Opuwo residents demand answers

OPUWO residents have asked their town council to explain various irregularities which include alleged cronyism, fraud and the dubious allocation of resources.

A group calling themselves the Opuwo Community Concerned Group mobilised residents on Friday, saying the town continues to lag behind in development.

The protesters from the Kunene region, which is one of the poorest regions in the country, called for authorities not to renew the contract of Opuwo town council chief executive officer, Alfons Tjitombo.

Among their grievances is how N$2 million was allegedly mismanaged by the council. This amount was meant for the construction of a stormwater drainage system that is not yet set up.

“Over N$40 000 was spent on an hour’s event during the investors’ conference,” the demonstrators said.

They also accused the town council of selling a football field without advertising the sale.

The disgruntled residents furthermore alleged that the town council removed people from their land in the name of development, and then sold the plots to people with other intentions.

The group accused Tjitombo of not being accessible to the community to answer their queries. Since his appointment, the town has also seen an increase in the unfair distribution of land and the absence of serviced land, they charged.

“From 2006 to 2016, there has been no land serviced and surveyed (at Opuwo). The only development was the formalisation of Otuzemba,” the petition said, adding that tenders at the town are predetermined to favour hand-picked business people.

Not only are they unhappy that the town is very dirty. Residents are not impressed with the fact that eight key positions at the town council are still vacant. The listed positions include the town’s technical manager, finance manager, town planner, building inspector, environmental officer, firefighter, public relations officer and personal assistant to the chief executive.

“We, therefore, would like to peacefully ask council not to renew the contract of the chief executive officer,” the group said.

The protesters also called on the council to investigate the property manager at the town.

“We need people with a heart for the residents. We would like to get positive feedback within 30 days, or we will be forced to involve the next level of authority,” the residents said.

The Namibia Press Agency reported that over 500 protesters turned up at the demonstration, and quoted the town’s mayor Albert Tjiuma as saying he will provide feedback to the protesters after the council meets.

“We will look into your grievances and give feedback through the organisers of this demonstration,” said Tjiuma.