Leonardville: Used at the ballot box, forgotten after the vote
OPINION / #namibiadecides2025
Every election season, the youth of Leonardville line up under the scorching sun – hopeful, determined and believing that our votes will finally bring the change we’ve been promised for years. But once the campaign songs fade and the ballot boxes are packed away, so too do those promises disappear. We are remembered when it’s time to vote but forgotten when it’s time to deliver.
Leonardville today stands as a painful reminder of how neglect and empty promises can crush a generation’s dreams. Our young people live in the shadow of unemployment, lack of opportunity and a future that feels stolen.
There are no vocational training centres, no Namcol facilities for learners to upgrade their points and no youth programmes that prepare us for the modern job market. Even the most basic services – clean water, health care and proper education – seem to leapfrog past Leonardville year after year.
Once upon a time, Leonardville had the status of a town: vibrant and full of potential. Today, it’s reduced to a village, stripped of recognition and development. A while ago, newspapers teased the idea of Leonardville regaining its town status. That spark of hope gave us something to believe in. But as always, the excitement faded, and those promises turned into nothing more than words on paper.
A constituency that forgets its own
Leonardville falls under the Aminius constituency, but we are treated as though we are outsiders within our own region. It remains a mystery how a village can be governed by a reservoir. Aminius, which doesn’t even hold village or town status, houses the constituency office and reaps the benefits of projects and funding meant for everyone.
For over 15 years, Leonardville’s development has been stalling – while areas like Aminius and Ondorombaba are thriving. Our roads are dusty, our infrastructure forgotten and our people left behind.
This is why the Leonardville community believes it’s time for its own constituency – the Leonardville constituency. It’s not a demand born of anger, but of necessity. A separate constituency would bring governance closer to the people, give Leonardville its rightful voice, and end years of being overshadowed and excluded.
The road of corruption and misplaced priorities
If you want proof of how Leonardville is sidelined, look no further than the Gobabis–Aranos road project. Anyone with a map can see that the shortest, most direct route from Gobabis to Aranos – and even to Stampriet – passes through Leonardville.
Building that road through Leonardville would have boosted trade, tourism and local business. But instead, the route was mysteriously diverted through Aminius, a longer, costlier path. The only explanation is favouritism and corruption.
Ironically, most tourists travelling south from Gobabis already choose the Leonardville route because it’s shorter, smoother and scenic. Yet the government ignores this reality, neglecting road maintenance and missing out on the tourism potential that could uplift the entire community.
Leonardville has literally been bypassed – both on the map and in development.
A forgotten generation
We are a generation full of talent, ideas and energy – yet trapped in a place with no opportunities. With no jobs, no youth centres and no training facilities, many of our young people are forced to migrate to Gobabis or Windhoek in search of survival.
Healthcare is another tragedy. Leonardville is 135 kilometres from Gobabis, and the road is gravel all the way – rough, slow and dangerous. When emergencies strike, we wait hours for an ambulance to arrive, if it even comes at all. These delays have cost lives, lives that could have been saved if Leonardville had its own ambulance stationed at the local clinic.
We call on the Ministry of Health and Social Services to prioritise Leonardville’s clinic by allocating a dedicated ambulance and upgrading our healthcare facilities. No community should be left to die because of bad roads and bureaucratic neglect.
A future we can believe in
Our demands: Leonardville’s youth are not begging for handouts, we are demanding fairness and inclusion. We call on government, regional leaders and the National Youth Council to take action:
1. Restore Leonardville’s town status to ensure proper governance and planning.
2. Establish a vocational training and youth development centre to empower our youth.
3. Create a Leonardville constituency for fair representation and accountability.
4. Distribute resources equally across the constituency – not just to Aminius.
5. Bring transparency to infrastructure planning, including the Gobabis–Aranos road.
6. Allocate a dedicated ambulance and upgrade healthcare at Leonardville Clinic.
7. Launch youth outreach and education support programmes to give us a future worth believing in.
A call for justice
Leonardville is not asking for charity — we are asking for justice. We vote like every other community in this country. We contribute to the economy, to democracy, and to peace. But we have been left behind for too long.
It’s time that those in leadership stop using the youth of Leonardville as stepping stones to power and start treating us as partners in progress.
Our message is simple: We are done being forgotten.
Leonardville’s youth are standing up, united, determined and unafraid. We are demanding what is rightfully ours: development, dignity and inclusion.
• This article was written by Anton Geinub, a Leonardville youth representative, in his personal capacity.
Leonardville today stands as a painful reminder of how neglect and empty promises can crush a generation’s dreams. Our young people live in the shadow of unemployment, lack of opportunity and a future that feels stolen.
There are no vocational training centres, no Namcol facilities for learners to upgrade their points and no youth programmes that prepare us for the modern job market. Even the most basic services – clean water, health care and proper education – seem to leapfrog past Leonardville year after year.
Once upon a time, Leonardville had the status of a town: vibrant and full of potential. Today, it’s reduced to a village, stripped of recognition and development. A while ago, newspapers teased the idea of Leonardville regaining its town status. That spark of hope gave us something to believe in. But as always, the excitement faded, and those promises turned into nothing more than words on paper.
A constituency that forgets its own
Leonardville falls under the Aminius constituency, but we are treated as though we are outsiders within our own region. It remains a mystery how a village can be governed by a reservoir. Aminius, which doesn’t even hold village or town status, houses the constituency office and reaps the benefits of projects and funding meant for everyone.
For over 15 years, Leonardville’s development has been stalling – while areas like Aminius and Ondorombaba are thriving. Our roads are dusty, our infrastructure forgotten and our people left behind.
This is why the Leonardville community believes it’s time for its own constituency – the Leonardville constituency. It’s not a demand born of anger, but of necessity. A separate constituency would bring governance closer to the people, give Leonardville its rightful voice, and end years of being overshadowed and excluded.
The road of corruption and misplaced priorities
If you want proof of how Leonardville is sidelined, look no further than the Gobabis–Aranos road project. Anyone with a map can see that the shortest, most direct route from Gobabis to Aranos – and even to Stampriet – passes through Leonardville.
Building that road through Leonardville would have boosted trade, tourism and local business. But instead, the route was mysteriously diverted through Aminius, a longer, costlier path. The only explanation is favouritism and corruption.
Ironically, most tourists travelling south from Gobabis already choose the Leonardville route because it’s shorter, smoother and scenic. Yet the government ignores this reality, neglecting road maintenance and missing out on the tourism potential that could uplift the entire community.
Leonardville has literally been bypassed – both on the map and in development.
A forgotten generation
We are a generation full of talent, ideas and energy – yet trapped in a place with no opportunities. With no jobs, no youth centres and no training facilities, many of our young people are forced to migrate to Gobabis or Windhoek in search of survival.
Healthcare is another tragedy. Leonardville is 135 kilometres from Gobabis, and the road is gravel all the way – rough, slow and dangerous. When emergencies strike, we wait hours for an ambulance to arrive, if it even comes at all. These delays have cost lives, lives that could have been saved if Leonardville had its own ambulance stationed at the local clinic.
We call on the Ministry of Health and Social Services to prioritise Leonardville’s clinic by allocating a dedicated ambulance and upgrading our healthcare facilities. No community should be left to die because of bad roads and bureaucratic neglect.
A future we can believe in
Our demands: Leonardville’s youth are not begging for handouts, we are demanding fairness and inclusion. We call on government, regional leaders and the National Youth Council to take action:
1. Restore Leonardville’s town status to ensure proper governance and planning.
2. Establish a vocational training and youth development centre to empower our youth.
3. Create a Leonardville constituency for fair representation and accountability.
4. Distribute resources equally across the constituency – not just to Aminius.
5. Bring transparency to infrastructure planning, including the Gobabis–Aranos road.
6. Allocate a dedicated ambulance and upgrade healthcare at Leonardville Clinic.
7. Launch youth outreach and education support programmes to give us a future worth believing in.
A call for justice
Leonardville is not asking for charity — we are asking for justice. We vote like every other community in this country. We contribute to the economy, to democracy, and to peace. But we have been left behind for too long.
It’s time that those in leadership stop using the youth of Leonardville as stepping stones to power and start treating us as partners in progress.
Our message is simple: We are done being forgotten.
Leonardville’s youth are standing up, united, determined and unafraid. We are demanding what is rightfully ours: development, dignity and inclusion.
• This article was written by Anton Geinub, a Leonardville youth representative, in his personal capacity.
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