Obrein Simasiku
OMUTHIYA – The Oshikoto Regional Council says no shacks will be allowed to be constructed on township land at the Oshivelo settlement.
Oshikoto Chief Regional Officer Frans Enkali said a good example was taken against one of its directors who wanted to fence off his yard using corrugated iron sheets but was stopped immediately.
“So, there is no favouring anyone on this. We will not allow any shacks to be constructed in Oshivelo. As we have seen from other towns, the effects of such dwellings results in fires, murder and rape,” he reiterated while responding to a petition handed by residents a fortnight ago.
In the petition, residents complained about not being allowed to build shacks.
Other issues were high water tariffs, lack of serviced land, compensation, as well as discriminatory practice in terms of employment.
To these issues, Enkali said, as regional council, they are unable to provide sincere and concrete response, as the petition was full of inaccuracies and lacks a focal person to address. Thus, he advised the concerned people to approach his office for a personal engagement.
“However on the issue of water tariffs, this was realised and it will be rectified soon. The issue was with Namwater’s rates, which were inaccurate or high; thus, we, as a client, were also billing the end users based on what we were being charged. Therefore, that should not be a concern anymore,” he said. Residents bemoaned they were being charged as high as N$1 000 in tariffs a month.
In terms of employment, the CRO said as a government institution, it provides equal opportunities for all qualifying Namibians.
“It does make sense to say jobs are being provided to foreigners while such people are full Namibians; the constitution allows for equal employment for all inhabitants unless they bring proof there are non-Namibians,” he questioned.
Furthermore, the community demanded that land be availed to serve as a reception area for those being compensated, arguing that Oshivelo is surrounded by farms, making it difficult to get a place to settle again.
However, Enkali said based on policies, people always have an option to choose between plots or compensation.
– osimasiku@nepc.com.na