Drastic Action Needed on Rural Development

David Adetona

24 June 2011

opinion

Although there are a few policies in place to promote rural development, there is still much to be done both in Namibia as well as in many other African countries. I think the time has come for all political and social leaders to stop paying lip service on how they plan to address rural development and actually start doing something to improve the socio-economic conditions of rural areas.

People living in such areas are lagging behind their counterparts in urban areas, in terms of education and jobs; the gap between rural and urban areas in Africa is very wide when considering socio-economic development, standard of living, quality of life, access to opportunities, facilities and services.

Another problem is that rural areas are quickly losing people due to a high rate of rural-urban migration. This results in rural areas not attracting economic and social investments.

Most people’s opinion is that rural areas are usually neglected as far as development projects and infrastructure are concerned, but it is sad to say that nobody has ever really come out with a concrete policy to help attain rural development.

My recent trip to Otjozondu made me realise that there is a drastic need to start developing rural communities. There is a great need for the upgrading of gravel roads as well as for sanitation, safe drinking water, community centres, schools and youth centres. These are the basic needs for the development of such areas.

Therefore, I am campaigning for action on sustainable rural development in Namibia and all African nations, as most of the rural areas produce and supply indispensable natural resources for the world’s development.

There is a need to generate financial resources through Namibia and Africa’s minerals to support and maintain rural areas. It is also essential to improve business viability, job creation and competitiveness in these areas.

Let me point out that urban areas in Africa are growing rapidly and are becoming congested due to an increase in the number of people moving from rural to metropolitan areas in search of social and economic opportunities such as better jobs, health care and education. Taking Namibia as a yardstick, currently many of the sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population lives in slums or informal settlements.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme’s (UN-HABITAT) latest report on human settlement, showed that the concentration of people, industries and infrastructure, as well as social and cultural activities, will make urban areas crucial for innovation.

The agency pointed out in the report that the effects of urbanisation and climate change are converging in ways which threaten to have unprecedented negative impacts on urban quality of life, as wel as on economic and social stability.

According to UN-HABITAT, “climate change is one of the most dangerous threats ever faced by humankind. Fuelled by two powerful human-induced forces that have been unleashed by development and manipulation of the environment in the industrial age.”

It should therefore be Namibia’s – and Africa as a whole – highest priority to invest in rural development.

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