Beneath Okahandja’s filth, political bickering

PAULUS ASHIPALAHISTORICAL significant aside, the garden town of Okahandja has only become known for its Closwa biltong, the Osona military base and “Five Rand Camp” – an informal settlement so named after the owner of the farm charged five rands to those who squatted on the farm before independence.

For its image, Okahandja, or “ Okahanya” as some white folks in Namibia would prefer to call it, has become synonymous with political controversies.

Political wrangling has hitherto been the only product the town has been synonymous with in the eyes and minds of the public.

Political backbiting and animosity between mayors, the town council and chief executive officers has in the past produced a political theatre for many scribes who dare write anything about Okahandja.

In this political battleground, service delivery at Okahandja has often been compromised.

The site of piled rubbish, especially in the townships, became an eyesore to residents and visitors alike.

In the midst of these political shenanigans came the public demonstrations of the early 2000s demanding improved service delivery.

Critical to these demos was lack of investment in the town and it seemed then that its waste removal service was collapsing. The town was dirty! The public shouted.

A new political leadership in the form of a young regional councillor and a youthful town council was then inaugurated.

For the uninitiated, the current mayor was among those who led sporadic demonstrations at the town then.

The current town council has also had its fair share of political boxing. Only that, perhaps, the recent square off – suspending the former CEO and the passing of a vote of no confidence in the chairperson of the management committee – did not actually reach the height of the former – to produce major political knockouts.

So for the town of Okahandja, the only rise to stardom in recent years has been the overt infighting within its political leadership.

Does this bickering outweigh the development agenda of the town? That is the question we demanded answers to from the two youthful politicians at the front of the new political dispensation at the town.

Actually, to say the town is renowned for political infighting is an understatement, said Okahandja regional councillor Steve Biko Booys.

“ Yes, Okahandja is known for its past political wrangling. But when the current town council took over the leadership, we mostly focused on making a difference by maintaining a stable political environment.” Okahandja mayor Valerie Aron said.

In the midst of this political mumbo-jumbo, it transpired however that in fact something worth writing home about is actually happening in Okahandja, they said.

Booys – a constituency head on a SWAPO ticket – is spearheading development in this area. His work is entangled with that of the mayor – another Young Turk in Swapo.

What have these young politicians offered to the residents of Okahandja apart from what the town is renowned for at its best – political mudslinging?

Booys and Aron said they aspire to leave a lasting legacy when their six-year contracts with the electorate comes to an end this year.

Population doubled

It is undoubtedly true that young working middle class Windhoekers i.e. teachers, government officials, and those who find the astronomical prices of housing in the capital unaffordable have escaped the heat and made their home about 70 km north of the capital.

As expected, the population of the town has ballooned – from14 000 in 2001 to around 24 500 in 2011. Growing at the rate of 10% according to the 2011 census statistics, that number would now have been surpassed.

And with fast population growth comes the need for development, especially housing.

Surprisingly, the mass housing project has not reached Okahandja yet. “Mass housing has mainly been confined to regional centres,” Booys says. Aron said there is an area in Okahandja called Extension 10 specifically reserved for mass housing.

The majority of them commute to Windhoek for work.

And then there is Tura Hills. This is a new housing development comprising somewhat unconventional housing units costing anywhere between N$650 000 to around N$900 000 also west of the town. Another suburb Osona Village is also being developed.

With the increase in population and the buying power of those flocking to Okahandja for affordable housing, a modern shopping centre and a new service station came into being. It is a stone’s throw from “Smarties “.

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