Ratepayers gear up for Karibib poll contest
WALVIS BAY – The battle lines have been drawn ahead of this month’s local authority elections, with the Karibib Ratepayers’ Association hoping to gain some council seats. The association has served on the local authority council before.
Last week, the association made its aspirations to return known after successfully fielding candidates for the 25 November vote. The nominated candidates include chairperson Gerson Geingob, Susanna Kangameni, Petrus Abraham, Geraldine Neumbo, Andrias Hakusembe, Rita Geingos and Jonathan Simson.
Speaking to New Era, Geingob said they felt the need to enter the race this year, as the existing political parties do not really live up to the expectations of the electorate. He added there is a mismatch between the demands of the community and how the council responds in terms of service delivery.
“We don’t really need political parties when it comes to domestic issues as politicians first look at their respective parties before addressing the needs of the community,” he said.
He said one of the objectives of the association is to effectively manage municipal affairs in a transparent manner to the benefit of all residents.
This, he said, include the adoption of a land allocation policy that will see to that land is fairly allocated and timely service delivery.
Geingob also explained they want to have informationsharing days between various council departments and the community, instead of the usual budget meetings hosted by council.
“We need to engage our people more and table motions that are geared towards the advancement of Karibib, especially when it comes to development and employment creation,” Geingob explained.
He added that in 2014, when they were serving on the council, four motions were tabled, of which only three were accepted. However, only one was implemented by council.
“Hence, people of Karibib should vote for us, as we are not politically linked but directly represent the interest of the residents of Karibib. We live within our community and know exactly what challenges they face,” he said.