Usakos residents demand accountability from local government

Residents of Usakos in the Erongo region are complaining about a lack of development, inaction and mismanagement by the town’s local authority.

Usakos has a population of 5 094, according to the 2023 census results published on Wednesday.

Plots and erven remain empty despite promises from the council. No bank branch is operating at Usakos and the town’s youth centre has no facilities.

Damaged water pipes are a daily occurrence at Usakos, community leader Belinda Goses told The Namibian. “All pipes need repairs by the council,” she says.

Meanwhile, some locations at the town are not even connected to water and sewer systems, nor do they have electricity, says community activist Rhencia !Gaes, who visited Usakos last weekend.

At the town’s Saamstaan area, the town council has not provided residents with basic services, leading to unsanitary conditions, she says. No public toilets have been set up, nor is there a public trash bin available.

Three public water taps are supposed to serve residents, but one has been broken for a full year without the council repairing it.

The town council’s chief executive, Lesley Goreseb, told The Namibian that underground water pipes have been installed at Saamstaan, and the council is in the process of installing prepaid meters.

He also says: “In November, 80% of Saamstaan will have electricity.”

Usakos is served by just one supermarket, leading to high prices due to a lack of competition.

According to Goses, prices at the shop are higher than at a supermarket operated by the same company at Karibib, around 30 kilometres east of Usakos.

In 2014, a plot was dedicated to the construction of a mall. Ten years later, the plot remains empty.

According to Goreseb, building a mall or supermarket depends on the private sector and is currently not economically viable.

Goreseb says his plan for economic development consists of attracting manufacturing businesses and warehouses through engaging the Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat and the trade ministry.

The fire brigade’s truck has been out of order for more than five years, and no trained firefighters are employed at the fire station, according to Goses. Yet residents are still required to pay for the service every month, she says. According to Goreseb, though, there is no separate charge for fire services.

The council has sent two of its general workers to receive firefighting training, Goses says. But she believes they have not been able to finish their training, as she has observed them collecting waste instead of working at the fire station.

The Namibian also spoke to a municipal worker who had been employed in the water department for seven years, but only received the salary of a general worker.

After lodging a complaint, his contract as a plumber was terminated and he was downgraded to a general worker.

The identity of the worker is known to The Namibian but will not be disclosed to protect his identity.

Municipal workers at Usakos have also complained that they did not receive their tax returns from the council, !Gaes says.

Upon learning of this newspaper’s enquiries, the town council began paying out the tax returns yesterday, she says.

“Usakos is a ghost town. There’s so much work to be done,” !Gaes says. “There is no employment in Usakos.”

Pensioners are lamenting high water and electricity bills and want the council to negotiate reduced rates, such as those available to Windhoek pensioners. Goreseb says reduced rates for pensioners are already available.

According to Goses, when faced with complaints from residents, the town council does not take them seriously.

“They promise, promise, promise, but nothing happened,” Goses says.

Administrators simply continue referring residents to other officials, avoiding blame and responsibility, she also claims.

Usakos mayor Irene Simeon-Kurtz initially agreed to hear community members’ complaints on 6 November, but has postponed the meeting without setting a new date, according to Goses.

Simeon-Kurtz did not respond to a request for comment.

The Namibian already reported on allegations of mismanagement against the mayor in May.

An anonymous letter leaked to the media alleged failure to follow procurement procedures and unnecessary travel by the council’s top brass.

Simeon-Kurtz denied any wrongdoing at the time.