John Muyamba
Divundu
The Divundu Village Council CEO Athanasius Maghumbo says the Hambukushu Traditional Authority is interfering in the council’s jurisdiction, especially when it comes to land distribution in the area.
He says that the traditional authority is still allocating land in Divundu without the council’s knowledge and people who have been compensated to vacate are resisting moving, which delays development at the village.
“They [residents] are saying that they are not going to move but they have already been compensated, and if you try to move them they go to the traditional authority – then you are summoned, warned and threatened, so what can you do?” Maghumbo said.
Maghumbo, in an interview with New Era, said that the residents who refuse to vacate their land after being compensated are also claiming that they were not well informed about why they were paid.
Before Divundu was proclaimed a village council, the then Kavango Regional Council surveyed and serviced plots. The regional council had compensated some landowners, but only some of them have actually vacated their land.
Maghumbo could not confirm whether the regional council followed the compensation policy which says that where a traditional homestead is bought by council, it should be subdivided into at least four plots and offer the occupant one of them to buy before other applicants are considered.
“That option seems not to have been exercised. The regional council didn’t follow that procedure – now what is happening is people have started to sell privately and if you tell them not to, they will tell you it’s their land, they sell council land privately and move,” he said.
Divundu is situated 200 kilometres east of Rundu along the Trans-Caprivi/Zambezi Highway on the south-eastern banks of the Kavango River in the Kavango East Region.
The village has about 5,430 residents, according to the last census results.
Following the swearing-in ceremony of councillors on December 6, Joseph Dinyando retained his position as the village council’s chairperson, Josefine Maghambayi (Swapo) retained her position as vice-chairperson, while Fulgensia Mukerenge (Swapo), Christopher Kupembona (Swapo) and Frans Mwamo (APP) retained their roles as ordinary members of council.
•••• Caption: (Maghumbo)