Residents of Ndongo settlement in the Mukwe Constituency, Kavango East Region, are up in arms about unfulfilled promises by the Namibia Berries company at Divundu. 

The villagers are devastated after surrendering their land for the establishment of the farm.

They accused the investor of not honouring agreements with them on social upliftment benefits they were to receive from the company. 

The farm is about 50 hectares and has been operating for almost two years now.

The villagers are also disappointed that the Divundu village council and the blueberry farm have so far not clarified compensation for their land.

A resident of Ndongo Village, Pontianus Kapinga, outlined the promises, "To provide water points every five meters on the perimeter of the land under development within the first six months of the beginning of each phase of the project development. To provide two fully functional boreholes per year for the direction of the leasehold to be installed at its cost, installation will take place within the first three months of the 12-month lease period. The borehole locations are to be determined by the parties and to be located a minimum of one kilometre from the Kavango River or as agreed. To provide five hundred solar street lights per annum for the first ten years of the lease to be installed at locations determined by the parties, and installation will take place within the first three months of each 12-month lease period. To upgrade one preschool as determined by the parties to a maximum value of N$500,000 during the first six months of the first year of the lease period."

The project also promised to plant ten hectares of crops suitable for animal feed for use by the affected community members.

The affected villagers confirmed that none of the promises have been fulfilled so far. 

In early November 2024, the farm blocked the natural passage going through the farm, blocking the community from accessing schools, shops, and the graveyard.

The unhappy community stated that according to the plan, the natural pathways were not to be tampered with.

"The biggest problem is that school is about to start, and we are talking about small kids; some are still at preprimary, and others are going to start grade one. The children I am talking about live on the other side of the project, and now that the roads are blocked, they have to go around to Shamavinyo Village or walk up to Divundu, then go to Kangorombwe. For the kids to be walking about five to seven kilometres to get to school is not sitting well with us as parents. We wrote letters to the farm, the village council, and the councillor as soon as we learnt about the blocked passages, but they never responded to us. We are worried this can lead to learners dropping out of school due to the distance," Mbumbo Thikusho, spokesperson of the affected community, stated.

According to the villagers, about 168 school-going learners have been affected by the closure of the pathway.

Some of the affected people also shared that proper relocation has not been done, as there are families who are enclosed inside the farm fence and their movements are limited.

The affected community members are calling for clarity on the farm's plan for compensation and benefits of landowners.

Contacted for comments, both the chairperson of the Divundu Village Council, Christoph Kupembona, and Namibia Berries Director Evaristus Evaristus said they could only comment on the matter after a meeting that is scheduled for next week with the community.