The leader of the ||Haboben clan, Dawid Gertze, has urged youth to speak out against internal strife over succession battles among the Nama traditional leaders.
Gertze, who is also the governor of ||Kharas, noted such conflicts deprive communities of development.
He made the call at the ||Haboben traditional festival held in Blouses.
The annual celebration commemorates fallen heroes and heroines and serves as a platform to promote and preserve the clan's cultural heritage.
“As youth, go back to your leaders, including me, and speak out against the unnecessary divisions in our communities. It's killing us. If you do not know, let me tell you, I feel it where I am. It's killing us. The traditional leaders who lead our communities must be told that we want you to unite and ensure that we all have a place under the Namibian sun. Youth, if the future belongs to you, come and tell us, 'These things you are doing, we do not agree with. ' They block the our future. Let's do away with them.'”
Goab Gertze further encouraged young people to seize empowerment opportunities provided for by government.
He also spoke out against the social ills of drug and alcohol abuse.
"Our community needs sober minds, healthy young people, and forward-looking and progressive people. There can be no specs for drug and alcohol abuse.”
The Berseba Constituency Councillor called on all leaders to address poverty, unemployment, and disunity in their communities.
Jossop said factional battles over traditional leadership are mostly caused by social hardships.
“We cannot continue to blame the government; we cannot continue to blame the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, we cannot continue to run to lawyers hoping they will solve what is fundamentally a crisis of leadership, character, and conscience. The Traditional Authorities Act and customary laws are interpreted differently by every faction, not because the laws are unclear, but because we have allowed personal ambitions, our pride, and our desire for power to cloud our judgment."