‘We queued for an hour for bread and cooldrink’

Why were residents served bread and cooldrink at founding president Sam Nujoma’s memorial service at Katima Mulilo, but VIP guests received rice and meat?

This was the question on some Zambezi residents’ lips on Sunday when, after the service at the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex, they queued up for food only to be met with disappointment.

Invited guests, who were hosted in white tents, were treated to a plate of rice, mixed vegetables, a piece of beef, a piece of chicken, and a drink.

Meanwhile, hundreds of ordinary members of the public formed about three long lines to be handed a brötchen and a drink as they left the venue.

Zambezi resident Mwaka Lubinda says: “While standing in the queue, I saw that those coming from the white tents were getting take-away plates. I thought it would be the same for us. However, as I got closer to the truck, I saw we were being served bread and a drink.

“I stood for almost an hour for that.”

Benjamin Sinvula says he too expected a proper lunch.

“It was like I was attending an ordinary person’s memorial at my village. However, I was lucky to get something, because the brötchens ran out, and many others did not get,” he says.

‘MAIN MEAL RAN OUT’

Zambezi chief regional officer Regina Ndopu-Lubinda yesterday said some members of the public were served a meal of rice, macaroni, or pap with meat, chicken, and potato salad at the event.

She said the brötchen, which all had a slice of cheese and polony, were offered when the main meal packs ran out.

“The sandwiches were initially for the overnight vigil. However, noting the huge numbers, we had to make arrangements to hand out the sandwiches during the day.

“It is unfortunate that we could not provide everyone with a meal, given the numbers that turned up. The people who received the sandwiches are minimal,” she said.

Ndopu-Lubinda said most of the regional council’s budget for the memorial was spent on food, including 10 500 meal packs and sandwiches, 4 900 assorted drinks, and 1 900 bottles of water.

These refreshments cost N$238 000, she said.

“Note that we could not supply the same number of drinks as the 10 000 meal packs, as it would have been very costly. No caterer was hired as the food was prepared by the Zambezi Vocational Training Centre team and community volunteers at the Simon Mutumba Training Centre,” she said.

Katima Mulilo Urban constituency councillor Kennedy Simasiku yesterday said the regional organising committee decided that the food served was to be uniform – regardless of social status.

It is unfortunate that the food committee deviated from that arrangement, he said.

“It might be that more people came than the estimated number. Regardless, I am one of those that feel that serving food at national public events, at some point, should be done away with as it creates the promotion of social classes,” Simasiku said.

Independent Patriots for Change regional coordinator Elvis Lizazi says tax is not deducted based on social class, and taxpayers’ money was spent on the memorial service.

“If we had true leaders, the masses would be fed first before the VIPs are given food . . . Leaders are supposed to be servants of the people,” he says.

He encourages the local events organising committee to ensure in future the masses are treated as VIPs, because without them “these events will not be significant enough to be aired on national television”.