We need to adapt or our village will die, say youth at Berseba

YOUNG people at Berseba in the South say the Village Council is failing to deliver services and the village is turning into a filthy dump.

Youth activist Simon Fledermaus complained to The Namibian over the worsening state of affairs at the village, especially the stench emanating from bucket toilets and uncollected rubbish. “The Berseba Council is failing to provide basic services to its residents.Refuse removal and emptying of bucket toilets are not taken care of,” he said.Fledermaus, who is the son of Berseba headman Johannes Fleermuys, and a prominent Swapo Party figure, said the filthy state of the village posed a health hazard and was driving away visitors.”Rubbish is lying in the streets and the area in which the bucket toilets are used has a bad smell,” he said.Young people at the village have appealed to Karas Governor Dawid Boois, who is also the Regional Councillor for the Berseba constituency, to intervene.Fledermaus also claimed that the Village Council’s Chairman, Willem Isaaks, who lives 80 km away in Keetmanshoop, had failed on different occasions to attend Council meetings.He further claimed that tender irregularities and nepotism are the order of the day.In addition, he claimed Swapo Party elections to vote for representatives to serve on the Village Council are not transparent.All five Village Councillors represent the Swapo Party.”Councillors that have served since 1992 are the obvious choice to serve [for many] terms and years without being replaced,” he said.”These Councillors do not have vision and are frustrating people who want to see development,” he said.Fledermaus called for a change in the administration of Council affairs, saying without immediate change the Council would move closer to the financial crisis in which other councils are already finding themselves.”It would be shameful to see Berseba moving from the level of a village to a settlement, therefore the youth demand a drastic change and if not, then these elected leaders must shape up or ship out,” he said.Isaaks declined to comment yesterday.”I’m not eager to give comment to The Namibian and especially to you [the reporter],” he said.The Village Council’s Secretary, Mr Dreyer, said he could not comment, as he was in a meeting.”The Berseba Council is failing to provide basic services to its residents.Refuse removal and emptying of bucket toilets are not taken care of,” he said.Fledermaus, who is the son of Berseba headman Johannes Fleermuys, and a prominent Swapo Party figure, said the filthy state of the village posed a health hazard and was driving away visitors.”Rubbish is lying in the streets and the area in which the bucket toilets are used has a bad smell,” he said.Young people at the village have appealed to Karas Governor Dawid Boois, who is also the Regional Councillor for the Berseba constituency, to intervene.Fledermaus also claimed that the Village Council’s Chairman, Willem Isaaks, who lives 80 km away in Keetmanshoop, had failed on different occasions to attend Council meetings.He further claimed that tender irregularities and nepotism are the order of the day.In addition, he claimed Swapo Party elections to vote for representatives to serve on the Village Council are not transparent.All five Village Councillors represent the Swapo Party.”Councillors that have served since 1992 are the obvious choice to serve [for many] terms and years without being replaced,” he said.”These Councillors do not have vision and are frustrating people who want to see development,” he said.Fledermaus called for a change in the administration of Council affairs, saying without immediate change the Council would move closer to the financial crisis in which other councils are already finding themselves.”It would be shameful to see Berseba moving from the level of a village to a settlement, therefore the youth demand a drastic change and if not, then these elected leaders must shape up or ship out,” he said.Isaaks declined to comment yesterday.”I’m not eager to give comment to The Namibian and especially to you [the reporter],” he said.The Village Council’s Secretary, Mr Dreyer, said he could not comment, as he was in a meeting.