Nudo pledges to develop Otjinene
The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo), which won the Otjinene local authority election on Friday, says it will put the plight of the village’s poor and elderly citizens first. Nudo won three seats on the five seat village council, with the Swapo Party taking the remaining seats. The other two contesting parties - Swanu and DTA of Namibia - failed to make the quota for the allocation of seats. Nudo received 720 votes, while Swapo claimed 520 votes. The DTA and Swanu only managed 124 and 46 votes respectively. Ruth Katjatenja, who was the first candidate on Nudo’s list for the village council election, told Nampa on Saturday that the party will prioritise the provision of water and electricity to the village’s informal settlements, as most of the people living there are elderly and poor. She said since there are only a few designated water points at these informal settlements, the elderly often have to walk long distances to get water for basic household consumption, while others resort to paying people to help them collect the water on their behalf. Another problem facing the residents of Otjinene, Katjatenja said, is a lack of proper housing, especially in informal settlements at the village, where the bulk of Otjinene’s residents live. “We do not have proper houses in the informal settlements. When it rains, those living there get soaked along with their belongings while it is extremely cold during winter months, as residents construct houses from makeshift material such as plastic, cardboard and corrugated- iron sheets,” she said. An emotional Katjatenja said she was overwhelmed at being placed on the top of her party’s list, and her ascendance to the Otjinene Village Council is a victory for all women in the country. Katjatenya dedicated the party’s win at Otjinene to Nudo’s former president, the late Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako. Riruako died in Windhoek on June 2. The Otjinene local authority election was the party’s first test at the polls since the death of that influential and charismatic Nudo leader. “This is a hard time for the party as we are still in mourning, but we are also celebrating the influence of a great leader who inspired us to victory over Otjinene. There is no way we could have done it without the great work he had prepared for us before his departure,”she said. OTJINENE NAMPA
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article