Stampriet community up in arms over alleged corruption

REHOBOTH, 14 MAY – Chairperson of the Stampriet Development Committee, Elizabeth Hoveka on behalf of residents of the village slammed the Stampriet Village Council for alleged mismanagement and corruption.
Speaking to Nampa on Monday, Hoveka said they handed in a petition last week Tuesday, where they bemoaned the alleged mismanagement and corruption of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eddy Kohima.
Hoveka said they submitted the petition to the Chairperson of the Village Council, Jakob Saul, but till now, have not received any feedback on their grievances.
“Officers of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology were also present with their cameras, but we have not seen or read about the petition in any of the newspapers,” Hoveka charged.
She said among the petitioned issues were the high tariffs of basic services, high water bill of the village, malfunctioning sewerage pumps and a new car bought by the councillors to be used by the CEO.
“We want the Minister of Urban and Rural Development to remove the CEO and all the councillors as they are only there for subsistence and travel allowances. In September last year, they even cut off the water supply of those in arrears without prior notification.”
Hoveka said the village’s water bill was provided to them by Deon Human, an official of bulk water supplier, NamWater, and a possibility existed that the water supply would be suspended during this week.
Contacted for comment, Human, the Water Superintendent in Hardap overseeing water bills of village councils in the region, said he had a meeting with the committee members in February this year, where they discussed the water issues.
“I had a meeting with the committee on the water bill of the village and non-payment of users. The amount owed is around N$ 1.3 million of which a payment was last made in October. If there is any suspension of water at any given time, the Head Office will notify me and give me a directive to do so, but at this stage there is no such thing,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Kohima said if there are allegations of mismanagement and corruption, the community should prove it.
“I was not here the day of the demonstration, but I received the petition when I came back. The allegations are devoid of any truth and holds no ground,” Kohima said.
He also dismissed the claims about the car bought for his use, stating: “I have as part of my benefits a car allowance, from which I, through bank financing, bought a new vehicle for myself.”
As for the village’s water bill, Kohima responded: “Yes, we owe NamWater N$ 1.3 million and the community owes the council N$ 8 million. How are we supposed to settle the debt if they owe the council that much?”
NAMPA