Kuzeeko Tjitemisa 

GOBABIS - President Hage Geingob challenged residents of Omaheke Region to use their democratic right and meet him at the ballots if they think he had not delivered on his promises, as he kicked off with his series of town hall meetings here yesterday. 
He was responding to concerns about the heated issue of land, which many feel government is not addressing speedily enough. The issue of genocide also dominated yesterday’s discourse.
“I don’t know why we don’t believe in dialogue. I have always been saying that countries go to war when diplomacy fails and that is when dialogue stops,” he said, adding that his meetings are aimed at promoting dialogue between him and the masses. “We didn’t come here to fight, we are not your enemy, even with genocide we are not your enemies we were fighting together, why the anger, 

why the insults?” Geingob said.
“We are a democratic country, that’s why I am consulting. We are a democracy, if not, elections are coming – go and defeat me there,” added Geingob. 
Prior to the Gobabis meeting, the Head of State first went to Aminuis to assess the impact of drought on the locals there and their livestock.
The Gobabis meeting, which took place in a fully-packed Ben Van Der Walt Primary School hall, was one of a series aimed at engaging inhabitants of the various regions at grassroots level and listen to their concerns and challenges, the presidency said.
Geingob also touched on the issue of governance, saying that there is a need for government office-bearers to be transparent and accountable to community members so that community members can trust the government.
“In Africa and in the world today, politicians are not trusted and if they are not transparent and honest, they are stealing and are corrupt and therefore are not trusted,” Geingob elaborated. He went on to call on residents of the Cattle Country, as Omaheke is famously called, to identify ministers and leaders that are corrupt and dishonest but with the specific details on crimes they are perceived to have committed.
Geingob also used the meeting to provide feedback on issues raised since the last town hall meeting he held in the region on September 2015. 
Highlighting the achievement in the region, Geingob through his special advisor Inge  Zaamwani-Kamwi said that in Kanaan A settlement, 440 residents are now connected to the sewer reticulation system, while 790 houses are electrified and connected with pre-paid electricity meters.
Also, he said at Freedom Square 960, individuals got pre-paid water meters and 133 plots were serviced. 
Also, he said houses were constructed in Otjinene and Aminuis, while bucket systems were replaced in various constituencies across the region. He added that the issue of resettlement and that of war veterans was addressed.