The Okakarara Councillor Uzeraije Tjaverua has postponed the Kambazembi Royal Traditional Authority consultative meeting with village representatives from the Ozonahi districts that was scheduled to take place on Thursday.

The postponement follows complaints from community members who said they were not consulted on the meeting's agenda.

Although village representatives from the Ozonahi districts gathered at the Kambazembi Community Court Hall, the meeting could not proceed after concerns were raised about the agenda items.

The agenda included discussions on illegal fencing, current challenges in the Ozonahi districts, formalising village by-laws, addressing illegal settlements, implementing grazing rights and traditional levies, as well as strengthening the role of village headmen and the Royal Traditional Authority in resolving local disputes peacefully.

However, those were not the issues the community members wanted to discuss at the meeting.

Councillor Tjaverua explained.

“So, the meeting was postponed. We will first consult the community to hear their concerns, then meet with the Traditional Authority, after which we will determine the way forward.”

The senior traditional councillor of Ozonahi, Assaph Kandjeo, also shared his sentiments.

“Unfortunately, the community was wrongly informed, or they misunderstood the purpose of the meeting. They came prepared to discuss a dispute they had already raised with the former regional councillor. It is a dispute between them and the traditional authority, and because of that, they were not willing to continue with the planned meeting. We therefore agreed to give them an opportunity to engage with the current regional councillor first.”

A new date for the consultative meeting will be communicated once all the necessary parties have been consulted and an agenda has been agreed upon.