Aminuis Constituency councillors Peter Kazongominja has bemoaned the alleged sidelining of locals when hiring people to work on the Gobabis-Aranos road in the Omaheke Region.
Kazongominja told Eagle FM’s Ongoramambo programme yesterday that many locals have been intentionally left out of possible odds jobs on the project that require limited qualifications such as the clearing of bushes amongst others.
He said the move was deliberate as many people from outside the constituency – and in some cases even outside the Omaheke Region- are instead being hired for this purpose.
The councillors said high-level discussions are currently taking place to improve the quota for local residents working on the road project, which he said currently hovers around 30% to 40%.
“We are not against other people being hired, but we are simply questioning the rationale of hiring people from afar for simple tasks that can be carried out successfully by people in the area along the path of the road.
“If these villagers do not benefit from projects like this, where else will they get a lifeline to land a job? This needs to be stopped,” he said.
The 220km road stretches from the region’s economic centre of Gobabis to Aranos in the Hardap Region, passing through several villages in the Aminuis constituency.
Construction on the second phase of the road project started early this year.
The road is being upgraded to bitumen standard. Currently, some 100km of the road is completed and open to the public.
