The disgrace that is OpuwoThe re-elected mayor of Opuwo, Albert Tjiuma has admitted that Opuwo is failing to attract investors because it is filthy. He is not even ashamed to say this and he has been re-elected so who is to blame here really? Stories of corruption in the Opuwo town council have been rife as people complain about the uselessness and self-enrichment of the councillors.
The people of Opuwo, the capital of the Kunene Region are living in a pigsty and their mayor admits to this. What has he done apart from now making more empty promises?
He says his council’s main priority for the next 12 months is to clean up the town. He is laughable. He says the aim is to make sure that the town looks neat like other towns in the country and is able to attract investors. Why has this not been the case and a priority before? What investors would want to come to a filthy place like that? Opuwo was once one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country because of its indigenous Himba people and rich culture but now the Himba people are flocking to the cities to eke out a living. There is no development whatsoever taking place in Opuwo. Pictures we saw recently show disturbing images of people operating their small businesses in dirt, and this man is telling us about his plan for the next 12 months.
The mayor is not ashamed to say several efforts have been made to lobby investors to do business in the town, but due to the omnipresent filth investors have rejected them.
“Our town is very dirty and we have not done much in the past to clean it. Garbage is all over the town and there is no proper waste management in place. This keeps investors away as they have refused to do business in a dirty town,” he is quoted as saying.
Why is there no waste management system? Why no dustbins? Where is the money allocated every year going to? And why is the ministry of urban and rural development allowing this council to stay on?