Young people from Uis in the Erongo region say they are disillusioned with the independence founding president Sam Nujoma fought for.
Community activist Jimmy //Areseb says Nujoma was driven by the desire to provide peace, justice, and fairness to Namibians, as well as the opportunity to own land and benefit from its natural resources.
Young people, joined by senior Uis residents, have been demonstrating since the beginning of the year and staging a sit-in at the premises of the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority.
They claim the chief and his leaders are the only individuals benefiting from agreements with Chinese nationals on the area’s natural resources, while community members stay poor.
This is despite a court order obtained by Dâure Daman Traditional Authority chief Sagarias Seibeb barring the concerned group from accessing traditional authority offices, with those who participated in the protest being forcibly removed by the police’s Special Reserve Force.
//Areseb has been arrested after participating in the sit-in at the Dâure Daman Traditional Authority offices, but is currently out on bail in an amount of N$2 000.
He faces a charge of interfering with police officers in executing their duties and is expected back in court on 25 February.
“Currently, we are observing a period of mourning the founding president. When you hear the passion he carried for independence, how he spoke about sovereignty, the country’s natural resources and locals benefiting from them . . .
“But what we’re having are leaders sitting in offices, seeking ways in which they can benefit, willing to take bribes and not bothered with the poverty and exclusion of their people,” //Areseb says.
He refers to a speech Nujoma delivered on 21 March 1990, Independence Day, saying: “Our achievement of independence imposes upon us a heavy responsibility, not only to defend our hard-won liberty, but also to set ourselves higher standards of equality, justice and opportunity for all, without regard to race, creed or colour.”
//Areseb says a delegation from the group met with the Office of the President, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, as well as the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism three weeks ago to address their concerns.
He says they are still waiting for feedback from the various offices.
The group claims Chinese mining company Xing Feng did not do an environmental impact assessment, and was, therefore, irregularly awarded an environmental clearance certificate and an exclusive prospecting licence for lithium mining in the Uis area.
They are also calling for Seibeb’s removal, whom they accuse of nepotism, corruption and poor governance.
Seibeb has denied these claims.
“I do not do projects for myself, it is for the people. So, why should I do these things in secret? These people come to our offices and receive help with consent letters and claim forms, but then turn around and say this office is useless.
“However, I have been addressing their concerns through the relevant government minister,” he says.
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