VAALGRAS - The Tjikuirire Stephanus Royal House on Saturday coronated Aaron Stephanus as the new chief of the Orlam Vaalgras Traditional Authority (OVTA).
Stephanus becomes the fifth successor following the death of Chief Joel Stephanus, who had served as chief of the OVTA for 46 years, but died in 2021 due to Covid-19 complications.
In his acceptance speech, Stephanus called for unity among the Vaalgras community, saying they have enjoyed peace, unity and tranquillity for the past 115 years, and should build on that.
“One of my and my council’s objectives is to unite the divided traditional community, and lead them into prosperity and success. I pledge to work together with everybody in the jurisdiction of the Vaalgras traditional authority, and I thus call on everybody to work together with the authority entrusted with this noble responsibility,” he noted.
The traditional authority, Stephanus said, is open for developmental opportunities with all government ministries, agencies and offices to benefit the rural, impoverished and neglected communities as his noble responsibility is set to specific targets, aims and objectives within specific timeframes.
“This will revitalise the traditional community from the situation in which we find ourselves in terms of socio-economic development, and the government projects and programmes. We must always strive to share the little that we have to distribute the wealth equally and to bring everybody economically on par,” he added.
Stephanus said the Orlams clan were described as a very progressive and prosperous clan, which compels the OVTA to reclaim and restore human dignity and respect among all the other traditional communities.
One of the Ovaherero Paramount chief claimants, Hoze Riruako, also joined the new chief in calling for unity among the community of Vaalgras for them to find a common purpose that is beneficial to the whole community.
“You have seen that amongst almost every ethnic group in Namibia, there is disunity. Now, coming to the people I was appointed to lead, I want to reduce the level of hostility, anger and threats among these groups because people are misrepresenting one another. My idea is to try to work with every group for them to look for a common purpose that is beneficial to all,” he said.
Riruako observed that disunity amongst communities can be reined in through the youth, citing that if one cultivates the idea of unity in them through the changing of their mindsets, it will help in breaching disunity.
A delegation from the Ovaherero traditional authority as well as health deputy minister and National Unity Democratic Organisation president Utjiua Muinjangue witnessed the coronation which took place at farm Willemsput.
Professor Mutjinde Katjiua is also claiming Ovaherero paramount chieftaincy. - Nampa