Luqman Cloete
24 April 2008
Windhoek — THE Karasburg Constituency Councillor, Paulus Ephraim, has rejected claims of corruption and authoritarianism levelled against him by Noordoewer villagers.
"The allegations are politically motivated and devoid of any truth," Ephraim said when contacted by The Namibian yesterday.
In a petition in possession of The Namibian, villagers demand Ephraim's immediate removal, claiming that socio-economic growth at the village has stagnated.
"We want development, we're fed up with empty promises," the petition reads.
"We don't want the councillor in our district," they add.
But Ephraim says he single-handedly brought development to the town during his 15-year tenure as regional councillor.
"I'm not solely responsible to speed up socio-economic growth at the village, their [the villagers'] support is equally needed, but they have failed to rally behind development projects," Ephraim said angrily.
According to the villagers' spokesperson, Bennet Carolus, tenders are awarded without being advertised.
He claims that tenders are awarded to outsiders while the villagers are unemployed and living in abject poverty.
Carolus also accused Ephraim of corruption, saying that the Karas Regional Council was paying the rent of the house in which Ephraim lives.
The councillor rubbished this allegation, saying he paid his own rent.
"The petition is a deliberate move by a few people who are behind a politically motivated smear campaign against me," Ephraim said angrily.
The villagers appealed to Karas Governor Dawid Boois to convene an urgent meeting with them, claiming that Ephraim failed the community.
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