Kapika denies Baynes bribes

Hakuminue Kapika, who lost his Ovahimba chieftaincy in 2014, amid allegations he was bribed to make an about turn on the US$1.3 billion Baynes hydroelectric project, has vehemently denied he was paid or that he personally travelled to China.

One of the allegations levelled against Kapika was that he had visited China, presumably to be convinced of the benefits of hydroelectricity.

Kapika denied last week he had been taken to China and that he had received any bribes from prospective developers linked to the Baynes project. He did, however, acknowledge that some of his “followers” have been to China.

“We do not want to be left behind; we want development,” Kapika said, while calling on those in the traditional community who are against to the dam project to abandon their opposition.

“I do not know if there is anyone who will not want this project. I want it to go ahead,” Kapika said.

He also pegged all future developments in the Epupa constituency on the hydropower project.

“We must stand on our own feet; the dam must be built,” an aging Kapika said while on a short visit to Windhoek with a small delegation.

“It is a tool to attract our children back. They do not have to run away to look for development.”

Kapika was removed as head of the Kapika Royal House in 2014 because of his U-turn to support the controversial project.

He has contested his removal and in the same year denounced his then DTA membership to join Swapo.

Kapika acknowledged having had an altercation with Founding President Sam Nujoma, who initially mooted the idea of a hydroelectric dam at Epupa Falls.

He said in 2013 they agreed that such a dam could be built further downstream, in order not to deface the “artwork of God” at Epupa Falls, and the two men then reconciled.

He said the graveyards on the site where the dam is planned will be relocated to “proper burial sites”.

Kapika and his delegation, consisting of senior councillor Vulhama Tjintunda and councillor Murengua Tjiposa, also made an appeal for investment into the Epupa constituency and the Kunene Region.



Mortal threat

The picture they painted of the state of the region was a bleak one.

They said the region's people face a “mortal threat” to their livelihood and wellbeing.

Despite good rains across many parts of the country, the Kunene Region is still faced with severe drought conditions that have reportedly decimated livestock, due to poor grazing.

They said young lives go to waste due to the abuse of alcohol “and other unbecoming behaviour” - fuelled by poverty and a sense of hopelessness.

Kapika said the younger generation are mostly unemployed, due to a lack of development.

“We have literally become destitute in our own land. We feel neglected and forgotten because we cannot even afford to take our wives and children to clinics, because there are no health facilities for kilometres around us. The odd and distant clinics are not adequately stocked and are poorly managed,” Kapika said.

They also complained about poor road infrastructure and the poor telecommunications network, a lack of potable water in many areas and alarming rates of malnutrition.

They appealed for investors to invest in the region, particularly in small leatherwork businesses, gardening and irrigation projects, as well as skills training.

Similarly, they say they continue to suffer unsustainable losses year after year, because they do not have a market from which to sell their cattle. They said although schooling is free, the education infrastructure is dilapidated and there are no hostels to accommodate their children.

The group further complained that the Ovahimba is not benefitting from tourism.

“Foreign visitors pay to come here [the Kunene region] but the money remains in Windhoek and we are instead reduced to curiosities to be admired by foreigners for scraps of leftover food, pocket change and a photo opportunity,” they lamented.

They said the Okonguati settlement has the potential to become a town, but is instead is teetering on the brink of collapse because of a lack of political will.



Money crisis delays project

Former energy minister, Obeth Kandjoze, who has since been moved to economic planning, said late last year the Baynes project will commence as soon as funds are available.

He told Nampa the project had been delayed by the “recent economic crisis”.

“We are just waiting to recover financially so that the project can resume,” he said at the time.

The power project, which is strategically important to both Angola and Namibia for tackling power supply deficits, is expected to produce about 600 megawatts of electricity.

Like the Ruacana power station, the new dam will function as a mid-merit peaking station so that national bulk electricity supplier NamPower can avoid buying imported power during peak hours.