Angry residents walk out of meeting A weekend meeting convened between the Omatando community and the Ongwediva Town Council did not end well after some residents staged a walkout.
The meeting was called to inform residents about progress made regarding the formalisation process to change Omatando 1, 2 and 3 areas into a township.
The meeting, however, did not bear the intended fruits after residents accused council of not dealing with the issues they presented.
The residents demanded council provide them with a definite timeframe as to when residents can continue with building homes on their plots.
The demand follows council's instructions to halt all construction of houses on their plots saying doing so will affect the formalisation of Omatando, which has not been finalised.
In the past, council threatened to demolish structures built before completion of the formalisation process, but it has since changed its stance and is now pleading with the community to take ownership of the project.
However, the residents have indicated that they are prepared to wait only if council commits itself to a definite timeline.
“What we want to hear is that we are not allowed to construct up until this date and not just be told to wait. We are getting old and some of us just became employed and want to develop our plots,” a resident said.
Another resident said the people have plots in Omatando but they are forced to rent elsewhere arguing that they could have used the money to build their homes on their own erven.
Ongwediva CEO Damian Egumbo said council has taken note of the request and it will soon respond to the community.
The frustration and anger of the residents was evident in their conversations.
However, Ongwediva spokesperson Jackson Muma told the residents that council is trying its best to shorten the process and requested the community to work together with them to see the envisioned township become a reality one day.
“We should not be afraid, let us work together. The plan is to formalise Omatando and bring the basic services here and we will only achieve that if we all take ownership of the plan. Let us not continue building… we urge you to wait a little longer,” Muma said.
He added that council is busy with the verification of property and the rates and taxes issues, saying these are still far from completion.
This drew the ire of residents who demanded council answer all their questions.
Some plot owners said they had travelled long distances from as far as Windhoek to attend the meeting, saying it is not fair to leave questions unanswered.
KENYA KAMBOWE
The meeting was called to inform residents about progress made regarding the formalisation process to change Omatando 1, 2 and 3 areas into a township.
The meeting, however, did not bear the intended fruits after residents accused council of not dealing with the issues they presented.
The residents demanded council provide them with a definite timeframe as to when residents can continue with building homes on their plots.
The demand follows council's instructions to halt all construction of houses on their plots saying doing so will affect the formalisation of Omatando, which has not been finalised.
In the past, council threatened to demolish structures built before completion of the formalisation process, but it has since changed its stance and is now pleading with the community to take ownership of the project.
However, the residents have indicated that they are prepared to wait only if council commits itself to a definite timeline.
“What we want to hear is that we are not allowed to construct up until this date and not just be told to wait. We are getting old and some of us just became employed and want to develop our plots,” a resident said.
Another resident said the people have plots in Omatando but they are forced to rent elsewhere arguing that they could have used the money to build their homes on their own erven.
Ongwediva CEO Damian Egumbo said council has taken note of the request and it will soon respond to the community.
The frustration and anger of the residents was evident in their conversations.
However, Ongwediva spokesperson Jackson Muma told the residents that council is trying its best to shorten the process and requested the community to work together with them to see the envisioned township become a reality one day.
“We should not be afraid, let us work together. The plan is to formalise Omatando and bring the basic services here and we will only achieve that if we all take ownership of the plan. Let us not continue building… we urge you to wait a little longer,” Muma said.
He added that council is busy with the verification of property and the rates and taxes issues, saying these are still far from completion.
This drew the ire of residents who demanded council answer all their questions.
Some plot owners said they had travelled long distances from as far as Windhoek to attend the meeting, saying it is not fair to leave questions unanswered.
KENYA KAMBOWE