More questions than answers at Arovlei

QUESTIONS by the Arovlei farming community in the Khomas Region about a secret Ministry of Defence building being contructed in their midst will be answered before the end of this week – if promises made by Khomas Governor Sofia Shaningwa and Khomas Rural Councillor Frederick Arie to The Namibian yesterday are kept.

The Arovlei community was resettled in the area next to the Oamites military base on the road between Windhoek and Rehoboth more than a decade ago. Now they are worried that developments in their area may mean another move.Uncertainty about the future has now dogged them for more than two years.In a search of concrete information on the many rumours swirling around their camps, about 260 Arovlei community members and neighbouring villagers on Sunday gathered at the village farmhouse, expecting to be addressed by anyone in Government who could give them answers.Invitations were sent out on July 2 to Governor Shaningwa, Lands Minister Alpheus Naruseb, Councillor Arie and the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), among others.Only a representative from the DRFN, who said he knew as much as the community themselves, attended the meeting.When asked about the absence of any representative from the Khomas Regional Council yesterday, Shaningwa said she had to attend to two funerals in the North this past weekend – one being that of the late Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Gabes Shihepo, the other that of a relative.She added however that she contacted the Khomas Rural Councillor about it, and that he was scheduled to attend.”When I followed up with Councillor Arie he said that he did receive it [the invitation].But he said that he could not go because he received it very late and had a full schedule,” she told The Namibian.Arie, however, told The Namibian that he had never received an invitation from the community, and maintained he only read about the community meeting in the newspaper yesterday.By yesterday still, neither of the two could say what the mysterious building at Arovlei was for.Shaningwa said she had only found out about the construction when contacted by The Namibian for an earlier article about it.This despite a letter sent to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and copied to the Khomas Regional Council on March 31 this year.”We are leaders representing various structures.I am responsible for a number of things, but then there are things not meant for the ears of the regional bodies,” the Governor said when asked if she was at all worried about the Ministry of Defence developing an area that she believed was meant for communal grazing.She promised to follow up on the information and get concrete answers.Arie likewise asked that The Namibian wait until Thursday, when he said he would be in a better position to answer.A letter sent to the Ministry of Defence’s public relations department yesterday morning is still awaiting response, as is a request for an answer from Lands Ministry spokesperson Crispen Matongela.Both promised an answer today.Now they are worried that developments in their area may mean another move.Uncertainty about the future has now dogged them for more than two years.In a search of concrete information on the many rumours swirling around their camps, about 260 Arovlei community members and neighbouring villagers on Sunday gathered at the village farmhouse, expecting to be addressed by anyone in Government who could give them answers.Invitations were sent out on July 2 to Governor Shaningwa, Lands Minister Alpheus Naruseb, Councillor Arie and the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), among others. Only a representative from the DRFN, who said he knew as much as the community themselves, attended the meeting.When asked about the absence of any representative from the Khomas Regional Council yesterday, Shaningwa said she had to attend to two funerals in the North this past weekend – one being that of the late Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Gabes Shihepo, the other that of a relative.She added however that she contacted the Khomas Rural Councillor about it, and that he was scheduled to attend.”When I followed up with Councillor Arie he said that he did receive it [the invitation].But he said that he could not go because he received it very late and had a full schedule,” she told The Namibian.Arie, however, told The Namibian that he had never received an invitation from the community, and maintained he only read about the community meeting in the newspaper yesterday.By yesterday still, neither of the two could say what the mysterious building at Arovlei was for.Shaningwa said she had only found out about the construction when contacted by The Namibian for an earlier article about it.This despite a letter sent to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and copied to the Khomas Regional Council on March 31 this year.”We are leaders representing various structures.I am responsible for a number of things, but then there are things not meant for the ears of the regional bodies,” the Governor said when asked if she was at all worried about the Ministry of Defence developing an area that she believed was meant for communal grazing.She promised to follow up on the information and get concrete answers.Arie likewise asked that The Namibian wait until Thursday, when he said he would be in a better position to answer.A letter sent to the Ministry of Defence’s public relations department yesterday morning is still awaiting response, as is a request for an answer from Lands Ministry spokesperson Crispen Matongela.Both promised an answer today.