Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The relocation of Heroes Day commemoration venue from Omuthiya to Windhoek, has left some residents disappointed, citing financial losses already spent in preparation for the day.
One of the residents, Debby Shipanga, said she spent N$ 1200on Namibian flags and t-shirts to sell at the venue and hoped to generate at least N$ 2300, but her hopes are now dashed.
“Since it is a national day, I was looking forward to people buying t-shirts with the Namibian flag on, but the chance is no longer there. What am I going to do with the stock? Hopefully people will still buy in the streets,” said Shipanga.
Omuthiya Town Council Spokesperson, Ottilie Shingenge, said the decision to shift the event from its originally designated location has ignited fears of trust issues between the Town Council and residents.
“Some of the residents will think the event was cancelled by the Town Council and they might lose trust in the council. Some of the SMEs were really looking forward to the event because when the town has a lot of people it contributes to local economic activities including the small trades, especially those in the hospitality industry,” she said.
Shingenge said that some residents might mistakenly perceive the change of venue as a cancellation of the event.
She said the Town Council might lose finances it was supposed to get from the residents through rates and tax payments.
“The residents who own businesses were going to generate money to pay off some of their debts with the council. Now we are not likely to generate any extra income, she said.
Even though the venue was changed, Oshikoto Region Governor, Penda Ya Ndakola, expressed appreciation to the Government for initially considering the region as the host for this year’s event, and said their time will come.
“We were very happy and looking forward to hosting Heroes Day. Although preparations were already in full swing, we just have to accept that it was not a problem at all because of the guest of honour,” he said, He added that the decision to shift the event to Windhoek was prompted by logistical challenges related to the arrival of the esteemed guest of honour of the Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canely Bermúdez.
“We have no problem with the celebrations being hosted in Windhoek at all. The challenge here in Oshikoto Region is that the guest of honour who was expected to be here in Omuthiya for the celebration will arrive in Namibia on the same day from his country and he will come in a very big plane that will not be able to land at the nearest airport,” he said.
Ya Ndakolo said that it was not just Omuthiya Town Council that had preparations under way, but the entire regional leadership together with the Ministry of Defence Force after they had several meetings regarding the occasion.
The Governor further apologised to the residents of Omuthiya for the moved venue.
Executive Director in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Audrin Mathe, said the change of venue was necessitated by the state visit of the President of Cuba on the invitation of President Hage Geingob.
