By Matheus
Hamutenya
KEETMANSHOOP – The Keetmanshoop Urban Constituency on Saturday hosted a Christmas lunch for its senior citizens at J A Nel Secondary School.
The lunch for about 300 senior citizens, held at the hostel in Tseiblaagte, cost about N$50 000.
In her brief speech, councillor of the Keetmanshoop Urban Constituency and Veterans’ Affairs Deputy Minister Hilma Nikanor said the lunch was a token of appreciation and a gesture of giving thanks to elders for all they had done.
She said being there among senior citizens made her feel lucky, adding as Namibia approaches 2015 it is time to look back, respect and love its elders.
“We are sitting in these positions because of you,” she said. She further explained how difficult it was to raise children, as parents very often spent sleepless nights. She thanked the elderly for being a pillar to society.
She also thanked them for participating in the recent National Assembly and Presidential elections, saying it was because of them that Namibia successfully held peaceful elections, which was not a common feature in Africa and the world at large.
“You are part of the people making Namibia move forward. Thank you for that,” she said.
On a different note, Nikanor took a swipe at the local authority saying Keetmanshoop was very dirty and had smelly sewerage water always flowing along the town’s streets.
She expressed her disappointment in the people responsible for keeping the town clean, saying she always felt embarrassed when moving around because of the state it is in.
She urged those responsible to clean the town up as more developments were lined up for it.
One of the senior citizens in attendance, Rebekka Hite, took a minute to thank her fellow elders for turning up in numbers. She also thanked Nikanor and her constituency for making the lunch possible.
She called on all senior citizens to express their grievances with high-ranking officials and encouraged them to carry themselves with dignity so that they are in turn respected.
A parcel containing grapes sponsored by Naute Dam, one kilogramme each of maize meal and sugar, were given to each senior citizen to carry home.