SIBBINDA: Voting began at a snail’s pace in the Sibbinda Constituency by-election underway in the Caprivi Region today.

All 16 polling stations, of which five are mobile, opened their doors at exactly 07h00 this morning.

The polling stations at the Sikosinyana and Simataa senior secondary schools only had a few people, at the most nine, lining up to vote.

The majority have apparently gone to their mahangu fields as this is the time when most of them start clearing their fields to prepare for ploughing, while others had apparently gone to harvest reeds at the river.

All polling stations will close at 21h00 this evening, and the counting of votes is expected to begin immediately thereafter.

Keetmanshoop deputy mayor Gabriel Freyer has invited unemployed graduates of the Women’s Action for Development (WAD) training programmes to approach the council for assistance to start businesses.

Speaking during the 6th WAD graduation ceremony here today, Freyer said they should approach the municipality with their business proposals and curriculum vitae (CVs) so that the council can try to assist them with sponsorships, employment or advice on how to run their own successful businesses.

After two months of training, a total of 145 unemployed youth, mostly women, received certificates in courses such as tailoring and computer literacy.

He noted that it is very disturbing to learn that the Karas Region is experiencing an increase in the number of gender-based violence cases.

Referring to the female graduates, Freyer said any violence against them should be reported to the police.