Ten crop field owners within the boundaries of Ondangwa are up in arms against the town council for charging monthly site rental fees.
Each homestead is required to pay an amount of N$105 per month.
Anna Angula, a resident of Omakango village – which lies on the outskirts of Ondangwa, has told The Namibian that the town council did not explain to the villagers the purpose of paying monthly rental fees.
“This is our land. We have been living here way before the proclamation of the town. The municipal charges are way too much for us to afford and mind you, we are not even compensated or anything,” she says.
She claims there was no communication about the site rental fees from the council.
On top of the site rental fees, she says they have no access to municipal services but are required to pay for levies, including the fire brigade and refuse removal.
“The only service that we get from the town council is water. Their refuse removal trucks do not reach our village. You will not see their fire brigade truck in this village when one’s home burns down. Why are they making us pay for things that we have no access to,” Angula questions.
Another aggrieved villager, Aune Shoombe, has echoed the same sentiments. She says paying a rental fee for the site at the village is unheard of because she believes the villages fall under the Ondonga Traditional Authority, not the town council.
“We have been living here for years and we pay our dues to the traditional authority every year and now we are forced to pay rental fees again. What are rental fees for when we have acquired these crop fields through the traditional authority,” she asks.
She adds that the town council has pushed many villagers into debt due to high municipal charges. The Ondangwa Town Council charges site rental fees for traditional homesteads, lease of town land, and temporary site rentals.
According to the town’s mayor, Mweneni Auala, all the homestead owners that fall within the town boundaries are required to pay site rental fees as per the Government Gazette.
“Most of them are informed that they should not plough their fields because we have surveyed the area even though they don’t have access to basic amenities. The town council has also compensated a few,” she says.
Auala acknowledges that there are residents who are not aware of the council’s developmental projects.
“We apologise to them because it is not our mandate to make the lives of our people difficult. We aim to do better and provide our residents with better services,” she says.
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