Okalongo development in spotlight
There is furore over the construction of a service station at the northern settlement of Okalongo.
The Okalongo community in the Omusati Region have raised their concerns to the Omusati Regional Council for permitting a company to commence with the construction of a multi-million dollar project while it has not obtained an environmental impact assessment (EIA) clearance certificate.
This was after an advert was placed in a daily newspaper with a due date of 9 March, indicating that Emirates Trading CC had contracted Health Earth Environmental Consultants to do the EIA, calling for the interested and affected parties to express their views regarding the establishment of an Engen service station on plot 800.
Emirates Trading, however, has started with the construction of the N$200 million project while is has no environmental clearance.
To further compound matters, the community has opposed the project since 2016.
According to Environmental Management Act 7 of 2007, all government institutions, companies, other organisations and individuals that are involved in planning or undertaking listed activities must apply the principles outlined.
One of these is the completion of an EIA.
The area in question was a floodplain which channelled rain water into the surrounding streams until 2015, when it was filled with sand and construction activities began to take place.
One of the concerned stakeholders is the Okalongo Based Development Community Body (OBDCB).
This group's committee questions why and how the Omusati Regional Council approved the sale of the floodplain.
“How does the Omusati Regional Council approve such a thing? It is floodplain that is why, for so many years nothing was constructed there. They must explain to the people why they sold the land,” the chairperson of the OBDCB, Vilho Nhoni, said.
He also questioned why the regional council has allowed the company to do an EIA after construction had already started.
“We are being taken for joke because how do you expect the community to express their views if construction has already started? We are not against development but it must not come at the expense of the community,” Nhoni said.
An agitated Joshua Haimbodi, the owner of Emirates Trading CC, confirmed the authenticity of the advert placed and added that “it is none of the media's business”.
He said that people who are complaining about the development are afraid of competition.
“There are offices for their complaints. We have the councillor's office, the settlement office and the regional council. Please don't try to tell me about the nonsense of that committee … are you drunk?” Haimbodi remarked.
He questioned which law stipulates that a person must obtain an EIA before construction can begin.
'Irregularities'
A letter dated 14 February 2016 by Nhoni to the chief regional officer of the regional council, Protasius Andowa, highlights a number of irregularities the community body claims are taking place in Okalongo and are overlooked by the settlement office, also touched on this issue and asked for intervention.
A few days later, copies of the letter were sent to the regional council chairperson Modestus Amutse as well as to several regional leaders including the governor of Omusati, Erginus Endjala.
“Some development activities which need environmental impact assessments (EIA) were deliberately overlooked at by the settlement office, for example, the filling of the water drainage pan at Okakango with sand. The negative impact of these practices has enormous consequences on the future development of the settlement,” the letter read.
Nhoni said they never got a response from the regional leadership.
However, according to Endjala, his office responded and conducted a site visit where they also observed the same concerns the committee had highlighted. He said it was referred to a technical team to look into.
“First and foremost, the issue was handled by the regional council.
When they raised the complaint, we went to the site and we observed what they are talking about. It was sent to a technical team,” Endjala said before referring further questions to both Andowa and Amutse.
When contacted for comment Amutse said he could not shed light on the matter as he had not visited Okalongo for some time.
“I have not been in Okalongo recently but I know that we are about to rezone the whole of Okalongo because there are many issues. Plots are not well zoned, others are overlapping into others and so on,” Amutse said.
Attempts to get comment from Andowa proved futile.
KENYA KAMBOWE
This was after an advert was placed in a daily newspaper with a due date of 9 March, indicating that Emirates Trading CC had contracted Health Earth Environmental Consultants to do the EIA, calling for the interested and affected parties to express their views regarding the establishment of an Engen service station on plot 800.
Emirates Trading, however, has started with the construction of the N$200 million project while is has no environmental clearance.
To further compound matters, the community has opposed the project since 2016.
According to Environmental Management Act 7 of 2007, all government institutions, companies, other organisations and individuals that are involved in planning or undertaking listed activities must apply the principles outlined.
One of these is the completion of an EIA.
The area in question was a floodplain which channelled rain water into the surrounding streams until 2015, when it was filled with sand and construction activities began to take place.
One of the concerned stakeholders is the Okalongo Based Development Community Body (OBDCB).
This group's committee questions why and how the Omusati Regional Council approved the sale of the floodplain.
“How does the Omusati Regional Council approve such a thing? It is floodplain that is why, for so many years nothing was constructed there. They must explain to the people why they sold the land,” the chairperson of the OBDCB, Vilho Nhoni, said.
He also questioned why the regional council has allowed the company to do an EIA after construction had already started.
“We are being taken for joke because how do you expect the community to express their views if construction has already started? We are not against development but it must not come at the expense of the community,” Nhoni said.
An agitated Joshua Haimbodi, the owner of Emirates Trading CC, confirmed the authenticity of the advert placed and added that “it is none of the media's business”.
He said that people who are complaining about the development are afraid of competition.
“There are offices for their complaints. We have the councillor's office, the settlement office and the regional council. Please don't try to tell me about the nonsense of that committee … are you drunk?” Haimbodi remarked.
He questioned which law stipulates that a person must obtain an EIA before construction can begin.
'Irregularities'
A letter dated 14 February 2016 by Nhoni to the chief regional officer of the regional council, Protasius Andowa, highlights a number of irregularities the community body claims are taking place in Okalongo and are overlooked by the settlement office, also touched on this issue and asked for intervention.
A few days later, copies of the letter were sent to the regional council chairperson Modestus Amutse as well as to several regional leaders including the governor of Omusati, Erginus Endjala.
“Some development activities which need environmental impact assessments (EIA) were deliberately overlooked at by the settlement office, for example, the filling of the water drainage pan at Okakango with sand. The negative impact of these practices has enormous consequences on the future development of the settlement,” the letter read.
Nhoni said they never got a response from the regional leadership.
However, according to Endjala, his office responded and conducted a site visit where they also observed the same concerns the committee had highlighted. He said it was referred to a technical team to look into.
“First and foremost, the issue was handled by the regional council.
When they raised the complaint, we went to the site and we observed what they are talking about. It was sent to a technical team,” Endjala said before referring further questions to both Andowa and Amutse.
When contacted for comment Amutse said he could not shed light on the matter as he had not visited Okalongo for some time.
“I have not been in Okalongo recently but I know that we are about to rezone the whole of Okalongo because there are many issues. Plots are not well zoned, others are overlapping into others and so on,” Amutse said.
Attempts to get comment from Andowa proved futile.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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