Alleged political campaigning with drought relief food in Ben-Se Kamp - nbc

Описание: Allegations of political campaigning with drought relief food as a promise were raised at Ben-Se Kamp, some 53 kilometres east of Tsumkwe, close to the Botswana border.

The NBC News team visited the secluded settlement.

The villagers at the Dobe village alleged that the Swapo Party campaigners are using food from the National Drought Relief Programme, distributed by the Otjozondjupa Regional Council in Tsumkwe, in their political campaigns.

During NBC's visit to Ben-Se-Kamp, Komsa ǂOma, a representative who spoke on behalf of the community, expressed concern over the campaigning methods allegedly employed by teams campaigning for the Swapo candidate for the Tsumkwe constituency.

"People came here with a book and told us that we should vote for Swapo to get maize meal; for those who agreed, their names were noted. According to what I know, the food from the drought relief programme comes from the government and is not for campaigning."

These concerns come despite past warnings by authorities, including by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who had previously cautioned political actors and party members not to use drought relief food to solicit votes.

On several occasions, the President explicitly maintained that drought relief is a government programme for all affected Namibians and should not be politicised.

The Tsumkwe constituency councillor, Johannes Hausiku, denied these allegations, warning that such campaign methods will not be tolerated.

An elder, ||Au Nsaa, said the promises made during food distribution have left him unsure about his voting decision.

"We don't know who to vote for; we voted for many leaders, but none of them helped us. We really don't know who to vote for."

The community also raised concerns regarding the broken border fence on the border with Botswana.

Kxao Lxaise, a former border worker, is calling on authorities to repair the fence between the Namibian and Botswana borders.

He stated that they have lost several livestock to Botswana.

"You see that fence there? That's the border between Namibia and Botswana. It is not even a kilometre from here. All our animals are going to Botswana. Eight of my goats went to Botswana last year, and two of my son's cattle, valued at N$6,000, went to Botswana during Covid-19, and we are still losing our animals. We are calling on the Ministry of Agriculture to intervene and help us with this fence."

The villagers are appealing to the government to intervene in the situation at the border, stating that they are at a loss for what to do next.