Residents have no confidence in Maltahöhe council

ANGRY residents of Maltahöhe yesterday staged a protest march against the village council.

The protest march, spearheaded by a pressure group calling itself the Maltahöhe Community Advocacy committee, called for the removal of the entire council. In a petition handed over to the council, the residents claimed that the councillors were ‘incompetent, arrogant, ignorant and inactive’.Because of this, they claimed the council has completely lost direction in uplifting the community and delivering municipal services. ‘Due to the alleged incompetence, indifference and or non-participation of the councillors, the administrative section of the Maltahöhe Village Council has taken over the legal mandate of the elected local councillors,’ the petition read. The residents also took issue with alleged interference by the Local Government Ministry in appointing senior council staff. They claimed the council’s chief executive officer Eliphas Shipanga has been ‘handpicked’ by the ministry’s head office in Windhoek instead of better qualified candidates shortlisted for the job.Residents criticised the fact that the council agreed to foot the bill of Shipanga’s accommodation at the local Pappot guest house while his official residence was being renovated over a period of four months. Shipanga’s bill at Pappot repotedly stands at N$33 000 and has not yet been paid. The council is allegedly paying Shipanga’s accommodation despite the fact that he is receiving a housing allowance of close to N$2 500 per month. ‘Does this not border on corruption?’ the residents asked. Shipanga could not be reached for comment yesterday.Residents further alleged nepotism and favouritism in staff appointments at the village council. The village council was given two weeks to address the residents’ grievances or face unspecified action. Community activist Adam Mbaisako, who took part in demonstrations against the previous village council, charged that those spearheading yesterday’s demonstration are responsible for the ills at the village council. He said two former council members, Hans Josef and Alwina /Gowases led the demonstration.Also at the forefront of the petition, Mbaisako claimed, were Democratic Party of Namibia (DPN) members Adam Isak and Paul Simon. Mbaisako claimed the crux of the matter is that the four are dissatisfied over the fact that the village council CEO, current chairperson and accountant are all Owambo speakers.’When the Namas sat on the council there was fraud. With the Owambos there is at least some development,’ he charged. ‘The current council has cleaned up the mess created by the previous council.’Last year, Mbaisako reported complaints to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged improper accounting regarding S&T allowances to councillors, and that the village secretary had received a housing allowance while occupying a village council house.Other allegations were that there was no proper accounting for the Build Together Project and that funds allocated for the electrification of the informal settlement, Blikkiesdorp, were used to repair roads. Mbaisako said although the ACC had indicated that its investigation had been completed, no steps have yet been taken against the culprits.