Oshakati council employee fired over illegal plot sales
Residents he allegedly sold plots to got fed up and approached council to expose the act. A committee was set up to look into the allegations, which led to his dismissal last week.
TUYEIMO HAIDULA
OSHAKATI
The Oshakati town council last week has dismissed Joel Nakale with immediate effect over allegations of corruption and illegally selling plots to residents.
Nakale, who worked as a technical assistant at the municipality, is being accused of making residents pay for land before they can get allocated plots.
The town’s CEO Timoteus Namwandi said the council is duty-bound to root out corruption in Namibia. Namwandi could, however, not confirm or deny the allegations levelled against Nakale.
He was also at pains to disclose how many plots Nakale is accused of having sold.
“That is a personal matter and highly confidential. At an appropriate time, council may issue a statement if need be. We are duty-bound to root out of corruption in Namibia. I am, however, not confirming that is what he is being accused of,” Namwandi said.
‘Nothing new’
Former Oshakati mayor Katrina Shimbulu said Nakale is not alone in this case as she has many at times raised the issue at council meetings that land was being sold illegally but nothing was being done.
“There has been a lot of these cases in their department and I have complained about it a lot. I was really fighting this,” Shimbulu told Namibian Sun on Monday.
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) coordinator for Oshana, Linus Tobias, a former councillor at Oshakati, said the corruption accusations are not new and Nakale being dismissed is just the beginning for the rest to be exposed.
“I don’t want to point out Nakale alone. The whole planning department should be looked at,” he said, adding that it is premature to comment on the case now as he doesn’t have all the details yet.
Namibian Sun understands Nakale sold most of the plots at new areas at Ekuku and Onawa. Those he allegedly sold plots to got fed up and approached council to expose the act. A committee was set up to look into the allegations, which led to his dismissal last week.
Efforts to get comment from Nakale proved futile as he did not return calls or reply to text messages.
OSHAKATI
The Oshakati town council last week has dismissed Joel Nakale with immediate effect over allegations of corruption and illegally selling plots to residents.
Nakale, who worked as a technical assistant at the municipality, is being accused of making residents pay for land before they can get allocated plots.
The town’s CEO Timoteus Namwandi said the council is duty-bound to root out corruption in Namibia. Namwandi could, however, not confirm or deny the allegations levelled against Nakale.
He was also at pains to disclose how many plots Nakale is accused of having sold.
“That is a personal matter and highly confidential. At an appropriate time, council may issue a statement if need be. We are duty-bound to root out of corruption in Namibia. I am, however, not confirming that is what he is being accused of,” Namwandi said.
‘Nothing new’
Former Oshakati mayor Katrina Shimbulu said Nakale is not alone in this case as she has many at times raised the issue at council meetings that land was being sold illegally but nothing was being done.
“There has been a lot of these cases in their department and I have complained about it a lot. I was really fighting this,” Shimbulu told Namibian Sun on Monday.
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) coordinator for Oshana, Linus Tobias, a former councillor at Oshakati, said the corruption accusations are not new and Nakale being dismissed is just the beginning for the rest to be exposed.
“I don’t want to point out Nakale alone. The whole planning department should be looked at,” he said, adding that it is premature to comment on the case now as he doesn’t have all the details yet.
Namibian Sun understands Nakale sold most of the plots at new areas at Ekuku and Onawa. Those he allegedly sold plots to got fed up and approached council to expose the act. A committee was set up to look into the allegations, which led to his dismissal last week.
Efforts to get comment from Nakale proved futile as he did not return calls or reply to text messages.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article