Dordabis residents demand land, school

Dordabis residents demand land, schoolHigh level of unemployment Residents of the settlement say they aren’t lazy to work and want the new councillor to meet them half way. NAMPA







WINDHOEK

Residents of Dordabis say they want the incoming councillor to aggressively address land issues and work towards reducing poverty at the settlement.

During a recent visit to the settlement, situated 93 kilometres east of Windhoek, residents shared their plight and expectations for solutions to these challenges, which they say have become part of their daily lives.

Dordabis falls under the Windhoek Rural constituency and is home to 1 500 people.

In an interview with Nampa during the visit, a member of the Dordabis Community Development Committee, Patrick Jaarsak, said land ownership was one of the many concerns of the residents.

“Our people do not have land for housing and grazing for their animals and, as it stands, we are living together with our livestock,” he said.

Jaarsak added that the land matter was not addressed by previous constituency councillors.

“I have been a member of the development committee for the past five years and I can say from the side of the committee there is support and effort to address this matter, but I think what is lacking is the robustness to address it. I think the incoming councillor should really prioritise this matter,” he added.

Self-employment

Another resident, 36-year-old Ricky Uirab, shared similar sentiments, saying that the youth in the community have submitted a number of proposals for potential self-employment projects in the community.

“Our incoming councillor must work together with us. Our young people are not lazy to work. We have already started with a gardening project and we have also handed in proposals for other projects such as brickmaking, so he must help us,” he said.

The new Windhoek Rural constituency councillor, Piet Adams, said land is a sensitive matter and needs to be addressed in an orderly and amicable manner in order to find a lasting solution.

“I recently took office, so I still need to consult the relevant stakeholders regarding the land matter so we do not act like headless chickens when we address the issue. I also need to build a working relationship with the farmers and other inhabitants of the constituency,” he said.

The councillor said he was aware of the community’s frustrations because of lack of land and the impact it has had on them.

Schools

Another community member, 27-year-old Ricardo Garobeb, said apart from the land issue, he wants the councillor to work towards bringing secondary and vocational education to the settlement.

“The high level of unemployment here is caused by the fact that most of the children here attend school until grade seven and they drop out and sit at home because there is no high school here. Many parents are farmworkers. They cannot afford to send their children to secondary schools in Windhoek or Rehoboth,” he said.