Legal processes delay Oranjemund town plan

TOWN proclamation plans for Oranjemund are being delayed by legal processes around the handing over of Namdeb infrastructure to Government, says Namdeb’s Hilifa Mbako.

‘We know residents are anxious to have the mining town proclaimed, but they must bear in mind that the legal process is quite tedious,’ said Mbako, Namdeb Corporate Communications Manager. Currently no authority exists to take possession of the infrastructure at the mining town, Mbako said. ‘Government has yet to respond on receiving the infrastructure owned by other entities and Namdeb,’ he said. Mbako’s remarks follow calls by Oranjemund residents to Government to save the mining town from becoming a ghost town. Residents made these calls at a community meeting last week. People at the town fear it is dying because of the exodus of laid-off Namdeb workers, after the scaling down of production as a result of the global economic meltdown. According to Oranjemund Regional Councillor Toivo Nampala, residents will seek an audience with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Mines and Energy to have the stringent prohibitions on free movement into the mining town reviewed.’We want to lure tourists to Oranjemund to boost the town’s economy, but the regulations are against our aims to make Oranjemund a tourist Mecca,’ Nampala said. Residents also called on Government to speed up the planned proclamation of the mining town. Nampala said some local businesses are already feeling the pinch because of a decline in customers as a result of retrenchments.However, Nampala said the town would not become a ghost town because the aquaculture and tourism sectors, once exploited, would breathe new life into the local economy.Restrictions on movement cannot be lifted until the town is proclaimed, said Namdeb’s Mbako, adding that if diamond markets improve, Namdeb would continue subsidising the town. luqman@namibian.com.na