Epangu
Residents of Epangu village in the Ogongo Constituency of Omusati Region went to the polls contented after each household received three bags of maize on the eve of the election.
The residents, who earlier said they were disinclined to go to the polls, on Friday said the maize restored their faith in the government. They appealed to the government – through newly re-elected Constituency Councillor Willem Iyambo – to repeat the same gesture in December.
According to the preliminary election results Iyambo of the Swapo Party, scored 4 392 votes to win Ogongo Constituency.
His only rival for the position, Josua Nghishiiko of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), received a paltry 45 votes.
Ogongo is one of only four constituencies in Omusati Region where electoral contests were held this year. The opposition did not field candidates in the remainder of the constituencies in the region, thus giving the ruling Swapo Party automatic victories.
IRATE RESIDENTS
Irate residents charged that they had not received drought relief food for some time and when they did it was not enough to cater for the whole village.
One resident of Epangu, Johanna Ileka, appealed to the government to support them with food supplies on a continuous basis, saying the whole country is hard-hit by drought.
Ileka further called on the government to provide a fair amount of drought relief to the community in order to reach all the people that are in need. “Sometimes we do not get enough food for everyone.
Some people return home empty-handed and the people who feel the pinch are the food distributors, because the community feels they were purposely omitted from the list,” said Ileka.
Another resident, who identified herself as Mee Shapwa, called upon re-elected councillor Iyambo to look into distributing water more fairly in their village. It is understood that currently only one side of the village has access to potable water, while the rest of the villagers are obliged to use the severely diminished wells.
“The water has almost dried up and now it is sour and muddy. We appeal to our councillor to give us water pipes,” Mee Shapwa pleaded.