The Gibeon Village Council says it is making deliberate efforts to accelerate the much-needed development at the village.
The council has acquired land for various development projects, including town electrification and the construction of a sports facility.
Gibeon is a historic village and home to some of Namibia's historic leaders, such as Hendrik Witbooi.
Situated south of Mariental in the Hardap Region, it is one of the country's oldest settlements and is known for its rich cultural heritage, particularly as a traditional centre for the Nama people.
Development of the area has long been discussed, but the village council says it is now taking deliberate steps to turn plans into action.
Pederius Tjihoreko, acting CEO at the Gibeon Village Council, said that the village is moving forward. "Yeah, in terms of planning, we are also running out of residential plots. We also appointed a town planner. The councillor really resolved the layout of 96 plots here in Gibeon. People are hungry for land, and the town planner is busy now setting out a portion of land for residential businesses, industrial and all this."
Like many towns and villages, unemployment is a challenge in the area, and the village council is making deliberate efforts to create employment opportunities.
Plans are in the pipeline for a shopping centre, a filling station and negotiations for factories.
"The biggest problem is that the job opportunities are not there. Therefore, that is the council where my council really made concerted efforts to make sure that we bring about development, and the moment you bring about development, job creation will, at the end of the day, materialise. The petrol filling station and the shopping centres that we want to establish are crucial for development."
However, Tjihoreko warned against infrastructure vandalism, which he says is a common practice in the village.
"Despite our discussions about development, including the installation of infrastructure such as electrical lines and water systems, vandalism remains one of our biggest challenges. People, while you are trying to develop the inhabitants of Gibeon, the very same people whom you are trying to assist and to develop and to make sure that they get services at their disposal, these are the very same people who are really vandalising government properties. The poles have been cut off. It is hard to believe that someone in their right mind would come with a sharp object to cut a long electrical pole into pieces, only to take it and use it to build a fence. Even as a matter of decency, putting those poles that he illegally stole to put them at the yards and to make a fence here in town, those are some of the challenges that we are facing."