Residents of Mariental in the Hardap region took to the streets on Tuesday, marching to the municipality office to raise their grievances over alleged unfair land distribution at Extension five.
Spokesperson for the group of aggrieved residents Immanuel Prins says the committee established to oversee land allocations reportedly allocated multiple erven to one family, raising concerns of corruption and depriving other residents of access to land.
Extension five was created last year due to a shortage of erven in the current extensions, and to move excess households from Aimablaagte to Empelheim Extension five, where additional plots of about 300 square metres were identified.
“We, the residents, are only exercising our constitutional right to demand accountability. When we queried the state of affairs these officials threatened us with police action if we built on disputed plots,” says Prins.
The residents allege that financial mismanagement within the municipality had gone unaddressed despite reports that the local authority owed millions to various entities.
They claim that municipal staff members mistreat residents, women employees of the municipality face harassment and that officials accused of misconduct remain in office.
“We vow today that should the implicated official not be suspended by the end of the day, landless residents will occupy all vacant erven in the Extension five area as an act of protest,” says the spokesperson.
Mariental municipality chief executive Paul Nghiwilepo says the land distribution is handled by the informal settlement committee that was established by the Landless Peoples’ Movement (LPM), and of which Prins nominated some of the members to serve on the committee.
Nghiwilepo says the aggrieved residents under the leadership of Prins have refused to have an audience with mayor Ethol Isaacks who handles informal settlements and relocation, and only want to attack LPM councillors.
“Why can Prins and the residents not speak to their own committee or the mayor? This is an internal fight of LPM where residents are being instigated to rise against the municipality and we will not allow that,” says Nghiwilepo.
The chief executive says they have advised the aggrieved residents to name the people mistreating residents, harassing women and those found guilty of misconduct for the municipality to take corrective action but that they have refused to do so.
During the demonstration nobody from the council received the petition as Nghiwilepo says the residents did not want to speak to the mayor under whom the land portfolio resides.
