More than 100 Witvlei residents, mostly unemployed youth and the elderly, took to the streets on Wednesday to demand the immediate appointment of a substantive CEO, access to financial and procurement reports as well as improved service delivery.
Witvlei, which falls under the Okorukambe constituency and enjoys village status, faces rampant unemployment among the youth, and ever since the closure of abattoir Witvlei Meat some years ago, residents of the settlement have been facing a raft of adversities.
For almost 10 years, particularly between 2006 and 2015, the abattoir was the main and biggest employer of more than 200 workers, but the situation changed when the abattoir, which was operated by Witvlei Meat; closed shop leading to the wholesale retrenchment of the workers.
The peaceful protest was led by community activist Deon van Wyk, who on behalf of the residents, read out the petition before handing it to chairperson of the Witvlei Village Council Sheya Goagoses.
Among their many grievances, the displeased residents called for investigations into the financial and administrative affairs of the village council, saying the community is never consulted nor engaged on various employment opportunities at the settlement.
“There are no community meetings where we are presented with comprehensive reports on the financial status of the council, tender opportunities or budget plans for the community to know which employment opportunities are coming and how our youth can partake in the procurement of various services through the tendering process. They must also share reports and plans on possible community projects for this year and next year but none of this is happening at all,” said Van Wyk in the petition.
“There are no jobs here, but village council does not even share information about which investors are planning to come to the town and which ones have been engaged during the 2022 fiscal period for possible investment opportunities here. Council must also recognise the Witvlei Development Committee as a partner in the development of our place. We need transparency, especially on tenders that are awarded to certain individuals. We also need an update on the sewage project that is currently underway.” Upon receiving the residents’ petition, Goagoses thanked the protestors for conducting their demonstration in a peaceful manner and promised that council will respond to their demands in writing latest by next week.
-ohembapu@nepc.com.na