The Governor of Hardap region Katrina Hanse-Himarwa says the region's main achievement over the past 19 years was bringing the government closer to the people, as per Regional Council Act of 1992.

Hanse-Himarwa believes that another achievement was last year's National Assembly and Presidential elections, held without violence or intimidation.

She says the region faces challenges, such as unemployment, HIV/AIDS and a lack of tertiary institutions.

The council created macro-project funding schemes for its inhabitants to stimulate the Medium Enterprise concept and promote self-employment and people's welfare.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Hanse-Himarwa says the main economic hub of her region are agriculture and tourism sectors.

However, she says to properly market Hardap, the Regional Council needs to update its tourism plan to sufficiently respond to the current challenges of tourism.

Hanse-Himarwa says since the industry is very sophisticated and service-oriented, it requires careful planning, management and constant monitoring.

Meanwhile, the Hardap Regional Council is planning to set up a website with the assistance of consultants, as a comprehensive marketing tourism strategy for the region.

The Council also plans to update the Regional Council Tourism Plan to respond to the contemporary issues.

She says the Council plans to activate the regional tourism board to advance and co-ordinate the tourism activities.

The governor was speaking to the NBC news, as part of celebrations of the 20th Independence Anniversary.