high value crop mix.

Ecosystem Services. About 46% of the total land area of the Kavango East Region is used

for mixed communal farming. This is characterised by growing the staple crop of

Mahangu, planting some vegetables and keeping livestock. Communal farming practice

has a substantial influence on the state of the natural environment. With cattle and goats

grazing the commonage in an uncontrolled and uncoordinated manner, it leads to

overstocking and land degradation, especially close to water points and the river. The

most severe overgrazing occurs in a strip within about 10km from the river.

Slash and burn tactics to open up new fields once the “old” fields are not yielding enough

anymore further leads to environmental degradation and deforestation. Burning the

grazing fields to improve grazing also has a negative impact on the environment. The

harvesting of hardwood trees is regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and

44

Forestry. However, this is often misused by community members and outside parties who

conspire to harvest illegal quantities and thereby bedevilling the sustainability of utilising

this resource to the benefit of the local communities.

Tourism Potential based on the scenic qualities, the Okavango River, Woodlands and

wildlife is a positive aspect of the current state of the natural environment, especially since

a lot of effort is put into further developing tourism and conservation products in the

region.

Towns and Infrastructure development, or sometimes the lack thereof, also influences the

state of the environment. With a growing population, urbanisation offers another option to

communal farming. If this was not the case, more and more people would be dependent

on a finite land area and resources to plant crops and graze livestock, with obvious

implications for the natural environment. However, a concentration of people in urban

areas poses challenges with respect to the provision of urban services and the ability to

afford services such as sewage collection and treatment and solid waste collection and

treatment.

Currently solid waste removal and littering seems to be a major problem in Rundu as well

as along the formal roads in the region. This is based on direct observation at the town

and in the region as well as on the latest census statistics. In addition, un-serviced informal

areas mean that a concentration of people uses the bush as a toilet with the resultant risk

to pollute the Kavango River as well as groundwater resources.

Sand Mining close to the larger urban areas is a further problem. This is largely small scale

but unregulated and requires closer management by local authorities and the Regional

Council so that river bank degradation can be limited.

45

47%

1% 2% 0%4%

8%

3%

8%

24%

3%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

Agr

icu

ltu

re

Min

ing

Man

ufa

ctu

rin

g

Uti

litie

s

Co

nst

ruct

ion

Ret

ail

Tran

spo

rt a

nd

Co

mm

un

icat

ion

Fin

ance

an

d B

usi

nes

s

Serv

ices

Pri

vate

Ho

use

ho

lder

Pe

rce

nt

Kavango East Main Employment per Sector

3 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL AREAS

This section contains an overview of the Economic, Social, Infrastructural and Institutional

Sectors in the Kavango East Region, including a situational analysis per sector and a

discussion on current strategies and potential areas of investment.

3.1 ECONOMIC SECTOR

The economy of Kavango East is vested in the agricultural, manufacturing, trade, and

services sectors (which includes government services), and tourism. These are noted as the

key economic sectors. Although Tourism is not typically classified as a sector on its own

because it spans across multiple economic sectors, due to its relative importance - both in

terms of job creation and the economy, it is discussed separately in this profile. The

sector’s across which tourism spans includes accommodation and catering, retail and

wholesale, manufacturing and services.

The importance of the above main economic sectors for the labour force is emphasised

by the number of employment opportunities created in these sectors, illustrated in Figure

23.

Figure 23: Kavango East Percent Employed Population by Main Sector, 2011

(NSA, 2014 (b))

46

Figure 23 illustrates that the majority of employment opportunities are created by the

agricultural sector (47%), followed by the services sector (24%) (This includes both private

and government services). The retail and accommodation, and finance and business

sectors follow with both employing 8% of the labour force). It is however important to note

that although the majority of jobs are in the agricultural sector, almost 45% of these jobs

are in subsistence farming which implies a low wage level. The most important sectors for

the region are discussed in more detail in the sub sections below.

3.1.1 AGRICULTURE

The statistical figures illustrate that the agricultural sector is the most important sector in

Kavango East, with 47% of the employed population being active in this sector.

The agricultural sector in Kavango East is vested in the subsectors of:

Farming (large scale crop farms, small scale commercial farms and livestock

farming)

Forestry

Fishing

Crop and livestock farming can be categorised according to the following:

Large-scale irrigated farming (Green Scheme Farming)

Small-scale dry land farming (mainly cereals for commercialisation)

Subsistence farming (mostly mahangu, maize and cowpeas)

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Each of these sub-sectors is discussed further in the following sectors.

3.1.1.1 Green Schemes

The large-scale crop farms are economically the most important for the Kavango East

Region, and of these, the Green Schemes are the most significant. The Green Scheme is a

government scheme set up by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry which aims

to encourage the development of irrigation based agronomic production in order to

47

increase the GDP contribution of agriculture, and to uplift local communities in the

proximity of these schemes (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume II., 2013 (b)).

The Green Scheme projects consist of a core commercial farmer (service provider), with a

number of out-growers (local community farmers) on the surrounding land. The intention is

for the out-growers to gain training, mentoring, input materials and services from the

commercial farmers. The system works on a loan basis, where the service provider

purchases goods in bulk and deducts it from the harvest income. The overall objective of

the Green Schemes is to generate employment and to contribute to national food

security.

Five of the twelve Green Schemes operational in Namibia are located in Kavango East.

These are illustrated in and include:

Shadikongoro Irrigation Project, which is 600 ha. This scheme currently has 47

permanent employees and 13 out-growers. Current crops produced include

maize, wheat and sunflowers.

Ndonga Linena Irrigation Project, which is 800 ha. The scheme currently has 57

permanent employees and 29 out-growers. Current crops include maize, onions,

watermelons, butternuts, gem squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes and wheat.

Shitemo Irrigation Project, which is 900 ha. This scheme currently has 18 permanent

employees and 10 out-growers. Current crops include maize, peanuts, butternuts,

squash and pumpkins.

Mashare Irrigation Project, which is 200 ha. This scheme currently has 7 permanent

employees, however it has no out-growers. Current crops include maize and

wheat.

Uhvungu Vhungu Irrigation Project, which is 600 ha. The scheme currently has 35

permanent employees and 10 out-growers. Current crops include maize, wheat

and vegetables (DECOSA, 2013).

48

Figure 24: Kavango East Green Schemes

The Green Schemes are considered somewhat successful in that they have created

employment opportunities, and they have contributed towards food security for Namibia.

Despite the employment opportunities created, jobs generated have been lower than

expected, the number of out-growers utilised in the scheme have been low (only 60% of

the total farm land in the Green Schemes for both Kavango West and East has been

utilised), and the types of crops produced is aimed towards volume in production rather

than higher yield crops with high employment potential (DECOSA, 2013).

3.1.1.2 Small Scale Commercial Farms and Subsistence Farming

Small-scale commercial farms (SSCF) mostly consist of dry farming activities, and as is

illustrated in Figure 25, these farms are located further inland (further away from the

Kavango River). Communal farms are typically an average of 1.9 ha in size, and the main

crops grown include mahangu, sorghum and maize, as well as a limited amount of

vegetables. Vegetables are mostly produced for domestic consumption (MLR, 2013 (b)) (MLR,

2013 (b)). There are many constraints to this type of farming. These include for example

access to existing markets, the lack of infrastructure the further inland farms are located,

poorer soil qualities, as well as erratic rainfall patterns. This results in crops with low yields,

49

limited labour numbers and where surplus harvests are rare. Therefore, although this type

of farming practice provides some food security, there is little economic value in SSCFs

(Mendelsohn & el Obeid, 2006).

Figure 25: Kavango East Small-Scale Commercial Farms

More than 45% of jobs created in Kavango East are within subsistence farming (NSA, Namibia

Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2012 Report, 2013 (a)) where mahangu and other dry land crops are

generally grown on small portions of land mostly along the Kavango River and in the

vicinity of rural villages. Most of the farming is done manually or by ox-drawn ploughing.

Yields are generally low with very little surplus harvested (DECOSA, 2013).

3.1.1.3 Horticulture

Horticulture products are grown as part of the Green Scheme projects, on some of the

small-scale irrigation farms, as well as a part of community gardens. These crops are

therefore exclusively grown along the Kavango River and in the back yards of

homesteads. Crops grown include cow peas, beans, pumpkins and peanuts (dry yield

crops); as well as carrots, onions, butternuts, sweet potatoes, traditional spinach, pepper,

garlic and chilli (irrigated crops).

50

3.1.1.4 Livestock Farming

In the former Kavango Region, 45% of livestock is cattle, 32% is poultry and 16% goats (The

Meat Board, Namibian Livestock Census 2012) Livestock is farmed for both commercial gain and

through the SSCF units. However, most livestock farming is not used for commercial

purposes (cattle and goats), but rather as a measure of wellbeing. Therefore, cattle are

only slaughtered on special events and to cover specific expenses. Notably, traditional

sour milk is used from the cattle and is currently undersupplied, indicating the potential in

this market. There is currently no abattoir in the region and animals have to be

slaughtered in Oshakati, although one is currently under construction (Stakeholders Workshop, 18

November 2014). Chickens are also not often slaughtered and are mainly utilised for their

source of eggs (DECOSA, 2013).

Other issues hampering the

commercialisation of livestock farming is

the location of the “Red Line” or Veterinary

fence, which lies south of Kavango East

and which restricts the movement of

livestock across this line. All livestock are

placed under three week quarantine

before they can be slaughtered due to

the risk of foot and mouth disease

(MLR, 2013 (a)).

3.1.1.5 Indigenous Fruit and Vegetables

In terms of vegetation, the Kavango East Region is a very diverse region and has a large

variety of indigenous fruit and vegetables. These are collected throughout the year and

used for food and for traditional healing. Although not currently used commercially, a

number of products also have the potential for commercial uses (such as cosmetics and

as medicines). Examples of some of the local products that are available include:

Fruit: Bird Plum, Magic Quarry, Manketti, Waterberry, African Mangosteen, Mobola,

Corky Monkey Oranges, Small and Large Sour Plums, Jackalberry, Kalahari

51

Podberry, Baobab, Dwarf Jackalberry, Raisin Bush, Velvet Wildmedlar, False

Mopane and Wild Melon

Vegetables: Zebra Aloe, Wild Okra, Wild Spinach, Hibiscus and Kalahari Truffel

Medicinal Plants: Devil’s Claw, Marula, Zimenia and Commiphora

Fibrous Plants: Grass, reeds and Makalani palms

3.1.2 TOURISM AND WILDLIFE

Tourism in the Kavango East Region is an important activity. The region has diverse

biodiversity and wildlife, a number of natural attractions (Kavango River, scenic areas)

three national parks, cultural heritage, and has been experiencing increased trade from

neighbouring areas.

There are two main types of tourists who visit the region, namely leisure tourists (who visit

the region due to the scenic area and biodiversity opportunities) and business tourists

(who visit the region to undertake business related activities and trade).

3.1.2.1 Business and Trade Tourists

It is estimated that there are currently about 120 000 shopping tourists who visit the former

Kavango Region to shop for goods that are either not available or is cheaper than in their

countries of origin such as Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. However given the

function of Rundu as a regional centre, it can be assumed that the majority of these

tourists visit the Kavango East Region. Despite this number, it is estimated that these

numbers (especially with tourists from Angola) could be significantly increased with new

infrastructure development (DECOSA, 2013).

Currently there are 32 existing tourism accommodation facilities in Kavango East. Most of

the accommodation facilities are located around Divundu (which has good access to the

more scenic parts of the region), the existing national parks and conservancies as well as

in and around Rundu. The location of these is illustrated in

52

Figure 26.

53

Figure 26: Kavango East Tourism Facilities

The above information illustrates that the Kavango East has the following opportunities:

Good tourism infrastructure (accommodation);

It is strategically located (both in terms of shopping tourists from neighbouring

countries); as well as leisure tourism as it is on the route from/to Etosha National

park-Okavango Delta- Victoria Falls;

It has the natural beauty and diversity of wildlife;

Cultural interest (San, crafts and woodcarvers).

This creates an opportunity for the tourism; however despite these opportunities, the

region faces issues such as underdeveloped marketing of the region as a whole,

insufficient supporting tourism infrastructure (signage and tourism information centres),

limited activities within towns to attract tourists, as well as competition with more

established and well know tourism locations such as the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

These need to be addressed in order to grow the market.

54

3.1.2.2 Leisure Tourists

Currently, an estimated 73 000 leisure tourists visit the former Kavango Region. However it

estimated that due to the fact that Kavango East has more tourism attractions, better

tourism infrastructure as well as more accommodation facilities; most of those tourists visit

the Kavango East Region. Despite this, most of the visits are overnight stays (on route to

other destinations, particularly the Okavango Delta), except for some lodges where guests

stay on average two nights. The tourism season is also very seasonal, with peak season

being experienced between July and September (DECOSA, 2013).

Currently there are three National Parks, three communal conservancies, two emerging

conservancies and larger consolidated areas such as the Transfrontier Conservation Area,

Khaudum North Complex and the Proposed Ramsar site. The conservation areas are as

follows:

3.1.2.3 Bwabwata National Park

According to the Tourism Development Plan, the Bwabwata National Park is the most

visited park in the north eastern Namibia, due to its strategic location (MET, Bwabwata Mamili

Mudumu Tourism Development Plan, 2009). The Bwabwata National Park is zoned into three “Core

Conservancy areas”, Mahango, Buffalo and Kwando, as well as a large multiple use area

zoned for community based tourism, trophy hunting, human settlement and development

by the community. Furthermore, the pans of Central Bwabwata offer seasonal game

viewing when they hold surface water after the rains. The park supports both wildlife and

humans and the park has about 35 large and numerous small game species as well as 339

bird species. The most popular Core Area in 2008 was Mahango with 17,067 visitors,

followed by Kwando with 5,971 and finally Buffalo with 2,440. Mahango is very easily

accessed via the C48 road between Divundu and Mohembo border post with Botswana.

There are two game drive routes in Mahango, of which one is a surfaced track capable of

carrying 2x4 traffic, while the other is only suitable for normal width 4x4 vehicles. Buffalo

Core Area on the other hand is only accessible by 2x4 vehicles as far as the old Military

base at Pica Pau. Kwando is only accessible to 4x4 vehicles. The Multiple-use Area is

mostly only passable by 4x4 vehicles, although the main settlements and government

facilities have 2x4 accessibility (MET, Bwabwata Mamili Mudumu Tourism Development Plan, 2009). Most of

the tourism infrastructure is situated on the periphery of the park, with only one being

55

located inside the park (Ngoabaca Community Campsite), which has been given as

concession to the community.

3.1.2.4 Khaudum National Park

Khaudum National Park is 3,824km² and supports

rare and endangered species such as Roan

antelope, Tsessebe and African wild dog. The

area is unfenced (except along the Botswana

boarder) to allow wildlife movement corridors,

however this has caused some human wildlife

conflicts with the SSCF units adjacent to the

park. There is limited accommodation in the

park (only two camping areas).

3.1.2.5 Popa Falls Game Park

Popa Falls Game Park is Namibia’s smallest game

park. It boasts one of the highest number of bird

species, although it is best known for the Popa

falls where the Kavango River is interrupted by a

quartzite ledge that creates a four-metre-high

series of rapids, before continuing on to Botswana

and the Okavango Delta (MET, Popa falls Game Park

Profile, 2014 (c)) . The Park conserves a small patch of

riverine forest on the west bank of the Kavango River and on small islands, which act as

lay-over and stepping stone before visitors continue to the Bwabwata National Park’s

Mahango core area or even Botswana. The Popa Falls Resort has recently been

renovated and provides high quality accommodation for tourists. The camp is an

important part of the NWR portfolio of tourist establishments in Namibia.

56

3.1.2.6 Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA)

It has been agreed that land belonging to Angola,

Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe is

consolidated under formal control for protection and a

MoU was signed in December 2006 between the

countries. This is potentially the world’s largest

conservation area (expected to span an area of

287,132 km²). Its goal is “to sustainably manage the

Kavango Zambezi ecosystem, its heritage and cultural

resources based on best conservation and tourism

models for the socio-economic wellbeing of the communities and other stakeholders in

and around the eco-region through the harmonization of policies, strategies and

practices”. The Namibian portion of the Transfrontier park includes the Khaudum National

Park and Bwabwata National Park (Kavango East) as well as the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy

(Otjozondjupa Region) (African Conservation Foundation, 2015).

3.1.2.7 Khaudum North Complex

The Khaudum North Complex is a joint management area (between state and

community) that aims to cluster resource management units together to increase

development opportunities and create wildlife corridors between conservancies. It

consists of the George Mukoya, Muduva Nyangana and the Khaudum National Park.

3.1.2.8 Bwabwata-Okavango Ramsar Site.

The Bwabwata-Okavango Ramsar Site is located within the Bwabwata National Park and

is surrounded by communal conservancies. The site covers the lower Kavango River, part

of the Okavango Delta and permanently or temporarily flooded marshes and floodplains

bordered by riparian forest and open woodland. The site supports one of the highest

diversities of species with over 400 species of birds, the highest number of any site in

Namibia. It was designated in December 2013 and its management plan aims to secure

and protect the ecological processes and wetlands, as well as optimising economic

growth (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume II., 2013 (b)).

57

Given the above tourism resources, there is

potential to increase tourism in this region based

on the biodiversity, natural attractions and culture

of the region. However, marketing of the region

needs to be increased as well as the uncertainty

of tenure (especially with regard to the lodges

located within the community conservancies and

along the river).

3.1.3 TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

The retail sector and the financial and business sectors each contribute 8% towards

employment in the Kavango East Region. The majority of retail and commercial activities

take place in Rundu in the form of specialist retailers, which illustrates its importance as a

trading centre for the surrounding agricultural areas (including Kavango West), as well as

Angolans who access the town via boats on the river(DECOSA, 2013). The Rundu Town

Council has listed 714 businesses; as well as three open markets (with an estimated 850 to

900 vendors). There is however a lack of specialised retailers focusing on agriculture and

long distance transport.

A new Fresh Produce Business Hub was opened in May 2013 in Rundu which aims to serve

primarily as a service centre, although it will also include processing activities. The hub will

provide services such as cold storage, ripening, grading, marketing, processing and

logistical facilities to support producers and traders. The facility is to be managed by the

Agricultural Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA); however it will function as a PPP with

the cold storage and marketing facility to be operated by wholesalers and agents. The

Hub will also provide serviced land for agri processing by private investors, research and

product development facilities, a retail centre, and open market for small traders and

serviced land for fuel stations and a truck port (DECOSA, 2013).

The Kavango East Region also has a strategic location and the Trans-Caprivi Highway links

this region with Walvis Bay on the coast with the neighbouring countries of Botswana as

well as further inland to Zambia, the DRC and Zimbabwe. This creates opportunities for a

58

logistical hub to be developed in towns such as Rundu as well as to promote additional

specialised retailers focusing on agricultural implements and equipment.

The services sector in the Kavango East Region is fairly well diversified and accounts for

24% of employment opportunities. It is however important to note that a large number of

these jobs are created in the government sector (administration, regional and local

councils, education, health, the armed forces, etc.).

Most of the services are located in Rundu, however most of these businesses are small and

82% of identified activities have been reported by the RTC as falling into the non-formal

sector with 80% trading as sole proprietors. This is with the exception of security services,

refuse removal and some construction companies; although most of this labour force is

only part time employers when contracts have been secured. The sector also lacks

diversification, with businesses offering a range of services rather than focusing on core

services (DECOSA, 2013). Thus, there exists the opportunity to develop a truck related cluster

(which has been planned), which could focus on the long distance needs and

requirements of the transport industry given the strategic location of the region in terms of

the Trans-Caprivi Highway.

3.1.4 FORESTRY

There are seven registered and one emerging community forests in the Kavango East

Region, of which Ncaute spreads over both Kavango Regions. The community forests are

listed in Table 14 and shown in Figure 22 under Section 2.5.3.

Table 14: Kavango East Community Forests

Location Community Forest Name Status of Conservancy Community Forest

Kavango East

Muduva Nyangana Gazetted CF

George Mukoya Gazetted CF

Likwaterera Gazetted CF

Hans Kanyinga Gazetted CF

Shamungwa Emerging CF

Cuma Gazetted CF

Gcwatjinga Gazetted CF

Kavango East and West Ncaute Gazetted CF

59

The forestry sector holds potential for economic development, however currently there is a

ban on the harvesting of all forestry products. This is due to over-utilisation which has

hindered growth in this sub sector as well as having negative spin-off effects on other

sectors such as the craft industry (lack of raw materials). Community Forests (CF)

(illustrated in

60

Figure 22: Kavango East Community Forests on page 42) have been set up by the

Directorate of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry. These are

areas within communal lands which have been given over for local communities to

manage. The principal is that of “sustainable management” to ensure that the resource

base is shared amongst all locals.

Products produced from this sector include indigenous fruits, fibres and larger indigenous

trees (Zambezi Teak, Syringa, Mopane, Rosewood, Kiaat, Silver Terminalia, Pod Mahogany,

Poison-pod and Leadwood) (DECOSA, 2013). These are demanded both locally as well as

internationally which in turn has increased the demand for these resources and

subsequent over-utilisation.

In addition to the ban on forestry, which has limited the growth of this sector, there are

other issues that include:

overlapping land uses (e.g. SSCF are created over the Community Forests),

conflicts where tribal authorities do not follow management plans,

allowing outside parties to harvest the forest resources,

lack of value addition to raw product (wood is cut into rough planks and then sold

to manufacturers), and

illegal harvesting, (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume II., 2013 (b)).

These issues have led to this resource adding very little economic value to this economic

sub-sector. There is however a latent potential for this sector in terms of the craft market,

harvesting and value add of indigenous forestry projects, as well as value add in terms of

further processing of timber and timber products such as furniture and charcoal.

3.1.5 MINING

Currently mining in Kavango East plays a relatively unimportant role in the economy and

there are no mining licences or mines within the region. Although some Exclusive

Prospecting Licences (EPLs) have been given out within the region; the majority of these

are for precious stones, base and rare metals; industrial metals; industrial minerals and non-

nuclear fuel minerals (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use Plan. Volume II., 2013 (b)). Most of

61

these are however for small-scale mining. Figure 27 illustrates the location where

exploration licences have been granted, both active and pending.

62

Figure 27: Kavango East Mining Exploration Licences

Some sand mining activities were taken

note of in the region (these are mostly

unregulated activities) and this activity

has the greatest potential (especially

given the anticipated demand for

housing materials) for development in the

region. However, illegal activities often

lead to large scale erosion, create large

“holes that fill with water during the rainy

season and create unattractive areas of

activity” (DECOSA, 2013).

3.1.6 FISHERIES AND MARINE RESOURCES

Fish is the preferred diet of the local inhabitants of the Kavango East Region, and thus

fishing plays an important role in terms of food security. However, it has less value from an

economic perspective. There are two types of fishing currently occurring in the region

and this includes:

63

Freshwater Fishing

Commercial Aquaculture

Freshwater Fishing currently occurs along the Kavango River and is mostly associated with

subsistence fishing. Traditional fishing methods using dugout canoes with nets are used, or

fishing occurs in shallows with baskets and fine mesh nets or hooks and lines. Currently the

area is overfished (due to a rising population), and fish levels have been dropping.

Importantly the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has indicated that it is difficult to

determine the fishing resources in the Kavango River and as a result it is also difficult to

estimate the value of the fishing industry. The river is traditionally very shallow and is low in

nutrients. As a result fishing is regulated by the Inland Fisheries Act (Act no 1 of 2003) which

requires fishermen to have a fishing licence when using a net, rod and reel or chartered

boat; but not if traditional fishing methods are utilised (DECOSA, 2013).

There is currently one commercial aquaculture facility operating in Kavango East, namely

Karovo which is located close to Mukwe and is a community–based fish farm which

produces tilapia and catfish. This farm however has a low yield and productivity whereby

it only produced 1,000 kg of fish in 2013 through six production ponds for eight months of

production. This farm is financially intensive (capital intensive to set up), and it requires

additional technologies and knowledge to be injected into the project. There is also a

training and research facility in the Kavango East Region at Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries

Institute (KIFI) where research is undertaken on the Kavango River (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango

Regional Land Use Plan. Volume II., 2013 (b)). This facility also produces fingerlings and fish for sale.

Despite current low fish yields from this sub sector, there is potential for this sub sector to

increase its contribution to the Kavango East economy if production is increased

considerably at the existing fish farm and combined with micro fish farming in the local

communities (DECOSA, 2013).

3.1.7 MANUFACTURING

The manufacturing sector in the Kavango East Region is not well developed and only

accounts for 2% of the jobs created. Most of the industries can be classified as micro and

64

small scale enterprises, which implies that very few businesses have employees and many

of the businesses only operate part time.

Most of the businesses are located in the major settlements and in particular in Rundu and

Divundu. Other more informal industries located in smaller villages in the region focus on

tailoring, bakeries, crafts (woodwork and carving has however been impacted by the ban

of forestry operations) and butcheries (DECOSA, 2013).

Most goods are imported into the region and there is therefore potential to add value to

existing primary products including agri processing (abattoir in Rundu to add value to

livestock farming as well as producing goods such as jams, juices and pickles from

indigenous fruit and high value horticultural products), furniture making, brick making,

leather products and milk. In addition, due to the high incidence of migration from the

rural areas to the urban areas, there is increased pressure for housing and therefore

manufacturing of construction products such as grasses and reeds for thatching as well as

brick making factories will be demanded in the future; particularly around existing towns

such as Rundu and Divundu. Rundu also has a SME park (800 m²), the aim of which is to

promote manufacturing activities in the region.

3.2 SOCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT

The Social sector refers to the part of social and economic activity done for the purposes

of benefitting society and which is funded, including: Housing, Development Projects and

Social Support, as well as Land and Resettlement.

3.2.1 HOUSING

As the Regional Authority, housing falls under the responsibility of the KRC in the town of

Divundu and the settlements. The Rundu Town Council as local authority in the town of

Rundu is responsible for the provision of housing to their residents, while the Traditional

Authorities are responsible for the rural areas (DECOSA, 2013). However, Divundu was recently

proclaimed as a village and will soon be managed by a village council.

Through the Build Together Programme, the KRC oversaw the construction of the following

housing projects:

65

Divundu

- 2007/8: 20 houses under construction


Ndiyona


The following Housing projects have been undertaken in Rundu:

1999-2008: 241 houses within the Build Together Programme

Thereafter the programme was interrupted but in 2012 the RTC requested N$1.63 million for

32 houses.

- 2012: The RTC approved 129 building plans of private investors with a total value of

N$30.1 million.

- Currently: 250 residential buildings are in a final construction phase in the “Rainbow

Village” and 48 houses were constructed by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE)

next to the Rundu – Sauyemwa road.

Still, despite the above service delivery, the demand for residential plots still exceeds by far

the offer of serviced land in Rundu (DECOSA, 2013).

3.2.2 HEALTH

Health and social well-being are fundamental human rights. Consequently, the ultimate

goal of the Namibian government and of the Ministry of Health and Social Services

(MoHSS) in particular is to attain a level of health and social well-being for all Namibians

that will enable them to lead economically and socially productive lives. In this section,

the distribution of health facilities is discussed. Typical health indicators like life expectancy

and infant- and maternal mortality are not yet available from the 2011 Census and will be

described using data from the 2001 Census. Finally, the HIV prevalence rates are

discussed based on the Sentinel Survey completed in 2012.

3.2.2.1 Health Facilities

66

There are 3 hospitals, 30 clinics, 1 health centre and 2 medical outreach posts in the

Kavango East Region and mobile clinics are also used to reach residents in the rural areas.

As Figure 28 illustrates, access to health facilities in the region are mostly concentrated

along the main Trans Caprivi Highway and the town of Rundu.

67

3.2.2.2 HIV Prevalence Rates

The Sentinel sites used to monitor the HIV prevalence rates that correspond to the

Kavango East Region includes Andara, Nyangana and Rundu and has been compared

with the average Namibian prevalence rate in

68

Figure 29 below. When considering the national average, the prevalence peaked in 2002

at 22% after which it slowly decreases, albeit with fluctuations to 18.2% in 2012. The trend in

HIV prevalence at two of the three sites is an increasing one, albeit with wild fluctuations.

At the time of the last Sentinel Survey of 2012 the HIV prevalence rates were higher than

the national average for all three sites.

Figure 28: Kavango East Region Access to Health Facilities

69

Figure 29: Kavango East Percent Changes in HIV Prevalence Rates: 1994-2012

(MOHSS, 2012)

3.2.3 WATER AND SANITATION

Access to services, such as potable water, toilet facilities and electricity are important

indicators of standard of living and the well-being of residents in a population. As Figure 30

shows, with the exception of access to safe water in the Rundu Urban Constituency,

service delivery is poorer than the national average, with the single exception of water

delivery in the Rundu Urban Constituency. Service provision is hindered by the great

dispersion of people in rural areas, although the service provision in the Urban areas of the

Kavango East Region is also poorer than in the rest of the country.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Pe

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HIV Prevalence Rates, Namibia and Kavango East Sentinel Sites: 1994-2012

Namibia

Andara

Nyangana

Rundu

70

Figure 30: Kavango East Percent Household Access to Services, 2011



Despite the comparatively poor access to services, the trends shown in Table 15 indicate

that access improved from 2001 to 2011. With the exception of a slight decrease in

access to safe water in the Ndiyona and Rundu Rural Constituencies, more households

had access to safe drinking water from piped water inside or outside their place of

residence, public pipes, boreholes with their tanks covered or from protected wells. The

proportion of households who did not have access to a toilet facility decreased in the

Mashare, Mukwe and Ndiyona Constituencies, decreased slightly in Rundu Rural East and

remained unchanged in the Rundu Urban Constituency. The use of electricity for lighting

has increased throughout the region, albeit slower in the Mashare Constituency.

45

78.695 91 95 91 97

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71

Table 15: Kavango East Percent Household Access to Services, 2001-2011 (Old delineation)

% Households Safe Water No Toilet Facility Electricity for Lighting

2001 2011 2001 2011 2001 2011

Mashare 45 60 95 89 2 7

Mukwe 34 41 92 87 8 15

Ndiyona 45 43 92 80 3 13

Rundu Rural East 76 85 75 74 4 20

Rundu Urban 99 97 18 18 57 81



3.2.4 RURAL DEVELOPMENT

According to Mendelsohn and Obeid (2006), most plans for development in Kavango

concentrate on rural development, including improving services to support people in rural

areas or attempts at improving household economies, most often by trying to raise

production on small farms to provide greater food security and increase sales of farm

produce. The following rural development projects were undertaken by the KRC in the

Kavango East Region. These appear to mostly focus on temporary job creation and skills

development and include cash/food for work projects, income generating projects, the

rural employment scheme, food security and nutrition and the One Region One Initiative

project. As most of these projects were undertaken before the region was divided, any

reference to constituencies will refer to the previous delineations.

3.2.4.1 Cash/Food for Work Projects

The following cash/food for work projects have been undertaken since 2010:

Table 16: Kavango East Cash/Work for Food Projects, 2010-2014

Project Location Project Name

2010/2011

Mashare Shinunga Primary School Renovations

Kandjara Village, Ndiyona Thomas Shiyave Quarantine Road debushing

Kandjara Village, Ndiyona Water Pipeline Project

2011/2012

Mukwe Mayara Village Teachers Residence

Ndiyona Arevashweneka Village Water Pipeline

Mashare Tara-tara Village Classroom Construction

Gonwa Village, Rundu Rural East

Madjwa-Gonwa Road Clearance

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2012/2013

Muthinduko Village, Mukwe Constituency Muthinduko Community Hostel Semi-Renovation

Ndiyona Constituency Shikenge/Kanyumara Village Water

Muroro Village, Mashare Ghukushuki Water Pipeline

Ngcangcana Village, Rundu Rural East Ngcangcana Classroom Semi-Renovation

2013/2014

Mashi Village, Mukwe Road Debushing

Dosa Village, Ndiyona Stephanus Kamonga (Dosa) Community Hostel Project

Muroro Village in the Mashare Constituency Ghukushuki Water Pipeline

Kambowo Village, Rundu Rural East Road Clearance

3.2.4.2 Income Generating Projects

The following income generating projects have been undertaken since 2009:

Table 17: Kavango East Income Generating Projects, 2009-2014


2009/2010

Kaisosi Village, Rundu Rural East Ninka Yoge Sewing Project

Ndiyona Tukugomenene Gardening Project

2010/2011

Popa Village, Mukwe Popa Brick Making Project

Muroro Village, Mashare Greenhouse Paradise Gardening Project

2011/2012

Ndiyona Village, Ndiyona Liyerenge Photo Studio & Computer Centre

Ndiyona Village, Ndiyona Fabra Catering Services

Muroro Village, Mashare Nove Name Butchery

Muroro Village, Mashare VaKadona Vanayimbondi Poultry Farm

2012/2013

Popa Village, Mukwe Popa Brick Making

Ndiyona Nkagi Dee Sewing Project

Mashare Nkenda Tent Hiring

Rundu Rural East Ngombe Farming Project (Cattle rearing

2013/2014

Rundu Rural East Vaterenu Tent Hiring

Mashare Mashare Brick Making

Ndiyona Vyapalivhu Coffin Making

Mukwe Mukwe Creative Salon and Computer Centre

Mukwe Ghupithe Salon and Computer Centre

3.2.4.3 Rural Employment Scheme

The following rural employment schemes were undertaken from 2012-2014:

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Table 18: Kavango East Rural Employment Schemes, 2012-2014


2012/2013

Mukwe Rughongoro Garden and Kehembuto Vegetable Garden

Ndiyona Rumwemwe Open Market

Mashare Muroro Welding

Rundu Rural East Project unspecified

2013/2014

Mashare Rundanda Chicken Farming Project

Ndiyona Tuvatjirere Wood Work Project

Mukwe Tukondjere tate Gardening Project

Mukwe Ngungwe Gardening Project

3.2.4.4 Food Security and Nutrition

The following eight food security projects were undertaken from 2012-2014:

Table 19: Kavango East Food Security Projects, 2012-2014


2012/2013

Mukwe Project unspecified

Ndiyona Shepenu Tupu Mberema Gardening

Mashare Shetekera Gardening

Rundu Rural East Project Unspecified

2013/2014

Rundu Rural East Fish Sales at Chipululu Kusuka Kwahi

Mashare Mashare Devil’s Claw Trading

Ndiyona Shikoro Bakery Bread Making

Mukwe Kamberema Gardening

3.2.4.5 One Region One Initiative

Only one project was undertaken by the One Region One Initiative from 2012-2014:

Table 20: Kavango East One Region One Initiative Projects, 2012-2014

Project Location Project Name 2012-2014

Mukwe Bushmen Honey

Irrespective of the particular focus, all the efforts are based on a central assumption that

livelihoods on communal land can really be improved. However, Mendelsohn and Obeid

further argue that true rural development will be hard to achieve since the environment is

hard and insecure because of the poor soils, low and unreliable rainfall, and prevalence

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of disease. The natural vegetation has also been destroyed in many areas, so wood and

grazing is only available after a long walk.

Water, too, is often far away and often not safe to drink and other services are

inadequate or non-existent. The most attractive areas tend to already be densely

occupied, leaving little land for living or for effective agricultural practices. Much more

than the few hectares most people are expected to occupy on communal land is

needed for profitable farming and small plots are only commercially viable for farmers

that can sell their produce at Rundu.

The market, a lack of capital for investment and the absence of a reliable supply of labour

further hampers farming practices and businesses, in general. Finally, capital is required

for farming activities to develop to a point that they become lucrative and beyond the

level of subsistence. These are all reasons that make rural development difficult,

especially for subsistence farmers who face high risks and low rewards, and have better

options elsewhere. Since formal jobs provide incomes many times greater than those from

small-scale farming it is not surprising that most people have little interest in investing in

farming and less and less attachment to rural life.

They thus assert that the rural areas of the Kavango Regions are not places to live

comfortably and in-migration to town reflect clear intentions to find better lifestyles, and so

the promotion of rural, subsistence livelihoods simply runs against the aspirations of many

people. For the time being, however, many rural people have little immediate hope of

moving up the ladder, remaining stuck on the bottom rung where they make out a living

from farming, fishing and gathering.

Still, many people will also choose to remain in the countryside, despite having

opportunities, and they should not be abandoned. But efforts to support them will be

more effective if they are appropriately cast in terms of poverty alleviation rather than as

rural development. Mendelsohn and Obeid thus conclude that effective development

must be concentrated in urban areas and those options that recognize and capitalize on

real benefits to be gained from rural environments, for example large-scale farming,

tourism and the economic use of wildlife (Mendelsohn & el Obeid, 2003).

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3.2.5 LAND AND RESETTLEMENT

Government’s Resettlement Policy aims to resettle eligible persons on agricultural land in

ways that are institutionally, sociologically, economically and environmentally sustainable

and allow for the beneficiaries to become self supporting. To enable the process, the MLR

purchases and allocates land to settlers. However, to ensure the sustainability of

resettlement efforts, the Ministry also provides support, such as infrastructure, shelter, and

skills training. In the Kavango East Region, land resettlement efforts have been focused on

the creation of the Small Scale Commercial Farms (MLR, Draft Integrated Kavango Regional Land Use

Plan. Volume II., 2013 (b)).

According to Mendelsohn, about 622 SSCFs have been allocated by Traditional

Authorities in the former Kavango Region covering approximately 45% of the communal

land in the region and 470 of these allocated farms are within designated agriculture

areas. Of these 622 SSCFs, 302 gazetted and 61 un-gazetted SSCFS fall within the Kavango

East Region, specifically.

According to Mendelsohn, 20% of the SSCFs within designated agricultural areas (both

Kavango Regions) do not have leaseholds, while 72% of farms outside the designated

agriculture areas do not have leaseholds (Mendelsohn J. , Rapid Survey of Farms in Kavango, 2013).

According to the Rapid Survey on Farms, the majority of the SSCF owners live in Rundu or

elsewhere in Namibia and very few actually live on the farms with a total of 1,786 people

living on the farms.

According to the MLR, the SSCFs receive a variety of support, including capital,

infrastructure, equipment and skills training (MLR personal communication, 2015). However, both the

IRLUP and the Rapid Survey of Farms list mention that the road infrastructure is limited and

that there is limited fencing and water availability to the SSCFs, which all impact on the

productivity of these farms.

3.2.6 SOCIAL WELFARE/POVERTY

In this section the changes in poverty and inequality is discussed as key indicators of

economic progress and social inclusion. However, poverty is perceived and understood in

different ways by different communities based on locality specific contexts and reference

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points or benchmarks (NPC, Regional Poverty Profile for Kavango Region, 2006). This was also stressed in

both Stakeholders Workshops. In both the Kavango Poverty Profile and the NSA report on

Poverty Dynamics in Namibia, many definitions of poverty were given, including: a lack of

possessions, like cattle, ploughs or crop fields; a lack of access to education, services and

markets and a lack of social support structures. As the data used in this section were

released before the regional split, the data will be reported for the former Kavango

Region.

Mendelsohn and el Obeid agree that the welfare of households depends both on income

and access to resources such as oxen, ploughs, livestock, grazing, fields and fish, for

example, but that there is great variation in ownership of assets. For example, about 59%

of households have cattle and some 51% have goats, leaving 41% and 49% without these

livestock. Approximately 6% of all farmers own about half the cattle in the region, and

about 270 people effectively own almost one quarter of all land in former Kavango and

only half of all farmers have their own ploughs (Mendelsohn & el Obeid, 2003). As such, in terms of

possessions, there is great disparity in the region.

Another common assumption is that most people are heavily dependent on subsistence

farming for their food and income. While this is correct for some households, especially the

very poor, the majority of households still buy much of their food using money earned from

sources other than farming (Mendelsohn & el Obeid, 2003, p. 107).

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Table 21: Changes in Poverty and Extreme Poverty in Namibia and the former Kavango Region, 1993/4-

2009/10

Poor

Rate of Reduction Rate of Reduction

1993/4 2003/04 2009/10 1993/4-2003/4 2003/04-2009/10

Kavango 76.3 64.1 55.2 ‐12.2 ‐8.9

Namibia 69.3 37.7 28.7 ‐31.5 ‐9.0

Extremely Poor

Kavango 61.6 47.1 34.6 ‐33.5 ‐16.2

Namibia 58.9 21.9 15.3 -37.0 ‐6.6

(NSA, Poverty Dynamics in Namibia. A Comparative Study Using the 1993/4, 2003/4 and 2009/10 NHIES Surveys, 2012)

Another measure used in the Namibia Housing Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES) is

the proportion of household income that is spent on basic needs compared to the

poverty line, which is a specified minimum level of income defined below for 2003/4 and

2009/10 in Table 21. The upper bound poverty line identifies those households that are

considered to be poor; while the lower bound poverty line identifies those households that

are extremely poor, or food poor since their total consumption expenditures are

insufficient to meet their daily calorific requirement.

Table 22: NHIES Poverty lines, 2003/4 and 2009/10

Poverty line 2003/2004 2009/2010

Lower bound poverty line: “severely poor 184.56 277.54

Upper bound poverty line: “poor” 262.45 377.96


According to the 2003/4 NHIES, the former Kavango Region was rated the poorest in the

country with 64.1% of households living below the upper boundary poverty line. While the

poverty levels decreased according to the 2009/10 Household Income and Expenditure

Survey, the region remained in last place with more than half (55.2%) of the population

living in poverty. There was also a reduction the proportion of households living in extreme

poverty from 47.1% in 2003/4 to 34.6% in 2009/10. While the former Kavango Region is thus

the poorest region overall, in 2009/10 it had the second lowest incidence of extreme

poverty behind the Zambezi Region (35.2%). Overall, from the 1993/4 to the 2009/10

National Housing Income and Expenditure Surveys poverty has been reduced in the

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former Kavango Region by 21.2%, which is the second slowest rate of poverty reduction

after the Khomas Region (16.1%).

According to Namibia Poverty Mapping the former Kavango Region had the highest

incidence of poverty by 2011 (based on the poverty headcount) of all regions at 53%,

representing a decline of 5% between 2001 and 2011. All constituencies except Rundu

Urban had a poverty incidence higher than the national average of 27%.(National Planning

Commission, n/d)

A measure which describes the income inequality in populations is the Gini Coefficient,

which expresses income as it deviates from a normal distribution on a scale from 0-1 and is

listed for Namibia and the former Kavango Region in Table 23.

Table 23: Gini Coefficients for Namibia and the former Kavango Region, 1993-2004

Gini Coefficient 1993/1994 2003/2004 2009/2010

Namibia 0.646 0.600 0.597

Former Kavango Region 0.616 0.494 0.456


However, it must be mentioned that the Gini Coefficient is not a measure of poverty or

development, but of the distribution of income and wealth in a population. Thus, while

great improvements can be seen in the overall reduction of poverty in both Namibia and

the former Kavango Region, the redistribution of wealth has been slower. Considering

Table 21, there has been a reduction in the income inequality of both Namibia and the

former Kavango Region, although the rate of the reduction was more noteworthy in th

former Kavango Region. In fact, the Region was one of the six regions that experienced a

reduction in income inequality. Both the Khomas and the Zambezi Regions experienced

quite significant increases in income inequality.

3.2.7 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

While rural development is the responsibility of the Kavango East Regional Council as the

regional authority in the region, community development in the urban areas is the

responsibility of the local authorities, which is the Rundu Town Council in the Kavango East

Region. The community development projects are discussed below.

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3.2.7.1 Small Grant Fund

The Town Council, in partnership with its twin city of Nieuwrgein in the Netherlands,

established a small grant fund to support small community based projects and programs

involved in the fight against HIV/Aids. The small community projects/programs were

supported with grants of up to N$10000 and include gardening projects, centres for

orphans and vulnerable children and soup kitchens (RTC Personal Communication, December 2014).

3.2.7.2 Woman and Youth Cleaning Programme

The dumping of litter was mentioned as a significant problem in the former Kavango

Region in the LED Report. The Town Council initiated a litter cleaning program benefitting

women and the youth. The group clears litter from streets and other public places in the

town and are paid monthly by the Council for their services (RTC Personal Communication,

December 2014).

3.2.8 EDUCATION AND TRAINING

There are 116 Primary Schools, 24 Combined Schools and 13 Secondary Schools in the

Constituencies that approximate the current Kavango East Region. However, if you

consider the distribution of schools, students in the central, southern and eastern parts of

the region have no access to schools, which are all concentrated towards the north and

along the Trans-Caprivi Highway to the west.

Table 24: Education Indicators and Trends

Namibia

Former Kavango

Region Namibia

Indicator 2008 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011

Total Number of classrooms 19,460 2,287 2,274 2,295 2,326 20,740

Traditional structures as % of all classrooms 7.0% 8.8% 8.6% 8.9% 8.9% 6.5%

Learner/Teacher Ratio 27.7 21.7 27.8 27.6 27.2 24.8

% of Primary Teachers qualified to teach 71.1% 61.5% 64.2% 66.8% 68.6% 78.7%

% of Secondary Teachers qualified to teach 90.1% 87.7% 88.7% 90.5% 91.8% 93.7%

(Ministry of Education, 2011)

The indicators in table 24 shows that the former Kavango Region lagged behind in the

sense that it had a higher percentage of traditional structures serving as classrooms than

nationally, and also that there are about 2.4 students more per teacher than in Namibia

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as a whole. Also, a smaller percentage of teachers in both primary and secondary school

are qualified to teach than is the situation nationally. In terms of trends, the number of

classrooms are increasing, yet the percentage of traditional structures serving as

classrooms remained more or less the same between 2008 and 2011. Learner/teacher

ratios and teachers qualifications are, however, on the increase and this point to an

improving situation.

Higher education institutes in the Kavango East Region include the Rundu Vocational

Training Centre (RVTC), Community Skills Development Centre (COSDEC), the Triumphant

College, the Institute for Open Learning, the Namibian College for Open Learning

(NAMCOL) the University of Namibia and the Mashare Agricultural Development Institute.

3.2.9 LAW AND JUSTICE

The distribution of courts in Namibia is not geographically balanced, leading to limited

physical access to justice depending on which part of the country one resides in. Courts

are mainly found in areas with high concentrations of economic activity (Nakuta & Chipepera,

2011). In the both the Kavango East and West Regions, as well as the Zambezi Region, the

Rundu Magistrate Court is charged with upholding justice. Furthermore, there are three

Magistrates operating at the District level at Periodic Courts held in the Mukwe, and

Ndiyona Constituencies. Finally, a Control Magistrate is responsible for the administration

of the Court in Rundu.

Community Courts are a creation of the Community Courts Act, 10 of 2003, which was

drafted to formalise and give legislative recognition to the jurisdiction of the traditional

courts that render essential judicial services to members of traditional communities (Nakuta &

Chipepera, 2011). Since Community Courts are more easily accessible to local people in rural

settings, most rural citizens first encounter the legal system through the traditional courts,

which represent the Shambyu Traditional Authority, the Mbunza Traditional Authority, the

Gciriku Traditional Authority and the Mbukushu Traditional Authority (Personal Communication with

Rundu Magistrate Court, 1 December, 2014).

The Traditional Authorities Act delineates which offences may be dealt with under the

traditional system, as well as the role, duties and powers of traditional leaders and

provides that customary law is invalid if it is inconsistent with provisions of the Constitution

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or legislation. As with the distribution of educational and health facilities in the Kavango

East Region, the distribution of police stations are also concentrated along the Trans

Caprivi Highway, as well as at the border posts to Angola in the north and Botswana to

the south.

Figure 31: Kavango East Police Stations

3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE

The Kavango East Region has a serious need for many services and basic infrastructure. In

order to stimulate development within the rural areas the provision of rural water supply,

improved road network, telecommunications and electricity are urgently required. This

section will investigate the developmental infrastructure available in the region and

challenges, current strategies and potential areas of investment will be examined.

3.3.1 TRANSPORT

3.3.1.1 Road Network

The Trans Caprivi Highway, which runs throughout both the Kavango East and Kavango

West Regions, links Central Namibia to the Zambezi Region as well as to Botswana, Zambia

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and Zimbabwe with famous tourist destinations like the Chobe Game Reserve and Victoria

Falls en-route. The Trans Caprivi Highway also connect to other regions of Namibia and

constituencies in the Kavango East Region (DECOSA, 2013). The road infrastructure in the

Kavango East Region consists of external transport links, regional transport and urban

transportation, which are illustrated in the Figure 32. The main proposed roads have also

been included. Kavango East has a total of 1157 km of proclaimed roads. Of this, a total

of 350km is bitumen surfaced and 302 km gravel surfaced. The remaining 505km is

proclaimed but not yet constructed.

Figure 32: Kavango East Road Network

External Transport Links

The Trans Caprivi Highway (B8) is of central importance for trade and tourism in the

Kavango East Region. The Trans Caprivi Highway directly links the Kavango East Region

with the central parts of Namibia from Rundu to Otavi and from there on the B1 to

Windhoek and the B2 to the port of Walvis Bay. The highway also connects the Kavango

East Region to the Zambezi Region which connects with Angola via the Tsheto border post

close to Divundu as well as via Katima Mulilo with other neighbouring countries. Most

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traffic from or to eastern Angola, Zambia (and Malawi), Zimbabwe and Northern

Botswana uses this highway and even includes traffic from the DRC.

The Kavango East Region is also connected to the North Central Regions from Rundu on

the T0804 hrough the Kavango West Region using the T1501 via Nkurenkuru and on the

same road via Katwitwi with Angola.

The road links and strategic locations of Rundu is certainly a benefit for the Kavango East

Region. A constraint is the current low level of road connections to Angola.

Regional Transport

With the exception of the main roads mentioned above the road infrastructure in the

Kavango East Region is poorly developed. Very few roads exist and the condition of these

roads is often poor.

Urban Transport

With the exception of the B8, the road network in the town of Rundu needs upgrading

and the maintenance of the gravel streets needs to be improved. Furthermore, street

lighting and pavements requires improvement to include pedestrian walkways as they

exist even in towns which are much lesser developed than Rundu.

Future Road Infrastructure

Figure 32 indicates that a total of 10 new roads have been planned for the Kavango East

Region, based on the utility and economic analysis for determining comparative social

and economic benefits on each project. All of the new roads identified are to connect

schools and in some cases schools and clinics. The total length of the proposed new

roads is 296 km (BiCon, 2008). In addition, there are also plans to build bridges between Rundu

and Calais and also across the Kavango River at Kayova in the Ndiyona constituency.

3.3.1.2 Air Transport

The airstrip at Rundu is able to handle medium-sized airplanes. There is also an airstrip at

Bagani.

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3.3.1.3 Rail Transport

There is currently no rail network in the Kavango East Region, although a pre-feasibility

study has been completed for the construction of the railway from Cape Fria to Katima

Mulilo via the Omusati, Ohangwena, Kavango West and Kavango East Regions to the

Zambezi Region.

3.3.1.4 Water Transport

There is no formal water transport system in place but the local population use makoros to

cross the river as and when required.

3.3.2 ENERGY

The generation, transmission and bulk supply of electricity is currently the sole responsibility

of NamPower, a parastatal enterprise. However, electricity distribution in Namibia is

decentralised. Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs) are legal entities tasked with the

distribution of electricity in a dedicated area, as a means of improving service delivery

and efficiency in the electricity sector as a whole. The Electricity Control Board (ECB)

exercises control over the Electricity Supply Industry, and regulate the generation,

transmission, distribution, import and export of electricity through the setting of tariffs and

issuance of licenses.

In terms of the bulk supply of electricity, the Kavango East Region is fed by a 132 kV line

from the Oshikoto Transmission Station (T/S) in the Oshikoto Region. From Rundu a 66 kV

network extends to the east and a 22 kV network supplies Vungu Distribution Station (D/S)

(BiCon, 2008). At the time of the release of the Kavango Electricity Master Plan in 2008, only

the areas immediately adjacent to the river and Trunk Road (TR) 8/4 had access to grid

power, as can be seen in Figure 33.

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Figure 33: Kavango East Electricity Network and Proposed Electrification Localities

Due to the limited electricity network, the majority of residents in the former Kavango

Region do not have access to power from the grid, but make use of other energy sources

for lighting, as shown in Table 25.

Table 25: Kavango East - Households by Main Source of Energy, 2011

% Households Grid Generator Solar Other

Namibia 32.6 0.3 0.1 67

Kavango East Region 31.5 0.5 0.3 67.7

Mashare 7.3 0.4 0.2 92.1

Mukwe 15.4 0.6 0.2 83.8

Ndiyona 7.5 0.1 1.1 91.3

Ndonga Linena 17.1 0.3 0.3 82.3

Rundu Rural 6.7 0.5 0.3 92.5

Rundu Urban 52.7 0.5 0.2 46.5

Only 31.5% of households in the Kavango East Region used energy from the grid.

However, considering the data on the constituency level, half of the households in Rundu

Urban Constituency used electricity from the grid, while all the other constituencies had

fewer than 20% of their households connected to the grid. As such, the provision of

electricity in the region is still far from sufficient and many villages are still without

electricity. The use of generators and solar is also still insignificant.

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Annually the MME makes a budget available for the electrification of these villages,

however the process is slow, since the annual budget is insufficient to electrify all villages

at once. A policy of prioritisation is therefore followed to electrify only schools and

government institutions within each village. The proposed localities to be electrified are

illustrated in Figure 33, while the 6 schools that have been prioritised for electrification in

2014/2015 are listed in the table below along with their village names and the reticulation

system they will be connected to.

Table 26: Kavango East Electrification Priorities

Village kV Ret System MV Length School

Shaditunda 33kV Mahango 6.5km Shaditunda School

Tushupenu 22kV Rundu - Arendsnes 15.5km Tushupenu JP School

Gcwatjinga 22kV Rundu - Arendsnes 16.9km Gcwatjinga SP School

Ncame 33kV Cuito 16.9km Ncame School

Shamanaru 33kV Mahango 12.7km Shamanaru School

Mukongotji 33kV Mahango 8.8km Mukongotji School

(Personal Communication, ACS)

In order to address the rapidly growing demand for electrical power in the North,

NamPower proposed the potential Popa Falls hydro power project with the preferred site

being located approximately 3.3 km downstream from the Divundu Bridge, which

provides the greatest potential for hydro power generation. However, due to the

ecological and environmental sensitivity of the Kavango swamps and islands with their

unique and rare habitats, it has been recommended that the proposal be further

investigated in a fully detailed feasibility study, both a technical feasibility study and

detailed environmental impacts assessment to better quantify the impacts identified in the

preliminary environmental assessment.

3.3.3 WATER, SANITATION AND SOLID WASTE

The Kavango River is the main source of water in the Kavango East Region. However, only

people living along the river benefit from this resource. In the rest of the region people are

dependent on wells or boreholes as a source of water.

The 2011 Census statistics, listed in Table 27, show that 72% of the households in the

Kavango East Region have access to potable water in the form of piped water (inside

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their households, outside their households or from a public pipe) or from covered

boreholes or protected wells, which is below the national average of 80%. Nearly all

households in the Rundu Urban Constituency have access to potable water, compared to

only 41% in the Mukwe Constituency, which had the lowest levels of access. However,

considering the trends discussed in Section 10.4, access to safe drinking water has

decreased in the Ndiyona and Rundu Urban Constituencies.

Nearly 23% of households uses rivers, dams or streams as their main source of drinking

water. In the Mukwe Constituency, which is the constituency with the largest stretch of the

Kavango River, 56% of households source their drinking water from the river, dams or

streams.

Table 27: Kavango East Percent Households by Access to Safe Drinking Water.


East Region Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona

Ndonga

Linena

Rundu

Rural

Rundu

Urban

Piped water inside 30.1 16.2 4.5 4.1 6.3 4.9 3.1 28.8

Piped water outside 19.7 21.7 9.4 3.7 12.7 11.3 9.4 36.4

Public Pipe 21.5 23.1 13.7 13.5 11.7 17.6 29.6 30.8

Borehole with Tank

Covered 6.8 10.2 29.4 19.1 7.8 9.7 22.3 1.0

Protected Well 1.9 0.8 2.4 0.3 3.8 0.8 0.1 0.3

Safe water 80.0 71.9 59.4 40.7 42.3 44.3 64.6 97.3

Borehole with Tank

Open 3.3 2.9 2.2 2.6 15.4 8.1 0.8 0.7

River/Dam/Stream 8.3 22.6 36.7 56.2 34.0 36.9 34.4 0.2

Canal 0.8 0.4 0.1 0.1 1.1 3.2 0.1 0.0

Unprotected Well 6.7 1.5 1.4 0.1 7.1 7.5 0.1 0.5

Others 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 1.3

Unsafe water 20.0 28.1 40.6 59.3 57.7 55.7 35.4 2.7



According to the LED Report, of the approximately 22 million cubic meters of water

extracted from the river annually, 15% is used by rural people and their livestock, 11% is

used to supply the town of Rundu, and 74% is used for irrigation on large agricultural

schemes (DECOSA, 2013).

The Directorate of Rural Water Supply within MAWF is responsible for the bulk water supply

in rural areas and anybody (including NamWater) who wishes to take water from any

natural source, like the Kavango River, must apply for a Water Abstraction Permit. With

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application approved by MAWF individuals, communities, business etc. can also directly

draw water from the river. This applies also for example for lodges in Rundu.

Outside town or settlement boundaries end users can also buy directly from NamWater,

provided that they are located along a main NamWater water pipeline that does not

cross the Trans Caprivi Highway (B8) (with the exception of Rundu Town). In these cases

NamWater installs a water meter for the client at an agreed spot and it is the responsibility

of the buyer to lay a pipe from the water meter to his/her house, village or business.

Commercial bulk water is supplied by NamWater to the Rundu Town Council as well as to

settlements, villages, clinics, hospitals, schools etc. As such, NamWater is not allowed to

supply end users within proclaimed town or settlement boundaries that fall under the

responsibility of the Rundu Town Council and the Kavango East Regional Council.

NamWater does, however, invest in the infrastructure of water supply (e.g. pumps,

boreholes, pipes) up to strategic points where their customers take over the responsibility

(DECOSA, 2013).

Furthermore, NamWater is organised into Rural Water Schemes in Kavango East, which

can be water extracted from a river or borehole. This is managed by NamWater who sells

water in bulk to the Ministry of Agriculture. According to the LED Report, NamWater has

nine water extraction points along the Kavango River and twelve groundwater supply

schemes, while the MAWF established 37 boreholes driven with solar energy in 2012 in the

former Kavango Region.

A Total of 292 Water points were supplied and managed by the Directorate of Rural Water

Supply, of which 178 are marked as active, 41 as closed, 13 as inactive, 3 as transferred

and 57 as planned.

89

Figure 34: Kavango East Water Provision

Despite the water resources from the Kavango River, the supply of potable water is not

sufficient, especially for the people living in the inland. Access to water is one of the most

important constraints for these people. Without inland water, grazing and crop growing

will continue to be concentrated along the river leading to greater conflict and land

degradation (DECOSA, 2013).

Poor sanitation and access to safe water can lead to the spread of diseases and are thus

important public health concerns in the Kavango East Region where two-thirds households

do not have access to a toilet facility, as shown in Table 28. Only 17% have access to flush

toilets compared to 40% nationally. The only constituency with flush toilets connected to a

sewer system is the Rundu Urban Constituency (26.4%). Still, the majority of households

(47%) have no access to a toilet facility. The greatest proportion of households without

access to toilets are found in the Rundu Rural Constituency (88.2%), although all the

constituencies had significantly below average levels of access to toilet facilities. Overall,

5.9% of households in the Kavango East Region rely on pit latrines with ventilation pipes.

90

However, according to the LED Report, attempts have been made to improve the

situation and the KRC provided sanitary drainage in Divundu and constructed 1314 VIP

toilets in the rural constituencies.

Table 28: Kavango East Percent Households by Type of Toilet Facility, 2011


East Region Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona

Ndonga

Linena

Rundu

Rural

Rundu

Urban

Private Flush

connected to

sewer

24.8 10.8 1.9 3.3 1.4 4.0 1.0 19.7

Shared Flush

connected to

sewer

11.7 3.8 0.7 1.5 0.6 2.0 0.0 6.7

Private Flush

connected to

Septic

1.6 1.3 1.8 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.5 1.9

Shared Flush

connected to

Septic

1.4 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.6 0.0 1.1

Flush toilet 39.5 16.6 4.6 5.4 2.7 7.0 1.5 29.4

Pit Latrine with

Ventilation Pipe 4.3 5.9 4.8 3.3 6.0 5.9 6.3 7.1

Covered Pit Latrine

without Ventilation 3.2 3.9 0.8 1.2 3.0 2.2 1.8 6.5

Uncovered Pit

Latrine without

Ventilation Pipe

1.8 4.2 0.6 0.5 7.9 0.9 0.5 7.1

Bucket Toilet 1.8 1.8 0.7 2.4 1.4 2.5 1.4 1.9

No Toilet 48.6 67.0 87.5 86.9 78.7 81.4 88.2 47.4

Other 0.7 0.5 1.0 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.6

(NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Results, 2012), (NSA, 2011 Population and Housing Census. Kavango


Table 29 indicates that refuse removal is also an area of concern in the Kavango East

Region with the collection of garbage being significantly below average and seems to

only be collected in the Rundu Urban Constituency. The Rundu Urban Constituency (25%)

also has the highest level of households that dispose of the garbage at a rubbish pit. By

far the most used method of garbage disposal is burning (60%), which has both health

and environmental consequences. With the exception of the Rundu Urban Constituency,

more than 70% of households in the remaining Constituencies burn their refuse, with the

highest levels found in the Ndiyona Constituency. While dumping of refuse is less of a

problem in the Ndiyona (1.9%), Mukwe (4.6%) and Ndonga Linena (6.7%) Constituencies,

91

dumping levels are above average (8.9%) in the Mashare (18.2%), Rundu Rural (18.2%)

and Rundu Urban (13.7%) constituencies.

Table 29: Kavango East Percent Households by Type of Garbage Disposal.

% Households Namibia Kavango East

Region Mashare Mukwe Ndiyona

Ndonga

Linena

Rundu

Rural

Rundu

Urban

Regularly

Collected 37.2 10.8 1.6 3.3 1.5 0.2 0.5 20.4

Irregularly

Collected 5.2 2.0 0.2 1.8 0.1 3.2 2.1 2.5

Burning 37.8 60.1 72.9 83.8 90.6 84.6 76.5 37.2

Dumping 8.9 11.3 18.2 4.6 1.9 6.7 18.2 13.7

Rubbish Pit 9.5 14.9 7.0 5.5 5.4 5.7 2.7 25.1

Other 1.4 0.8 0.2 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.0 1.1



3.3.4 TELECOMMUNICATION

Data regarding the access of the population to different types of information and

communication technology (ICT) is not yet available for the Kavango East Region, but has

been reported for the former Kavango Region and is compared with the national data in

Table 30. The residents in the former Kavango Region had below average access to all

the recorded types of ICT, including radio and newspapers. On both the national and

regional levels, people residing in the rural areas have less access to ICT. Considering the

more modern technologies, only 3.6% of residents in the region had access to a computer,

compared to 10.5% nationally. While more than half of Namibians have cell phones, only

31% of people in the former Kavango Region do. As computers and cell phones are used

to access the internet, internet access in the former Kavango Region was also very low

with less than 3% of residents having daily or weekly access to internet, compared to 8.8%

nationally. While a quarter of Namibians read the newspaper on a daily or weekly basis,

only 8% did so in the former Kavango Region. ICT is, consequently, also not a significant

field of employment with only 0.5% of the employed population listing it as their main

industry of employment.

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Table 30: Former Kavango Region: Percentage Population with Access to ICT, 2011

% of

Population Radio TV Computer

Cell

phone

Telephone

(fixed)

Newspaper (daily

and weekly)

Internet (daily

and weekly)

Namibia 68.6 36.7 10.5 52.6 6.4 25.1 8.8

Urban 74 67.1 21.2 68.6 12.2 44.7 17

Rural 64.5 13.8 2.5 40.6 2 10.4 2.5

Kavango 56.9 21.9 3.6 31.2 1.6 7.9 2.7

Urban 64 52.7 9.4 50.8 3.2 19.4 6.5

Rural 54.1 9.5 1.3 23.3 0.9 3.3 1.3


Considering the ICT infrastructure, most of the towns in the Kavango are linked by

telephone, although the majority of rural settlements do not have access to

telecommunication services or support infrastructure. Rural clinics and schools seldom

have telephones, and communication with headquarters is extremely difficult. In recent

years the condition has improved though, with most towns and villages along the major

road axes being linked to an automatic system. MTC (Mobile Telecommunications) is

currently the only mobile network service provider in the Kavango East Region, although

coverage is mainly along the Trans-Caprivi Highway (B8) and limited in the rural areas, as

shown in Figure 35. The telecommunication in the Kavango East Region is supplemented

by NamPost and private courier services like Parcel Force and Formula Courier Services.

Figure 35: Kavango East MTC Coverage

93

3.4 INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES SECTOR

3.4.1 FINANCIAL SERVICES

There are four main banks operating in the town of Rundu: Bank Windhoek, First National

Bank, Standard Bank and NamPost. The rest of the Kavango East Region only has banking

access via the use of ATMs, while NamPost also functions as a bank in some localities (KRC

Personal Communication, 2014).

3.4.2 SOCIAL SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

Churches play a very important role in the lives of all communities and provide valuable

moral and social support. According to the Kavango Poverty Profile, a number of

institutions are organised around HIV/AIDS support. The Namibia NGO Forum (NANGOF)

listed the support organisations that offer HIV/AIDS support in operating in the Kavango

East Region in Table 31. While all of the organisations are based in the Kavango East they

often operate in both Kavango Regions, as is the case with the Namibia Red Cross Society

and Lifeline/Childline.(NPC, Regional Poverty Profile for Kavango Region, 2006)

Finally, the Constituency Councillors play an important role in community support and the

communication of information. However, according to the Kavango Regional Poverty

Profile, the frequency of Councillor-visits that decreased after election campaigns were

held, was listed as a concern. Another problem mentioned was the lack of feedback

provided regarding problems reported to the Councillor, although this is often the result of

headmen not feeding information through to villagers in general (NPC, Regional Poverty Profile for

Kavango Region, 2006).

94

Table 31: Kavango East HIV/AIDS Support Organisations

Name of Organization Physical address Services provided

Life Line / Child line

Kehemu New start

building

Voluntary Counselling & Testing

Gender division

CAFO

(Church Alliance For

Orphans)

Rundu Urban

Constituency Officer

Orphans and Vulnerable Children, provision of grants to

projects, school fees, kids clubs and psychosocial

support

Project Hope

ERF no: 883 Tutungeni

Location

Rundu

Peer Education and Transactional Sex, BCC, Adherence

& retention

UMYA (United

Methodist Youth

Action)

MCHIP

Rundu Home Based Care, BCC, Spiritual counselling, HIV

awareness

Social for Family

Health Donkerhoek Rundu

HIV/AIDS and Malaria prevention and Behaviour

Change Communication

Youth 2 Youth

Maria Mwengere

environmental & Cultural

Centre

HIV/AIDS prevention, Aids clubs at schools, couple

counselling, PEP, reproductive health & interpersonal

communication

TCE

(Total Control for

Epidemic) DAPP

Tutungeni

Rundu

HIV/AIDS and Malaria Prevention

(condom distribution, training to support groups, male

clubs, WPP, nutritional support to clubs, peer education,

youth festivals)

CAA

( Catholic AIDS

Action)

Ekongoro Road Rundu

Home Based Care and Orphans and Vulnerable

Children, psychosocial, physical, educational support to

clients and caregivers, PMTCT referrals.

Sharonda Mpandi

Support Group Nyangana Drama and group facilitation on HIV/AIDS

Twayapa Shotuyowe

Support Group Andara Stigma and Discrimination for People Living with HIV

MUYODA

(Mukwe Youth

Development

Association)

Divundu,

Mukwe District

Frans Dimbare Youth

Centre

Home Based Care and HIV/AIDS prevention

Namibia Red Cross

Society Rundu

Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Home Based

Care

WAD Community

Voice

(Women Action for

Development)

Kehemu Community hall Condom Promotion and Education, couple counselling,

alcohol and drug abuse, and domestic violence.

Nyangana New Start Nyangana VCT

NAPPA (YAM Group) Rundu HIV Prevention, awareness raising on HIV, Abortion and

reproductive issues

Score Namibia Rundu

Andara New Start Andara VCT etc.

95

4 REGIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

4.1 THE CONSTITUENCIES

The Kavango East Region covers an area of 23 983.2 km2 and constitutes about 2.9% of

Namibia’s extent. There are 6 Constituencies in the Kavango East Region; Rundu Urban,

Rundu Rural, Mashare, Ndonga Linena, Ndiyona and Mukwe. Rundu is the capital of the

Region. This section provides a brief profile of each of the six constituencies.

Figure 36: Locality of Constituencies

4.2 Rundu Urban

4.2.1 INTRODUCTION

The Rundu Urban Constituency is located in the extreme north-western corner of the

Region and basically consists of the town of Rundu. Rundu is the second largest urban

area in Namibia if defined in terms of its population.

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4.2.2 SIZE, LOCATION AND POPULATION

The constituency is 155.8 km2 in extent and had a population of 63,431 in 2011 at a mean

density of 407 persons per km2. It is estimated that the population in the constituency grew

at a rate of 3.6% between 2001 and 2011.

4.2.3 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Rundu is the economic mainstay of the region and approximately 80% of all non-

agricultural economic activity takes place in Rundu. There are three open markets in the

constituency namely the Rundu, Kehemu and Sauyemwa Open Markets. There is also an

SME park, the enormous Fresh Produce Business Hub and the new Community Convention

Centre. There are about 200 formal business units covering about 47 000m2 of floor space

in the town. There are four commercial banks, public and private medical services and

several accommodation and conference facilities.

Being the capital of the region, one also finds a number of regional ministerial offices and

other agencies in the constituency while there are also 5 filling stations and the Rundu

Airport. In total there are about 550 service industry entrepreneurs in Rundu. Of the 131

manufacturing entities in the former Kavango Region, most are found in Rundu.

Although the constituency is dominated by Rundu, there are some agricultural activity

taking place and the Vungu-Vungu Agricultural Project is located within the constituency.

This project is mainly related to dairy farming as well as irrigated crop production.

Tourism plays an important role in the economy and there are 12 tourist establishments in

and around the town. These are Tambuti Lodge, Kavango River Lodge, Omashare Lodge,

Ngandu Lodge, Sarasungu, 4 Seasons Valley lodge, Bavaria House, Greenhouse, Sisindi,

Dala Darlings Cottage, Agro Guest House and Frank Stone Guest House. Tourism activities

relate to shopping (for the large number of shopping tourists visiting Rundu) to bird

watching, game viewing, fishing and general scenes and vistas of the Kavango River.

Rundu has substantial potential for further development and it is important that suitably

serviced and zoned land is always available for investors if and when it is required. The

Town is also strategically located on the Trans Caprivi Highway and could be developed

as a logistics hub which could potentially attract more business to the constituency.

97

4.2.4 INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOCIAL SERVICES

Being largely an urban area, Rundu is well provided with access from east, west and south

via well constructed and maintained main roads. Internally accessibility is also good with

the required urban roads in place to ensure adequate access to individual lots. The

constituency is also well provided with water and electrical power with most inhabitants

able to receive power and water connections if they so wish. A high 97% of the population

in the constituency has safe water but sanitation is more of a challenge with a high 47.4%

of households being without a toilet facility. This is perhaps mostly due to the informal

areas in Rundu that are not yet connected to the utility services of the town.

The entire constituency is covered with telecommunication and mobile telecom services

while the police headquarters for the region and the magistrate court is also located in

the constituency.

There are 3 hospitals, 30 clinics and one health centre in the Kavango East Region. Of

these, one hospital and six clinics are found in the Rundu Urban Constituency. In terms of

education facilities, Kavango East Region has 116 primary schools, 24 combined schools

and 13 secondary schools. It is not known how many of these are found in the Rundu

Urban Constituency.

Higher education institutions in the Rundu Urban Constituency include the Rundu

Vocational Training Centre, Community Skills Development Centre, the Triumphant

College, the Institute for Open Learning, the Namibian College for Open Learning and the

University of Namibia.

98

4.2.5 POTENTIAL AREAS OF INVESTMENT

Sector Areas of Investment

Agriculture and Agro

Processing

Abattoir

Dairy Farming

Leather and Tannery

Manufacturing Food products

Textiles

Construction

Furniture

Trade Increased variety of retail offerings

Serving the farming industry

Serving the construction industry

Services Truck port

Technical services (car maintenance, cooling,

plumbing etc.)

Property development

Tourism Rundu Waterfront

Tourism Information Centre

High Standard Restaurant

High Standard Tourist Accommodation

4.3 Rundu Rural

4.3.1 INTRODUCTION

The Rundu Rural Constituency is located in the extreme north-western corner of the Region

just to the south and east of the Rundu Urban constituency.


The constituency is 1,068.7 km2 in extent and had a population of 9,381 in 2011 at a mean

density of 8.78 persons per km2. It is estimated that the population in the constituency

grew at a rate of 1.4% between 2001 and 2011.

99


The Rundu Rural Constituency has little economic activity. It is overshadowed by Rundu,

yet offers substantial development opportunities related to the main road and the river.

The economy of the constituency is mostly built on subsistence farming consisting of crop

production and livestock rearing. Forest products also seem important and there are three

registered community forests namely Likwaterera, Cuma and Ncaute community forests.

Part of the emerging Kapinga Kamwalye also falls within the boundaries of the

constituency. In terms of wildlife and tourism, the Kavango River offers some opportunities

but there is only one tourist establishment namely Kaisosi Lodge in the constituency.


The constituency is reasonable accessible with the Trans Caprivi Highway and district

roads D3447, D3448, D3424 and D3401 traverse the constituency and provide reasonable

access.

Electricity distribution, like in the rest of the region is poor and mainly found along the river

and the Trans Caprivi Highway. In the Rundu Rural constituency, electricity provision is

limited to the north of the Trans Caprivi Highway with no distribution to the south of that

road.

There is a NamWater bulk water supply scheme at Kayengona which provides water

along the river and main road and a number of rural water supply points in the southern

part of the region. As an indicator of water supply, only 64.6% of households were found to

have safe water in 2011.

Sanitation in Namibia in general is a challenge and the same is true for this constituency

where 88.2% of households do not have access to a toilet.

With respect to telecommunication services, the constituency is well covered in the north

but there is no coverage in some of the southern parts of the constituency.

The provision of schools, like in the rest of the region follows the population distribution with

high densities close to the river and road and very little in the rural areas. There are 2 clinics

100

and a medical outreach post in the constituency but some parts are not covered

adequately.




Processing

Dairy Farming

Intensive small scale Irrigated Horticulture

Crop production

Exotic cultivated products

Forestry Timber harvesting and partial processing

Thatching Grass

Services Technical services (car maintenance, cooling,

plumbing etc.)

Tourism High end Lodge or two

4.4 Mashare

4.4.1 INTRODUCTION

The Mashare Constituency is located in the west of the Region and covers virtually the

entire western part of the region with the exception of the small Rundu Urban and Rundu

Rural Constituencies.



density of 1.7 persons per km2. It is estimated that the population in the constituency

declined at a rate of 0.2% per annum between 2001 and 2011.


The economy of the Mashare Constituency is mostly built on subsistence farming consisting

of crop production and livestock rearing. In terms of conservation and community based

101

natural resource management, the constituency has the Joseph Mbanbangandu

communal conservancy, the Hans Kanyinga community forest and the Kapinga

Kamwalye emerging conservancy.

The Mashare Green Scheme project as well as the Mashare Agricultural Development

Institute are located in the constituency and provide practical training to small scale

irrigation farmers.

The constituency is also characterised by a large number of SSCFs, most of which are

gazetted but with some that remains to be gazetted. These SSCFs are located in the

southern part of the constituency and suffers from poor accessibility and lack of services.

The process of developing these into more viable entities should commence soon.

There are only two tourist establishments in the constituency namely N’Kwasi Lodge and

Mbamba Community Camp.


The northern part of the constituency is reasonably accessible with the Trans Caprivi

Highway and district roads D3447 and D3400 traverse the northern part of the

constituency and provide reasonable access. However, the southern part of the

constituency has very little access and it is also here that the SSCFs are located.


and the Trans Caprivi Highway. In the Mashare constituency, electricity provision is limited

to the north of the Trans Caprivi Highway with no distribution to the south of that road.

There are three NamWater bulk water supply scheme at and around Mashare which

provides water to the irrigation scheme and a pipeline along the river and main road. A

number of rural water supply points are found in the southern part of the region but the

densities are low. As an indicator of water supply, only 59.4% of households were found to

have safe water in 2011.



102

With respect to telecommunication services, the constituency is poorly served with signal

only found in the northern parts while there is no coverage in the central and southern

parts of the constituency.


high densities close to the river and road and very little in the southern rural areas. There

are 5 clinics and a health centre in the constituency but large parts of the constituency (in

the central and south) has no health services in close proximity.




Processing

Dairy at Mashare



Cultivated fruits

Processing agricultural produce

Urban Development Consider the development of a rural service centre at

Mashare

Manufacturing Food

Trade Development of retail shops for local demand

Agriculture related retail products

Services Transport


plumbing etc.)

Tourism High Standard Lodges utilising the biodiversity of the

area

Cultural tourism experience

103

4.5 Ndonga Linena

4.5.1 INTRODUCTION

The Ndonga Linena Constituency is located in the central part of the Region in a long strip

traversing the region from north to south. The constituency was sub-divided from the

previous Ndiyona Constituency during the 2013 delineation.



density of 3.89 persons per km2. Being divided from the Ndiyona Constituency, specific

figures for this area is not available but it is estimated that the population in the

constituency grew at a rate of 0.6% per annum between 2001 and 2011.


The economy of the Ndonga Linena Constituency is mostly built on the Ndonga Linena

and Shitemo irrigation projects close to the river and subsistence farming consisting of

crop production and livestock rearing in the reminder of the constituency. In terms of

conservation and community based natural resource management, the constituency

shares the Hans Kanyinga community forest with the Mashare Constituency but has no

other conservancies of community managed natural resource areas.

The constituency is also characterised by some SSCFs, most of which are gazetted but with

some that remains to be gazetted. These SSCFs are located in the central and southern

part of the constituency and suffers from poor accessibility and lack of services.

Shankara Rest Camp is the only tourist establishments in the constituency.


The northern part of this constituency is also reasonably accessible with the Trans Caprivi

Highway but the southern part of the constituency has only one access road and it is also

here that the SSCFs are located.

104


and the Trans Caprivi Highway. In the Ndonga Linena constituency, electricity provision is

limited to the north of the Trans Caprivi Highway with no distribution to the south of that

road.

There is one NamWater bulk water supply scheme close to Ndiyona. A number of rural

water supply points are found in the southern part of the region but the densities are low.

As an indicator of water supply, only 44.3% of households were found to have safe water

in 2011.



With respect to telecommunication services, the constituency is poorly served with signal

only found in the northern parts while there is no coverage in the central and southern

parts of the constituency.


high densities close to the river and road and very little in the southern rural areas. The

constituency is served with a hospital close to Ndiyona and three clinics. All of these are

found next to the river and there are none in the remainder of the constituency.




Processing

Green Scheme Expansion


Cultivated fruits


Manufacturing Food

Services Transport

Technical services related to the irrigation sector


area

105

4.6 Ndiyona

4.6.1 INTRODUCTION

The Ndiyona Constituency is located in the central eastern part of the Region in a long

strip traversing the region from north to south. The constituency was divided from the

previous Ndiyona Constituency during the 2012 delineation and consists of the eastern

part of the former Ndiyona Constituency.



density of 1.82 persons per km2. Being divided from the Ndiyona Constituency, specific

figures for this area is not available but it is estimated that the population in the

constituency grew at a rate of 0.6% per annum between 2001 and 2011.


The economy of the Ndiyona Constituency is mostly related to tourism and conservation

as well as subsistence farming consisting of crop production and livestock rearing. In terms

of conservation and community based natural resource management, the constituency

accommodates the Khaudum National Park, the George Mukoya Conservancy and

Community Forest and the Muduva Nyangana Conservancy and Community Forest.

There are five tourist establishments in the constituency namely the Kavango Busch Camp,

Shamvura Camp, Camp Ndurukoro and Nhuma Safari Camp.

The constituency has only two non-gazetted SSCFs located in the northern part of the

constituency.

The Ndiyona settlement provides basic services to people in the constituency and should

be considered to be developed as a local service centre.


Like its neighbours, the northern part of this constituency is also reasonably accessible with

the Trans Caprivi Highway traversing it, but the southern part of the constituency has poor

access with only one road going down to the Khaudum. However, some new roads are

106

planned which will improve access in the area to the south of the Trans Caprivi Highway

and north of the Khaudum National Park.

Electricity distribution in the constituency is better than in the neighbouring Ndonga Linena

with the main distribution lines found along the river and the Trans Caprivi Highway, but

with more distribution lines to the south of that road linking some villages and terminating

at Ncame.

There are two NamWater bulk water supply schemes, one at Ndiyona and the other to the

east of Ndiyona settlement. A number of rural water supply points are found in the part of

the region between the Khaudum National Park and the main road but the densities are

low. As an indicator of water supply, only 42.3% of households were found to have safe

water in 2011.



With respect to telecommunication services, the constituency is fairly well served with

signal found in the northern parts while there is no coverage in Khaudum National Park.


high densities close to the river and road and very little in the southern rural areas. The

constituency is served with a hospital close to Ndiyona and three clinics. Two of these

clinics are found next to the river and the other close to Ncame, halfway to the Khaudum

National Park.

107




Processing



Cultivated fruits



Thatching Grass

Urban Development Development of Ndiyona as local service centre

Manufacturing Food

Furniture

Trade Development of retail shops for local demand at

Ndiyona

Agriculture related retail products at Ndiyona

Services Transport


plumbing etc.)

Services for the tourism industry


area

Cultural tourism

108

4.7 Mukwe

4.7.1 INTRODUCTION

The Mukwe Constituency is located in the eastern part of the Region in the form of a long

east to west strip.


The constituency is 5,537.02 km2 in extent and had a population of 27,690 in 2011 at a

mean density of 5 persons per km2. It is estimated that the population in the constituency

grew at a rate of 0.2% per annum between 2001 and 2011.


The economy of the Mukwe Constituency is mostly built on Tourism and subsistence

farming consisting of crop production and livestock rearing. In terms of conservation and

community based natural resource management, the constituency has the Popa Falls

Game Park, Bwabwata National Park, Bwabwata-Okavango Ramsar Site, part of the

Muduva Nyangana Conservancy, Shamungwa Conservancy, the emerging Shamungwa

Community Forest and the Kamutjonga emerging conservancy.

The Shadikongoro Green Scheme project as well as the Korova Fish Farm and a Prison

Agricultural project are located in the constituency. The Kamutjonga Inland Fisheries

Institute is further found in the constituency as well as the private Kangango Stone Quarry.

The constituency is also characterised by some 21 SSCFs, most of which are gazetted but

with a few that remains to be gazetted. These SSCFs are also located deep in the bush

and suffers from poor accessibility and lack of services.

Tourism plays a substantial role in the constituency and there are 12 tourist establishments

within its boundaries. These are Mobola Lodge, Riverdance Lodge, Divundu Guest House,

Popa Camp, Shamvetu Lodge, Divava Lodge, Rainbow Lodge, Nunda Lodge, Ndhovu

Lodge, Mahangu Lodge, Ngepi Camp and N/Goabaca Community Camp Site.

109


Being a narrow strip of about 30 – 35km wide and with the Trans Caprivi Highway splitting it

in the middle, the constituency generally has better access that the neighbouring

constituencies. In the western part of the constituency to the south of the main road, some

new roads are planned which will improve access in the area to the south of the Trans

Caprivi Highway.

Electricity distribution in the constituency is poor with the main distribution lines found

along the river and the Trans Caprivi Highway.

There are four NamWater bulk water supply schemes, one at Mukwe, one to the west of

Mukwe, one at Divundu and one at Omega. A number of rural water supply points are

found in the western part of the constituency while the density of rural water supply points

to the east of Divundu is very low. As an indicator of water supply, only 40.7% of

households were found to have safe water in 2011. In the Mukwe Constituency, 86.9% of

households do not have access to a toilet and this provides an indication of the need in

this sector.

With respect to telecommunication services, the constituency is well served with mobile

2G signal found in the entire constituency.

The provision of schools in the constituency is fairly good with schools distributed in such a

way that no part to the west of Divundu is further than 10km from a school. The

constituency is further served with a hospital at Mukwe and ten clinics. Eight of these

clinics are found next to the river, one at Omega and the other to the south of Mukwe.

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Processing



Cultivated fruits



Thatching Grass

Urban Development Development of Divundu as regional service centre

Manufacturing Food

Furniture

Trade Development of retail shops for local demand

Agriculture related retail products

Arts and crafts

Services Transport


plumbing etc.)

Services for the tourism industry


area

Cultural tourism, especially with the San people.

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5 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Kavango East Region has always been the part of the former Kavango Region where

the most development took place and to where the most money for development was

allocated by both the private and the public sector. However, with a large rural

population spread over a large area, it will always be difficult and costly to provide

services to people in the rural areas who live far apart in individual homesteads or in small

villages. The unit costs for example, to take electricity to 50 houses located some 40km

from the nearest power line will invariably be substantially higher per unit than it will be to

electrify 50 households in Rundu. The same holds true for water, roads, sanitation and

other social services such as schools and clinics. However, the provision of these kinds of

services is the responsibility of the Government and it can be expected that it will continue

to be supplied at a steady albeit slow pace.

Development generally follows infrastructure, be it roads or water or electricity or even

other large scale projects such as the Green Scheme. Government has, since

independence, already achieved much to provide infrastructure which is required to

stimulate and motivate people and investors to identify and make use of development

opportunities available in the region.

This section is aimed at providing a summary of the development challenges (which

mostly need to be attended to by the government through the regional council) as well

as the opportunities and advantages which can be exploited by both the public and the

private sector to create employment and bring much needed development to the

region.

5.1 AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

The agricultural sector in Kavango East is one of the most important sectors both in terms

of food security as well as job creation and latent opportunity. The Green Scheme is an

important factor in this regard and can be further expanded to increase this potential.

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Opportunities in this sector include:

The varied and extensive biodiversity of the region which allows for a wide range of

different agricultural products to be cultivated and processed for value addition

and expansion of the manufacturing sector.

The existence of the Kavango River which creates the opportunity to expand the

Green Scheme or irrigation projects along the river, especially if high value crops

are cultivated rather than staple foods. The river also provides opportunities for

freshwater fishing and aquaculture.

The creation of the Fresh Produce Hub at Rundu, which will create access for

farmers to training, cold storage and marketing infrastructure.

The existence of a number of species of indigenous products, which can be utilised

for value addition and commercialisation.

The existence of forests and emerging conservancies, which can be processed to

expand the manufacturing sector.

There is the opportunity to transform rural farming in the area to market orientated

businesses, however this requires longer term actions including training and

mentoring to increase competitive business.

Developing an abattoir in Rundu (plans currently exist for this activity for Rundu

town).

Despite these opportunities, challenges within this sector exist which need to be addressed

so that opportunities can be unlocked. These include the challenges of the “Red Line”

and the restriction this places on the trade of livestock with the rest of Namibia, the

traditional livestock ownership patterns, which often results in farmers unwilling to sell or

trade in livestock, the difficulty in gaining ownership of land for communal farmers which in

turn results in the difficulties in farmers accessing financial assistance and loans, the lack of

infrastructure on SSCFs, particularly those further inland from the Kavango River, conflicts

over land uses, particularly between conservation activities and traditional farming

(human wildlife conflict), poor soils and lack of access to markets, the over utilised fishing

sector and the timber ban.

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5.2 MINING POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

There is very little potential for mining in the Kavango East region, with the greatest

opportunity being for sand mining. This activity however is largely unregulated. The only

commercial utilisation of minerals in the region is a private stone quarry in the Mukwe

Constituency. There is also limited potential around clay deposits which exist and which

could be utilised for manufacturing into sundried and burnt bricks and thus the potential

for a clay brick factory could be investigated for the region.

5.3 MANUFACTURING POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

Although manufacturing is not very well diversified in the Kavango East region, there are

opportunities to add value, particularly to the primary sector with regards to agricultural

products that are produced in the region. This could increase job creation within the

region. The SME Park at Rundu promotes manufacturing but this needs to be expanded to

replace manufactured goods that are imported from other parts of Namibia and

overseas. The wood harvesting ban also needs to be eliminated so that the timber

industry, which holds a lot of potential, can be developed.

5.4 RETAIL AND WHOLESALE POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

The Kavango East Region is strategic located in terms of interregional trade and these

opportunities need to be expanded, particularly links to countries such as Botswana,

Zambia and Angola. There is also the opportunity to develop more specialised retailers,

particularly within sectors of opportunity such as agricultural implements and equipment.

Divundu (upgraded to Town status) and Ndiyona (upgraded to village status) have been

earmarked for upgrading of settlement status which will create opportunities for trade

growth and development in these areas. It is expected that Rundu will continue to grow,

particularly in light of the new proposed bridge (linking the town to Angola) as well as the

Trans-Zambezi Railway link, which should further increase opportunities for trade.

Despite these opportunities, the entrepreneurial spirit is lacking to a large extent in

businesses and therefore changing market conditions are not optimised. Improvement of

the organisation and cooperation between businesses is required as well as with public

institutions. Further training and mentorship of businesses is also required.

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5.5 SERVICES SECTOR POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

There are a number of opportunities pertaining to services in Rundu (regional support)

which can be expanded on and the proposed increase in growth in Divundu will also

make it an increasingly important node in terms of service delivery, especially to the

various tourism establishments in the area. Despite these opportunities, the services sector

lacks specialisation, which has resulted in limited employment opportunities. Although the

Fresh Produce Business Hub which has been developed in Rundu will include processing, it

will mainly function as a service centre, which will create opportunities for the region.

5.6 TOURISM POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

Tourism has high potential to increase economic opportunities for Kavango East. The

diversity of the region creates the opportunity to create unique opportunities for local and

international tourists. The bridge connection proposed to link Rundu with Angola should

increase opportunities for shopping tourists. Opportunities to expand shopping facilities in

Divundu also exist.

The opportunity to increase communal conservancies and wildlife corridors in the eastern

part of Kavango East will in turn increase the tourism potential of this region, especially

around the Cuito to Divundu tourism node. There is also the opportunity for SSCF farmers in

the Khaudum –SSCF node to expand into tourism activities (lodges, rest camps, hunting

lodges and trophy hunting). There is also opportunity to expand tourism activities at the

Bwabwata and Khaudum National Parks, with a focus on cultural tourism, 4X4 off road

adventures, trophy hunting, scenic landscapes and wildlife viewing.

The Ramsar site has a lot of tourism potential and the expansion of this site up to Mukwe (in

phases) will increase this tourism potential for the general region.

There is the opportunity to create craft markets on the main tourism routes of Divundu and

Rundu. There is also the opportunity to create and promote restaurants and

accommodation establishments along the Kavango River and in Rundu. These however

should be of an international standard.

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Despite the opportunities for the tourism sector, there are challenges around infrastructure

and improved signage is required as well as a tourist information centre in either Rundu or

Divundu.

5.7 HUMAN RESOURCE POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

Between 65% and 85% of the rural population in the region lives off the land, either

through subsistence farming or working on subsistence farms. This comprises 43% of the

total population! Only in Towns and Settlements and at Green Schemes does one find

substantial employment. Skill levels are generally low and this makes meaningful

employment creation difficult. If manufacturing and processing should become one of

the key drivers in the economy, it will need to be augmented with substantial

improvements of skills in the region. However, skill levels in the region are improving, but it

does unfortunately take time for a population to improve skill levels to a point where it will

support the manufacturing and value addition sectors. Education and vocational training

is therefore a major challenge in the region.

5.8 PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The Trans Caprivi Highway is of great benefit for the Kavango East Region with regard to

access to local and foreign markets and for tourism. Local and urban road infrastructure

on the other hand is poorly developed and this hampers development and service

provision in outlying areas. All the other types of infrastructure such as water and electricity

is well provided next to the river but poorly provided in the rest of the region. There are,

however, master plans in place that prioritised the development of electricity, water and

roads in the region and these must be religiously implemented.

ICT connectivity and electricity normally plays a huge role in human development and

skills development through the effective transfer of information and the ability to provide

conducive conditions for children to study. In the case of the Kavango East Region, this

should be made a priority.

Solar Power projects and small off-grid solar systems could be investigated to supply

electricity for lighting in the deep rural area and especially at schools, hostels and clinics.

However this should always be coordinated with the existing rural electrification

programme.

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Coordination between service provision and other development projects is also important

and it is imperative that all the various stakeholders work together when planning is done

to combine various needs and objectives into one project. For example, access to the

Khaudum National Park can also provide access to some rural villages and schools

without the need to build separate roads.

5.9 RUNDU

Rundu is a primate urban area in the Kavango East Region and the second largest urban

area in Namibia (in terms of population size). Rundu is well established as a regional centre

and already attracts business and traders from all over the region as well as from other

regions such as Kavango West and even further afield such as Angola, Zambezi and

Zambia. However, Rundu is still struggling to transform from a small formal town with large

informal settlements without services around it but substantial progress has been made

over the past few years and the provision of affordable housing and services is now one of

the key challenges. At the same time it is also an opportunity for investors and developers

to take on property development projects, even in partnership with the Rundu Town

Council.

Rundu is also the place where one finds most of the government ministries and it therefore

has the most salaried positions in the region. Growing and developing Rundu and creating

an investor friendly environment is probably the best opportunity to draw manufacturing,

retail, wholesale and agro processing enterprises into the region. The key to all of this from

an institutional perspective is to ensure that serviced land is available for both residential

and business purposes to attract investors. This should create substantial competitive

advantage over other towns and cities in Namibia, all of which face similar challenges.

5.10 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Many Rural and Gender Development projects have already been implemented in the

Region, but their efficiency is impeded by challenges, like the lack of markets, skills and

commitment. However, these projects are mainly aimed at poverty alleviation and as

such they play an important role. It can even be expected that a few of these initiatives

may grow even further to become viable business entities and contribute to regional

employment. The MURD undertook various rural development programmes between 2009

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and 2014, including cash/food for work projects, income-generating projects, rural

employment schemes, food security and nutrition programmes and the One Region One

Initiative.

5.11 CONCLUSION

Existing resources such as land, water and good weather, which despite some limited

land use conflicts, can create the opportunity for growth in the agricultural sector as well

as economic activities within the larger towns (such as Rundu and Divundu). The further

development and growth of the agricultural sector presents further opportunities in terms

of high value agri-processing of locally produced products. There are also opportunities

for further tourism development along the river as well as recreational fishing and

commercial aquaculture through increased productivity of fish farms. Conservancy

formation further helps to ensure sustainability of land use for agriculture, wildlife and

tourism alike. There are currently four registered Communal Conservancies in the Kavango

East Region (Joseph Mbambangandu, Shamungwa, Muduva Nyangana, George

Mukoya) and two emerging conservancies (Kapinga Kamwalye Conservancy and

Kamutjonga Conservancy (Fishery))

The high level of Biodiversity in the region creates opportunities for tourism activities

(photography and hunting) as well as for development of Indigenous Natural Products.

The sustainable utilisation of the forestry resource linked with processing of wood and

furniture making provides particular opportunities. There are 8 registered (gazetted) and

emerging community forests in the Kavango East Region, although the Ncaute

community forest stretches across both the Kavango East and West Regions. Only the

Shamungwa community forest is still emerging.

The strategic location of the region on the Trans Caprivi Highway which links Walvis Bay to

the Region and countries beyond create opportunities for increased tourism, trade and

trade-related activities such as a logics hub.

Infrastructure along the river is well developed, linking the region intra-regionally. However,

the further inland one travels, the fewer infrastructure is provided and this will hamper

effective economic development in the more rural areas. A total of 10 new roads have

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been planned for the Kavango East Region to connect schools and, in some cases,

clinics. The total length of the proposed new roads is 296km.

A policy of prioritisation is followed according to which 6 schools will be electrified in

2014/2015. A Total of 178 active water points were supplied and managed by the

Directorate of Rural Water Supply with another 57 new points being planned.

The conservation areas include the Popa, Bwabwata and Khaudum National Parks. The

Mahango area of Bwabwata, specifically, has the highest concentration of large

mammals as well as the greatest diversity of birds in Namibia and was declared as a

Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. These national parks provide opportunity for

development and employment creation through formal tourism. While tourist numbers are

still relatively low, the new four rivers route and other marketing programmes should be

used to avail information about the many attractions of the region and thereby increasing

the number of tourists visiting the region.

The Kavango East Region is highly urbanised with 47% of the population living in and

around the town of Rundu. There is also a high concentration of the population along the

Kavango River. Having the population concentrated in certain areas facilitates the

provision of services.

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