Ondangwa ‘not playing fair’ over Fair

THE Ondangwa Town Council has ordered the Ondangwa Annual Trade Fair Committee to stop organising this year’s Trade Fair.

It has no authorisation from the Ondangwa Town Council to do so, according to a letter written to the Chairperson of the Ondangwa Annual Trade Fair, Priscilla Nashandi, on Friday. The Ondangwa Annual Trade Fair Committee has, for the past week, been organising the annual fair, scheduled to be held towards the end of this month at the former premises of the Eudafano Women Centre at Ondangwa.Nashandi is a Councillor, and was instrumental in organising last year’s Trade Fair.A fundraising event was also to have been held this past Friday.In the letter, signed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ondangwa Town, Paul Ndjodhi, the Council said it had come to their attention that a group of people, under Nashandi’s leadership, were trying to organise a Trade Fair at Ondangwa without the blessing and authorisation of the Council.”Based on this, a resolution was taken by the Council stating that no one is authorised to organise a Trade Fair within the boundaries of Ondangwa Town without the written approval of the Council.The current attempt to organise the Trade Fair in Ondangwa has got no mandate from this Council and is therefore illegal and should be stopped with immediate effect,” the letter warns.It states that the Council of Ondangwa is mandated by an Act of Parliament, Act 23 of 1992, to govern within the town land of Ondangwa and that no authorisation had been given to anyone to organise any Trade Fair activities within Ondangwa.”We are therefore requesting you and your group to refrain from these illegal activities,” the letter said.Nashandi, who until early this year was the Mayor of Ondangwa Town before she was booted by the Council, confirmed to The Namibian that she had received the letter.However, she said, the Trade Fair Committee would continue with their preparations for the Trade Fair and the 2007 Ondangwa Trade Fair would be held at that town as planned.”I really don’t know what some members of the Council have against me.They are trying to bring me and all my good efforts down because of jealousy,” she charged.Nashandi told The Namibian that the fundraising event scheduled to be held in the Ondangwa Community Hall on Friday had been declared illegal, despite their having paid N$510 to rent the Town Council Hall on July 11 2007.She said they had had to change the venue to the Eudafano Women Centre late on Friday.The Town Council had then ordered the Police to evict them from those premises.The Police apparently refused to do so, saying that the row between the Ondangwa Annual Trade Fair Committee and Ondangwa Town Council was a private civil issue and not a criminal issue.”We have nothing to fear, We will continue with our organisation of this Trade Fair as we did last year despite the letter from the Ondangwa Town Council.This Trade Fair is for the community.We are raising money for the poor in Ondangwa Town, because this was the aim of the Trade Fair, to help vulnerable people, especially orphans and other poor people in the Ondangwa community, and I cannot understand why the Ondangwa Town Council is against these good efforts,” Nashandi said.Nashandi told The Namibian that donors from outside were willing to assist Ondangwa, citing that the Canadian SOS had promised to give N$14 million to the Ondangwa Town Council to build a centre for orphans and vulnerable children.The same group, she said, has also praised her for a job well done for Ondangwa Town and its community, and had given her an award of appreciation Friday, in the presence of other Town Councillors.The Ondangwa Annual Trade Fair Committee has, for the past week, been organising the annual fair, scheduled to be held towards the end of this month at the former premises of the Eudafano Women Centre at Ondangwa.Nashandi is a Councillor, and was instrumental in organising last year’s Trade Fair.A fundraising event was also to have been held this past Friday. In the letter, signed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Ondangwa Town, Paul Ndjodhi, the Council said it had come to their attention that a group of people, under Nashandi’s leadership, were trying to organise a Trade Fair at Ondangwa without the blessing and authorisation of the Council.”Based on this, a resolution was taken by the Council stating that no one is authorised to organise a Trade Fair within the boundaries of Ondangwa Town without the written approval of the Council.The current attempt to organise the Trade Fair in Ondangwa has got no mandate from this Council and is therefore illegal and should be stopped with immediate effect,” the letter warns.It states that the Council of Ondangwa is mandated by an Act of Parliament, Act 23 of 1992, to govern within the town land of Ondangwa and that no authorisation had been given to anyone to organise any Trade Fair activities within Ondangwa.”We are therefore requesting you and your group to refrain from these illegal activities,” the letter said.Nashandi, who until early this year was the Mayor of Ondangwa Town before she was booted by the Council, confirmed to The Namibian that she had received the letter.However, she said, the Trade Fair Committee would continue with their preparations for the Trade Fair and the 2007 Ondangwa Trade Fair would be held at that town as planned.”I really don’t know what some members of the Council have against me.They are trying to bring me and all my good efforts down because of jealousy,” she charged.Nashandi told The Namibian that the fundraising event scheduled to be held in the Ondangwa Community Hall on Friday had been declared illegal, despite their having paid N$510 to rent the Town Council Hall on July 11 2007.She said they had had to change the venue to the Eudafano Women Centre late on Friday.The Town Council had then ordered the Police to evict them from those premises.The Police apparently refused to do so, saying that the row between the Ondangwa Annual Trade Fair Committee and Ondangwa Town Council was a private civil issue and not a criminal issue.”We have nothing to fear, We will continue with our organisation of this Trade Fair as we did last year despite the letter from the Ondangwa Town Council.This Trade Fair is for the community.We are raising money for the poor in Ondangwa Town, because this was the aim of the Trade Fair, to help vulnerable people, especially orphans and other poor people in the Ondangwa community, and I cannot understand why the Ondangwa Town Council is against these good efforts,” Nashandi said.Nashandi told The Namibian that donors from outside were willing to assist Ondangwa, citing that the Canadian SOS had promised to give N$14 million to the Ondangwa Town Council to build a centre for orphans and vulnerable children.The same group, she said, has also praised her for a job well done for Ondangwa Town and its community, and had given her an award of appreciation Friday, in the presence of other Town Councillors.