Asab village gets new lease of life

THERE will soon be life and light in the sleepy village of Asab after the Hardap Regional Council unveiled plans to inject money into business promotion there.

Last month The Namibian reported on the disillusionment of Asab residents and their decision not to vote in this weekend’s elections because they have been left high and dry with no tangible benefits of Independence coming to them.The report provoked a string of calls and meetings between Windhoek and Mariental, where questions were asked why there was no electricity, water or tangible development in a village that is situated along the road between Keetmanshoop and Mariental.The lack of electricity has been blamed for the lack of investment at the village.Over the past couple of days Asab residents contacted The Namibian to share the news that they were about to get electricity after officials and workers had already visited to mark off areas for the installation.The electricity will not only reach Asab but will also be extended to surrounding farms such as Amalia, The Namibian was informed.Officials at the Hardap Regional Council played their cards close to their chests when asked about the latest developments.However, the Council ran an advertisement in one of Friday’s daily newspapers calling for interested businesses to develop a portion of Asab.They want to renovate and improve the filling station, shopping complex and dilapidated hotel.The hotel burnt down under questionable circumstances almost three years ago while it was under the management of former Karas Governor Stephanus Goliath, who was in partnership with the current Governor Dawid Boois.Although most Namibian tourist maps still indicate a fuel station at Asab, the tanks have been empty since the beginning of this year after the previous owners could not convince the Ministry of Local Government to get electricity to the village.In the advertisement the Hardap Regional Council said Namibia’s power utility, NamPower, was in the process of electrifying Asab.The submissions for business development close on December 18.The Regional Council has also built an information centre at the village.The centre has yet to be finished and opened but the community didn’t have high hopes for it in the face of the lack of electricity and water.The Council said the business complex was on the B1 road running to South Africa and was thus a gateway to most of the tourist destinations in southern Namibia.

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