Residents of Berseba Village calling themselves a concerned group have ended a lockout action following the intervention of ||Kharas Governor Dawid Gertze.
 
The lockout action, sparked by an alleged irregular appointment, brought council operations to a standstill for the entire Thursday.
 
On Wednesday the protestors spent a night in the council office to resolve the impasse, which ended in a deadlock.
 
The protestors claimed local residents were overlooked in favour of someone from outside and demanded the appointment be revoked and re-advertised.
 
Only six people were invited to the interview for the position out of the 21 who had been shortlisted.
 
The spokesperson of the concerned group, George Vries, described the engagement as fruitful.
 
 “We that voted for them were keeping them accountable for the decision they are making there, because that decision that they made by appointing that person is affecting the local community. Berseba has at least 1,500, if not 2,000, inhabitants. The majority of these people are old people, as you see. A very minimal amount of people that are youth. The youth depend on the old-age salary. So what we say is, can you not give the position to a local person that qualifies?”
 
Governor Gertze held separate discussions with the councillors and the concerned group to resolve the matter.
 
Following these discussions, the parties agreed that the handyman appointment be reviewed in consultations with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development.
 
The review findings will be reported within 14 days, and the appointed person will not assume duty during this period.
 
Governor Gertze also gave an insight of the meeting.
 
“The discussions were at some point heated, very provocative given the substance of the issue. I had a very lengthy discussion with the council members also, and we could come to an agreement, which I believe is mature in terms of the approach and also wants to validate the concerns raised in the letter from the community.”
 
 
The CEO of the Berseba Village Council Ivan Vries also pledged their commitment, adding that the matter will receive attention.