Basters rise against Rehoboth council

LONG-STANDING disappointment with the Rehoboth municipality has apparently forced the Baster community in the town into action.

The Rehoboth Baster Congregation, a non-profit organisation that became dormant after independence, announced their return to the community this week, charging that political parties have for too long now used the town’s residents for their own political purposes.The group announced a meeting to be held at the Kaptein Hermanus Van Wyk Memorial Hall tomorrow, where ‘matters of unity’ will be discussed.In a statement issued this week, the organisation condemned the ruling Swapo party for not acting on charges leveled against the Rehoboth Town Council by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) earlier this year.It charged that, had the same allegations been made against members of an opposition party, central government would have reacted swiftly to remove the implicated councilors.’The recent investigations and reports by the ACC and government’s failure to act is a clear indication that we as Basters don’t get the treatment that our forefathers had in mind for us. It is clear that the ministry does not want to and cannot abide by the laws that they themselves made and proclaimed when their own members end up in the wrong. The corruption and unprofessional actions of the Rehoboth Town Council is being qualified and lauded through the silence of the ministry of local authorities, while the views of the Rehoboth Baster community fall on deaf ears,’ the organisation said.