Oniipa councillor denies sand mining claims

Oniipa councillor Vilho Nuunyango has denied involvement in unauthorised sand mining, insisting that such activities have been managed by contractors and overseen by the Ondonga Traditional Authority (OTA).

Allegations surfaced last week when the OTA was alerted to sand mining activities at the town in the Oshikoto region.

Nuunyango, a Swapo councillor seeking another term, was last week invited to the traditional office to respond to the allegations.

“These are all lies, I am not involved in sand mining, nor is the Oniipa councillor. These are simply political tactics as election campaigns are expected to intensify,” he told The Namibian on Thursday.

Nuunyango explained that roads were constructed at the Oshigambo settlement by a contractor the Oshikoto Regional Council appointed.

He said the contractor was instructed to engage the village headman first, with the constituency councillor ensuring this.

They managed to meet the Okakunzi headman, where the sand was mined from, Nuunyango said.

He also denied allegations that he paid a village headman N$10 000 to enable him to sell sand.

“This is not true, and the headman clarified that he received N$10 000 from the contractor, and that money was to go into the coffers of the village,” he said.

Nuunyango said his office had no hand in the matter, nor did it collect sand.

He said he met with the contractors in relation to the two roads connecting a school and a church.

He said he was never at the sand mining pit besides when community members took to social media to complain about the unsealed pit, Nuunyango said.

He said sand mining falls under the traditional authority’s control.

“The information we have is that the traditional authority is the custodian and must be informed how much sand one wants to mine and pay for it, and this is what did not happen,” Nuunyango said.

He said the gravel roads connected to the school and church, upon request, were fully constructed to address challenges during the rainy season, and that the contractor has promised to return to level the pit.

According to an online report, a case of alleged illegal sand mining involving Nuunyango was heard in the Ondonga Community Court over the weekend and the matter was referred to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for further investigation.

The court determined that both the councillor and the headman of a village near Oshigambo overstepped their authority when they allowed sand mining activities without first seeking and obtaining authorisation from the OTA.

The court also determined that this was done without the approval of the environment ministry.

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