Maria David
RESIDENTS of Oniipa were a no-show during the official inauguration of the town’s office held on Thursday.
Informanté understands that the residents of Oniipa are at loggerheads with the town’s leadership, and their boycott is a protest against the Town Council for not responding to their grievances.
Oniipa was proclaimed a town in April 2015.
Pastor Epafras Hainghumbi said that Oniipa was the first town in the northern part of the country, yet development has been very slow.
According to Hainghumbi, Oniipa has been a centre of various institutions since the 1990s, yet Oshakati, Ongwediva, and Ondangwa, which were established later, are developing much faster.
“We are faced with the challenge of people being suspended from top to bottom unprocedurally, which is now causing havoc in the town. If the line ministry cannot do anything, then maybe we will rely on God for intervention,” he said.
He added that the lack of turnout from the community members is questionable and indicated that the residents of Oniipa were not invited.
However, Town Chief Executive Officer Heikky Amwele said that the members of the community were invited and should be on their way or possibly held up by other commitments.
