Ondonga authority bans squatting in Mangetti area

ONDANGWA – A spokesperson for the Ondonga Traditional Authority, Senior Headman Boas Mweendeleli, has called on people who have settled in the Mangetti grazing area in the Oshikoto Region without the consent of the authority to remove their structures.

Mweendeleli made the call at a meeting of northern farmers organised by the Mangetti Farmers Association (MFA) at the weekend. He said the Ondonga Traditional Authority had taken a decision that from now on the Mangetti area, including the King Kauluma and Okapya areas near Oshivelo, would be exclusively for cattle posts.”We are appealing to all the owners of illegal homesteads to vacate the area, while calling on others, who are in the process of constructing homesteads there, to stop and refrain from doing so,” Mweendeleli said.He said the decision to reserve the area for grazing was taken in consultation with the Regional Council, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement and the MFA.Mweendeleli said the traditional authority would again consult relevant authorities, such as the line ministries, to help with the relocation of the affected settlers.At the same meeting, illegal settlers were blamed for the increasing stock theft in the Mangetti area.- NampaHe said the Ondonga Traditional Authority had taken a decision that from now on the Mangetti area, including the King Kauluma and Okapya areas near Oshivelo, would be exclusively for cattle posts.”We are appealing to all the owners of illegal homesteads to vacate the area, while calling on others, who are in the process of constructing homesteads there, to stop and refrain from doing so,” Mweendeleli said.He said the decision to reserve the area for grazing was taken in consultation with the Regional Council, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement and the MFA.Mweendeleli said the traditional authority would again consult relevant authorities, such as the line ministries, to help with the relocation of the affected settlers.At the same meeting, illegal settlers were blamed for the increasing stock theft in the Mangetti area.- Nampa