By: Rodney Pienaar
Khorixas youth who this month started petitioning the employment of non-Khorixas residents at the municipality were dealt another blow when the councilor who received the petition failed to give them positive results.
Khorixas constituency councilor, Ellias Xoagub who received the group’s petition allegedly told the youth that, he is a mere politician and cannot become involved in administrative matters at the municipality.
“The councilor now does not have time to deal with such urgent matters because he is always busy with personal stuff,” said one of the youth, Howard Groenewaldt.
“I am very much disappointed by the response he gave us on Friday, he said he is just a politician. How can a person that represents the community say that , it only means that he does not care and he has more time for his business than the plight of the community,” he said.
The spokesperson of the concerned group, Merceline Lambert also said, “It was so very disappointing for me to hear from the councilor that he is only a politician. A person elected by the community. He is supposed to know what goes on.”
When contacted by The Villager, Xoagub said the youth misunderstood his comment towards their challenge.
“Yes, I said that but did not mean in that way, what I meant was that the petition indicates that they want the line ministries involved. I am just a politician and do not have the answers. Answers should come from the ministries.”
“I did not even know what was going on until the youth came to my office to hand over the petition. That is when I learned about the matter. For now the position they have been protesting for is on hold, and I asked them to give me a chance until Wednesday, that is when I hope to have the response,” he said.
He also denied claims of absenteeism made by the youth.
“Yes, I have a business that I attend to once in a month. One of the reasons I am sometimes not available at the office is that I have to be in Opuwo for official duties. I am always available. That’s a lie,”
“I am personally unhappy about the issue of employing outsiders while there are also youths that vote and are still unemployed. I am also sitting with voters in the region and I am very unhappy about the situation. Like I said I am waiting for a response from the line ministries,” he said.
Speaking on the matter, Kunene governor Marius Sheya said although he also received a copy of the petition, because it was addressed to the councilor, it is up to him to provide answers and solutions to the youth’s plea.
