OMUTHIYA: The newly re-elected mayor of the Omuthiya Town Council (OTC), Johannes Ndeutepo, is urging the residents of Omuthiya to assist the local authority with ideas to grow the town.

Ndeutepo during their swearing-in ceremony here on Friday said residents should be cooperative and should participate in local economic opportunities.

“We have had challenges related to land, several disputes were registered and we have concluded the majority of them,” said Ndeutepo.

He said some resolutions regarding these disputes are still in the pipeline while others are going through approval from different offices and some continue to resolve themselves.

“There has been a vacuum in our legislation when it comes to the land which is acquired through traditional means, and this is [why] we went to the headman to request for a piece of land to set up a homestead, and a field to produce our food,” he said.

He said there is no guidance on how a local authority should manage the interest of those occupying that land in their legislation, process, and procedure.

“Our local authority is putting out a policy to pioneer land that is acquired from the traditional authority and come up with a policy to ensure that we will not stop development,” he said.

He stated that they cannot be prevented from developing themselves or growing or taking opportunities for economic activities that may come to them.

“We will craft this policy that will look after this interest. We do not mean to chase [away] the people who have been inhabiting the town area, we will have a guiding tool to pioneer this. If we have a few mistakes, those that come after us will rectify it,” said Ndeutepo.

He further encouraged the residents to continue paying their rates and taxes as it is very important for the council to be able to deliver services to the community.

In the internal elections, Johannes Ndeutepo was elected as mayor of the OTC while Beata Nashongo was elected as chairperson of the management committee, and Ester Kornelius and Paulus Shimbangala were elected as members of the management committee. The deputy mayor and ordinary council member positions were left vacant. These three were formerly held by Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) councillors – who are currently abstaining from council activities after the suspension of one member by Ndeutepo.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency