THE small community living at the foot of the Spitzkoppe Mountains share common challenges and a common vision, and therefore 'backbiting and false rumours' should not be used to bring division.

For some time now, unidentified people who say they are Spitzkoppe residents, have used the media to discredit the settlement's leaders, accusing them of self-enrichment and corruption at the expense of the rest of the town's needed prosperity and development.

There have even been concerns of 'war breaking out' between the headman, Benjamin Naruseb's camp and another unidentified group of "concerned residents".

"The only problem is that no one here has approached us to air their concerns. We just hear of this and that when someone tells us that something was written in the newspaper," deputy-Headman, Christian //Naomab told The Namibian. "Why are there people here talking behind our backs and not face to face? If they spoke to us directly, then we would know what the problems really were and then we could work together to address them."

Besides the internationally renowned and picturesque backdrop of the Spitzkoppe Mountain, the settlement itself is in dire need of further development. The problem is, basic services like electricity and telecommunications are problematic. Thanks to Areva Trekkopje Mine, though, fresh water supply was given to the settlement last year.

"We have a vision to get Spitzkoppe Settlement village-status," said Lesley Tjongarero who heads the Community Development Committee, which works hand in hand with the Naruseb's Traditional Authority there to govern the settlement comprising of about 80 households. "We have a plan called Vision 2015, and by then we want to be a village."

But uninterruptible electricity supply and a working telecommunications service are crucial elements to implement such a vision.

According to the leaders, electricity supply is there, but often there would be interruptions where whole groups of households would be without electricity for as long as a day - a couple of times in a month. There is also bad cellular reception, while land-lines have been relatively non-existent since copper-wire from telephone lines were stolen in the area about two years ago.

The Namibian attempted to call Oiva Angula, Telecom Spokeperson to get an update on the situation there, but he was unavailable. Another source in Telecom however told the newspaper that the land-line service there would probably "not be repared" but added that a wireless-network may be installed there in the near future.

"Our aim is to have an investors meeting here soon, where we will also request an office for NamPost and NamPol too. We have a clinic here and a school. All this will contribute to us becoming an acknowledged village," said Tjongarero.

The Development Committee is also planning the establishment of up to four lodges around the Spitzkoppe area.

"At the moment we are running the camp and built it up from nothing. Many tourists come here every year to be at the foot of this mountain and so bring a income for the community, but there again, we need better electricity and telecommunication services to run such lodges and the camp; and this is also what tourists expect," Tjongarero said.

Deputy-Headman //Naomab said the community expected development and that was also the aim of the leadership. Several youth development projects are also in the pipeline.

"The problem is, with the little we have at the moment, there are elements - who are not actively involved in the development - who are demanding a lot of benefits. And because they are not getting these benefits, they are backbiting and spreading rumours of self-enrichment. They should rather stop this backbiting and start working together with us to make our projects big. This will inevitably result in big benefits for all our people," he explained.

Interested investors are requested to contact Tjongarero at 081 211 6291 or e-mail at leslee_ogo@yahoo.com. They are also welcome to contact //Naomab at 081 222 0427.