Steven Klukowski
KEETMANSHOOP - Popular Democratic Movement candidate for the upcoming Keetmanshoop Rural constituency by-election, Johannes Eiman said he is confident and capable to lead any community.
“I am thus urging voters to give me a fair chance to become their new councillor through voting me into power come 15 May 2023,” he said. The by-election was necessitated after the Landless People’s Movement expelled the former councillor for that constituency, Gerrit Witbooi on 14 February 2023.
During an interview with New Era, Eiman said: “Initially, I never had any interest in politics, but it was when I saw how people are suffering through life’s hardships and also how leaders are not sharing resources equally amongst citizens that I got the conviction to enter the political arena.”
He continued that he voted for the first time during the 2014 Presidential and National Assembly elections, after which he climbed the ladder at the PDM from Aroab branch secretary to treasurer and eventually nominated candidate for the 2020 Regional Council and Local Authority elections.
The candidate also regarded the embezzlement of State funds as disheartening.
“It hurts to see how millions in public money went missing, which could have been utilised to build new schools, houses, hospitals or pay for the provision of water, electricity and sewerage services,” he said.
He gave the assurance, if voted into power, he will make sure all public offices resorting under Keetmanshoop Rural constituency will provide him with quarterly financial reports while their books will be audited accordingly.
Eiman (aka Ricky) also said one of his primary objectives as prospective regional councillor will be to aggressively engage the local business community and investors.
“In the process, I want to secure funding needed to address unemployment, poverty, lack of technical skills and in addition the challenge of our youth not being able to further their studies at higher institutions of learning due to financial constraints,” he emphasised.
The teacher, who is also actively involved in sports, being the Namibian Sports Commission’s //Kharas regional chairperson for youth games, in addition, acknowledged that boredom can be regarded as one of the main reasons attributing to substance abuse among young people. “Based on this, I believe that if they are getting more involved in physical activities like sports, it can change their mindset in life,” he reasoned.
He also said if unemployed residents are trained in the fields of entrepreneurship, financial management and agriculture-and livestock farming, it can already assist government halfway in addressing existing socio-economic challenges. “Once I am in office as successful candidate, I will make this a priority,” he concluded.