Water shortages hit Helao Nafidi town
… ageing infrastructure blamed
• BY MARX ITAMALO
The border town of Helao Nafidi has been experiencing water shortages in the last three weeks due to ageing infrastructure.
According to some residents who spoke to the Confidente, the situation is so bad that the health of the residents is compromised and in jeopardy.
Those with vehicles obtain water from earth dams in nearby villages, whilst those without any form of transport buy their water in containers from others.
Water interruption has allegedly also led to the residents only getting rationed water at night. They say the water is too little for their needs.
Matheus Hedimbi, who runs a home shop in the settlement of Omusambwa on the outskirts of the town, said “For three weeks now, water interruption has become a norm. You cannot use water anytime you want because its availability is also unpredictable. Last night we wanted to cook but did not have tap water, so we had to get water in containers at a nearby earth dam.”
Another resident, Maria Mundonga, said that as a businesswoman, she no longer runs her business at a profit but at a loss due to the water shortages. According to her, she has to spend more money buying water containers from those selling.
“With my piped water, I normally don’t spend more than N$ 500 on my monthly water bills. But, now, I have already spent about N$ 400 just within three weeks. The shortages are really killing our businesses,” she stressed.
A restaurant owner and kapana seller, Julia Nghidengwa, are narrating a similar tale of woe. A longtime resident of Oshikango, Nghidengwa relays that the water shortages hit her business in her town hard.
“Dealing with food requires total hygiene. You have to use water on everything you do. You have to cook with water, the dishes and utensils have to be washed and cleaned with water and customers have to use water to wash their hands. So, one has to use much water in this business and if you are buying it in bulk at the rate we are buying, you will be definitely operating at a loss. Imagine the smell that that is emitted from a toilet which has not been properly cleaned for three weeks? Its disgusting,” she stressed.
OLD INFRASTRUCTURE
A source within the Helao Nafidi town council indicated that the water shortages result from old water infrastructure within the town. The source said since the town council was formally established about twenty years ago, no proper overhaul or renovation maintenance of water infrastructure ever took place.” The town council does not even have a decent team of artisans to maintain water infrastructure, and this has on many occasion led to breakage of equipment and so forth,” the source indicated.
The concerned residents further indicated that none of the council has ever explained what is wrong with the town’s water supply. “None of them came to us. We only get rationed water at odd hours. So, if you fail to wake up in the middle of the night to fill your small container, then be assured you will have no water tomorrow.” The residents want the town council to tame the situation and start supplying them with water per the council’s mandate.
Darius Shaalukeni, the town’s mayor, could not be contacted for comment despite numerous calls to his mobile number, which kept being disconnected. Likewise, Inge Ipinge, the town’s chief executive, was also unavailable when going to print.
of its intended objective.
“As a nation, and as stakeholders in this subsector, we need to measure and improve where necessary, this I am emphasizing in line with the theme adopted for this year’s conference that speaks to improvement in the management of road safety performance,” he noted whilst adding that Road Safety being multi-sectoral, it must be tackled by all stakeholders such as both government, private sector and civil society.
The minister also indicated that all executing agencies need to show more ownership of the assigned roles and responsibilities besides signing cooperation agreements. “To ensure that Namibian road safety efforts are in line with international best practices, continuous research and benchmarking are necessary for building a proper body of knowledge for the sub-sector. Policies, regulations and laws must be aligned to current trends for them to be effective,” he advised.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the utilization of motor vehicles enables mobility and promotes socio-economic progression on a global scale. However, according to the WHO, on an annual basis, motor vehicles are implicated in crashes and incidents that result in millions of fatalities and injuries.
He added that low- and middle-income countries, which account for about 60 per cent of the world’s motor vehicles, are responsible for 93 per cent of road deaths annually.