By Mbatjiua Ngavirue WINDHOEK Like most other towns in Namibia, Grootfontein has its share of social problems and crime, with which it is grappling in an effort to find workable solutions. In contrast to Grootfontein Mayor Rapama Kamehozu, the local Roman Catholic priest, Father Jacobus Bostander, is however pessimistic about the situation in Grootfontein. “Drinking is a big issue in this town. Social and family instability forces people into a certain lifestyle. If everything is so rosy, why is alcohol such a big problem?” he asked. Family instability makes children turn to alcohol at a young age, leading to a breakdown in family life. According to Bostander, family breakdown is a bigger contributing factor to social instability in Grootfontein than unemployment. “Unemployment is part of it, but it is not the main factor because people can always employ themselves even when they lack qualifications. After all, people from Zimbabwe come and create employment for themselves here,” he said. He felt that one of the main problems is lack of leadership in the town, at both family and political levels. Bostander sadly noted the age-old truth, known the world over, that politicians are first and foremost there to look after their own interests. He was highly sceptical about the performance of the affirmative action contractor which the municipality appointed to build 70 of the 75 new houses built last year. The walls of some of the houses, he pointed out, are already cracking because of poor workmanship. The Roman Catholic Church unwittingly hired the same contractor to build a kindergarten for the church, but the contractor, after being paid, left without completing the job. “The problem is that they want to give jobs to friends. That is what is killing everything here,” he lamented. The evidence of cracking walls was not immediately visible during a brief tour of some of the new houses – which is, of course, not to say that what Father Bostander says might not be true. There was evidence of some of the ceiling boards already starting to fall off in the new houses, plus other evidence of sub-standard work. There was a glaring difference in the quality between the 70 houses built by the local affirmative action contractor and the five built by the more experienced Tsumeb Building Contractors (Neitel). Grootfontein Mayor Kamehozu, by his own admission, is a great believer in affirmative action – as are most Namibians. However, affirmative action almost always comes with an inherent built-in contradiction. The conundrum is whether you empower communities or individuals at the expense of entire communities. Should a large section of the community perpetually have to accept sub-standard services in order to empower a few fortunate people among the elite? The solution to this complex problem, for the Grootfontein municipality, as well as others in the country, might be to find some way of striking a balance between the two seemingly conflicting objectives. One local resident complained about the double staffing at the municipality, where there are now apparently two appointees for every top position. Meanwhile, services are reported to be deteriorating, with residents in some areas of the town forced to leave their refuse in heaps at designated places where it sometimes remains uncollected. There is a case for arguing that double staffing at the municipality is part of necessary social transformation in the country. The problem, of course, is that sometimes the politicians overdo things because the necessary checks and balances are not there. Civil society is weak, while politicians are almighty. Father Bostander confirmed Blikkiesdorp residents’ complaints about alcohol abuse and the high number of rapes in the squatter camp. The Father said, however, that rapists did not confine their activities to Blikkiesdorp, with one woman raped in the street just behind his church. He blamed this rape on the negligence of the authorities who fail to provide adequate street lighting. Generally, the Namibian Police seem to be getting a grip on crime in the town, which has steadily fallen since 2005 and, apart from occasional spikes, seems to have stabilized. Crime incidents reported for the past three years in January, were 126 in 2005, 88 in 2006, rising slightly to 97 in 2007. For the month of April during the last years, the figures were 138 in 2005, 76 in 2006 and 88 in 2007. The town is fortunate in having a dynamic police Station Commander in Inspector “Traveller” Amon Ndilula. Ndilula says it is unusual for a Namibian police officer, in being open, forthright and transparent, not to try sweeping problems under the carpet. He said the most common crime in Grootfontein is assault, either common assault or assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). He attributed the prevalence of assault cases to alcohol and drug abuse. Housebreaking, he added, was a seasonal crime more common in summer than in winter, as burglars apparently like to keep warm. The re-opening of the satellite police station in Omulunga has also played a role in curbing crime in the town.