Joseph #Guruseb, the headman of the #Aodaman Traditional Authority, says life was better before Namibia attained independence.

He said this during the regional consultations of the Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission of Namibia at the Khorixas Town Council hall on Tuesday.

“I have two pictures – one before independence, and one after independence. There is a great difference in what is happening,” he said.

The headman said people, in particular young people, have been battling poverty after independence.

“Our parents were living from farming and not begging. They sent their children to school,” #Guruseb said.

He said moving businesses from Khorixas to Opuwo have made life difficult for residents in the southern parts of the Kunene region, as Rural Water Supply takes very long to repair pipes.

Guruseb said people on farms have been drinking water unfit for human consumption for years because of this.

Jocobeth Futika, the Landless People’s Movement’s councillor for Khorixas, said people “cannot eat peace and stability”.

“The government distributes resources unequally,” she said.

Futika said Ruacana has resorted under a different region since the town’s hydro-electric power station, while Okuekuejo also resorts under another region due to its wildlife.

She supports splitting the region so that those in its southern areas could also benefit from the country’s resources.