By Risco Lumamezi
Zambezi Regional Governor Lawrance Sampofu has responded to the hot debated issue and dispute over the new boundary treaty between Botswana and Namibia, which sparked angers among the Caprivians.
This follows the recent visit of the two senior cabinet ministers of the government of the Republic of Namibia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah and Dr. Albert Kawana Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.
He disclosed that the visit of the cabinet ministers was a follow-up meeting to a tripartite meeting on Botswana-Namibia 2018 Boundary Treaty which was supposed to be held on April 21, by Botswana and Namibia authorities with the traditional authorities of the Zambezi region.
May 14, 2021, Ms. Netumbo-Ndaitwah and Dr Kawana had an open-door meeting with the community of Kapani, and later consulted all Ngambelas(premiers) and Natamoyos (chief advisors) from the four traditional Khutas of Zambezi who said they were not consulted.
According to governor Sampofu, the consultative meetings in the region will be conducted very soon to inform the public about the boundary treaty.
He divulged that the most affected areas caused by this boundary treaty are Mbala Island, Situngu Island, Kapani and Maunga in the south of the Zambezi region.
“the main aim of the Deputy Prime Minister who is also the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, was to clear on the ground what are challenges, and later on she will invite the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of Botswana to come and meet here most especially on Situngu and Mbala islands” stressed Sampofu.
He said all concerns from the four respective traditional authorities are under scrutiny by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, which then later the government will respond.
He dismissed speculations that the new boundary is at a distance which stretches from the 5 Kilometers away the Chobe river.
“No no no …it is not like that we will invite you when we will start with the community meetings so that you come and see, we are waiting for the new map which will be send to my office and we are going to share it with the community and stakeholders” he explained
When asked on the safety and security of the community members and unavailability of the Namibian Defence Force along the disputed boundary, Zambezi Governor said “the Namibian Defence Force are deployed there, the traditional authorities were informed from Linyanti up to Lianshulu on the 14th of December 2020, to look for places where the NDF should stay, they were given two weeks to consult with their communities, when the Namibia Defence Force came the traditional authorities did not consult their communities”
He further appealed to the people to remain calm and the border treaty will be explained to them.
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