Rauna Shikomba
OTJIWARONGO – Governor of Otjozondjupa Region Otto Ipinge has described President Geingob’s town hall meetings as a platform that will develop effective partnerships between the President and citizens.
This, he said, is because of the strengths and importance the initiative has in addressing issues that affect the end-users of government services.
Ipinge made these remarks at the town hall meeting held here on Friday.
“This platform is a reassurance by the President that our concerns remain foremost on his presidential agenda. Furthermore, it is part of his philosophy of transparency, accountability and responsible governance,” said Ipinge.
Amongst the hundreds of people that travelled from all corners of Otjozondjupa to meet President Geingob and share their views, experiences and concerns, were church leaders, traditional authorities, unions, farmers, youths, pensioners and business people.
Some of the key issues and proposals raised at the meeting included a request that the government plead with commercial farmers to allow communal farmers to graze their animals in their corridors.
A concern was also raised that the government employ qualified nurses at Tsumkwe clinic, because the current nurses don’t have experience, especially with prenatal care and deliveries, which sees traditional midwives in the area assisting the clinic with deliveries.
Furthermore, it was proposed that the government introduce a nametags system in the public service for staff members to be easily identified by clients and customers in cases of poor service delivery, as a way of improving service delivery.
Another issue was the citizenship of the Ovaherero born in Botswana following the genocide. The government was requested to relook their citizenship, to give them citizenship by “descent” and not by “registration” as the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration is currently doing.
Asked about his experience of the town hall meeting was headman Immanuel //Areseb, of the Haillom San in Otjiwarongo Constituency. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to attend the meeting, saying it gave him a chance to air the concerns and views of his community.
“The meeting also educated me about the different institutions and what they are responsible for. Next time I have an issue or query, I will have an idea of which office to go to,” he said.
Samuel Maharero, who represented the Gam Settlement Development Committee, said it was his first time to attend a meeting of this nature, and he usually only hears about it on radio. “I am happy to be here and represent my people. However, I wanted the President to respond to our issues today, fact to fact, but I would like to believe that his team was taking notes. Maybe they are going to discuss and give us feedback,” he said.
At the event President Geingob urged Namibians to hold hands and move forward in bettering the country. “Namibia is the only country we have, it is the only country we can call our own. Countries take time to firm,” he remarked.