Tsumeb gets new CEO

THE Tsumeb municipality, which has been without a chief executive officer (CEO) for about four years, has finally recruited a new CEO.

The municipality has held several interviews and re-advertised the position without successfully appointing any of the candidates.

Stella Imalwa, the town’s spokesperson, told The Namibian in an interview on Friday that the municipality has appointed Victoria Kapenda as CEO.

Kapenda, who is the director for planning and development services at the Oshikoto Regional Council, is expected to start her duties at Tsumeb on 1 June.

Tsumeb has been without a substantive CEO since the departure of Alfeus Benjamin in 2018.

The town has also been embroiled in corruption and maladministration issues over the years the municipality had no substantive CEO.

In July last year, the council suspended former acting CEO Karolina Damaseb, over alleged dubious dealings, misappropriation of funds and maladministration.

Imalwa, who could not shed more light on the CEO’s appointment, said the council will now be able to carry out its duties effectively and offer services to the residents without any hindrances.

The town’s mayor, Mathews Hangula, could not be reached for comment.

295 PLOTS TO BE SERVICED

Meanwhile, the housing shortage remains a challenge at Tsumeb, hence the municipality has made available 295 plots for residents.

The municipality plans to service these plots before the end of the year, as most residents do not have decent shelter.

Imalwa on Friday said as the town continues to grow, so are the needs of the residents. Therefore, the municipality saw the need to service additional erven to solve the residents’ outcry.

“Housing remains one of the biggest challenges that we are faced with as a municipality. These erven will cater for low, middle and high income earners. Our town is small and we do not have much vacant land to service and we try to always service and make land available according to the funds that we have available. Funding is also another issue that the municipality continues to battle,” she said.

She could not state how much the municipality has set aside for this project.

Imalwa added that the municipality recently completed a project to formalise and service Extension 9 at Nomtsoub area with water, sewer and road networks at a cost of N$25 million.

The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development has so far made available N$3 million for capital projects at the town.

Another area that is earmarked for servicing is the Kuvukiland informal settlement where about 10 000 people reside with no services.

“We, as the municipality, have realised that no one can stay in a place without services. The people in this settlement do not have access to water or even sewers. They travel long distances to access such services, which is unacceptable at all. This area previously belonged to the mine, therefore, we could not provide the residents with any form of basic services. We now want to make sure that the residents at Kuvukiland have access to water, electricity and proper sewers,” said Imalwa.

Furthermore, the municipality of Tsumeb is also constructing a fruit and vegetable hub for local vendors to market their products.

“The area where our local vendors are currently operating from is not regulated and it is not safe for them to sell in the open. We want to regulate their movement and safety. We also want to give them something decent,” she said.

The council is also rehabilitating roads, most of which were damaged by the rains.

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