Okahandja municipality denies involvement in community fundraising project

"You give your dogs water but can’t give us water. Enough is enough! We are tired of this!” chanted Okahandja residents during a demonstration last Wednesday, expressing their frustration with the Okahandja municipality’s administration.This follows the residents' open criticism of the municipality, which allegedly opened a bank account in January to improve the town’s informal areas. According to community activist Sethy Gariseb, there has been no traceable report on the funds’ usage, adding that every household in the Ekunde and Vyf Rand informal settlements has paid money into the account since its establishment.He said residents of the Promiseland informal settlement raised their own funds to buy pipes and dig trenches, as advised by the municipality last year. However, no water has been provided to the area, which Gariseb said residents desperately need.The disgruntled residents are calling for the immediate resignation of Okahandja mayor Beatrice Kotungondo and municipality CEO Alphons Tjitombo for their failure to address issues affecting the community. According to protesters, no political rallies will be allowed in their areas until their grievances are addressed. “Some of you are outsiders, hence you struggle to solve our problems. You do not have our best interest at heart,” they said of the municipality’s leaders.Not involvedKotungondo disputed the claims that the municipality is responsible for managing the funds in the bank account. According to her, the development of Ekunde was not included in the municipality’s 2023/24 budget. "We advised the community to lead the effort in accumulating funds to expedite the process and help cover 50% of the surveyors' costs," she said.As the residents felt the process was taking too long, the town’s leaders suggested that they open an account to raise funds to expedite the process, she explained."We [the municipality] and the community members, together with the Namibian University of Science and Technology [NUST], met to discuss the progress of the funds’ collection, which [residents] fully manage and council has no access to. They confirmed that they have raised N$207 000," the mayor said. Kotungondo also confirmed that community members of the Vyf Rand and Oshetu informal settlements deposit money into the account, using their plot numbers as references. "We want it known that the council has no access to the account and is not a signatory," she stressed.She explained that the project is being carried out in collaboration with NUST to provide opportunities for students to complete their work-integrated learning. Kotungondo noted that land surveying typically takes six months or longer, depending on the engineers involved.The mayor added that she felt targeted by the residents. "I am a teacher, busy educating around 40 learners, and I don't have the time” to receive petitions from residents, she said. "It's not that the petition was neglected - it was handled by the deputy mayor. I don't understand why they specifically wanted me [to receive it]. It's not as if I won't chair the meeting regarding the petition. What exactly is their issue with me?" she wanted to know.

Okahandja municipality denies involvement in community fundraising project

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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Okahandja municipality denies involvement in community fundraising project

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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