GOBABIS – Underdevelopment, inadequate economic opportunities and a lack of basic services are some burning issues raised by Eiseb residents during yesterday’s Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission’s public consultation meeting in Gobabis.
Due to this, they are now calling on the government, through the Commission, to detach the settlement from the Otjombinde constituency, and declare it an independent constituency.
During yesterday’s heated public consultation meeting that had tempers flying, the residents made their oral and written submissions to the Commission, chaired by acting judge Petrus Unengu.
One of Eiseb’s residents, Abel Kandjou, said there is a growing need for the settlement to be declared a constituency on its own to have its own growth points, as its current status has yielded no desired results.
Eiseb, also known as Eiseb Block, is situated about 140km from Tallismanus, and approximately 380km from Gobabis.
It also serves as an exit point for Gam.
“When you look at the distances we have to travel to Tallismanus just to access basic services or reach the constituency office, it clearly shows and speaks to the need for this Commission to seriously consider the possibility of recommending that Eiseb be upgraded to a constituency. Once declared a constituency, it will open growth opportunities for the residents of Eiseb, and serve as a great growth point for the government to also extend its services. It will be great for potential investors to invest in our area,” said Kandjou.
Presently, not much economic or social activity is taking place at Eiseb.
The settlement has only one school, one clinic and a single shop.
The agriculture ministry has an office there.
Conservancies are the major source of income for the settlement’s residents, while most people there solely depend on livestock farming, gardens and other small businesses.
Opposing the divorce was another Eiseb resident, Festus Marenga, who suggested that instead of detaching the settlement from the Otjombinde, the government should focus on bringing more services and development to the area.
“I don’t think declaring Eiseb a constituency will resolve all our problems. The solution is for the government to bring development and create opportunities for the people of Eiseb, because the problem here is a lack of development and services, and if those things are sorted out, I don’t see the need to create another constituency. In my opinion, the current setup works perfectly well; let’s just attend to the development needs of the people in that area,” Marenga opposed.
The consultations were held over two days at the Ben van der Walt primary school and were well attended by members of the community, regional and local authority councillors, traditional leaders and various prominent figures in Omaheke.
Eiseb is named after the Eiseb River, an ephemeral river in the Kalahari Desert.
The settlement was established in 1992 as a place where returning Ovambanderu and Ovaherero refugees from Botswana could settle.
From 1994 onwards, Ovaherero and Ovambanderu from other areas, such as Epukiro, Otjinene and Otjombinde started resettling there and they today make up the majority of the inhabitants.
The area between Eiseb and Epukiro is one of eleven water basins in Namibia.
It has a total surface area of 10 665 square kilometres. It borders Botswana in the east, reaches southwards until Gobabis and covers parts of the Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions.
The total annual water yield of the basin is an estimated 20 million cubic metres, which is mainly groundwater.
(Eiseb)
Caption:
Eiseb-Detach… Eiseb residents are calling for detachment from the Otjombinde constituency.
Photo: Otniel Hembapu