Matheus Hamutenya
Keetmanshoop-The //Kharas Region wants to replace the colonial bucket toilet system, which has over the years been widely used by many residents especially in rural and semi-rural areas.
As stipulated in the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP), the region aims to eliminate the bucket toilet system and //Kharas regional council chairperson Jan Scholtz told New Era that the region is on the right path to do just that.
He said that in 2017, 464 toilets have been constructed under the HPP toilet programme at Berseba, Koës and Aus, while a further 155 rural toilets were erected in the Berseba, Karasburg East, and Keetmanshoop Rural constituencies under the rural sanitation programme respectively.
Scholtz reiterated the regions commitment to provide proper sanitation to its inhabitants, saying the work done is testimony to that the region will do all it can to kick out the bucket toilet system, but added that the region could do much more if funds were available.
“This clearly shows that //Kharas region is highly serious about the sanitation programme in order to promote hygiene and good health for its inhabitants. The region hopes for additional funding in order to cover the remaining areas affected,” Scholtz further elaborated.
He also gave an update on other capital projects in the region. The five megawatts solar plant at Rosh Pinah was up and running, after being set up at a cost of N$120 million last year, while the N$134 million //Kharas regional council office park is still under construction and is expected to be completed by the end August this year.
With regard to improved service delivery, Scholtz said the regional council was dedicated to serving the community with the limited resources at its disposal, revealing that all employees of the council would as of this year sign performance agreements, aimed at improving service delivery.
He urged employees to be in sync with the aims and objectives of the council in order to achieve its goals, and said there was no room for the blame game when it came to service delivery and everyone should take responsibility for correcting what was wrong.
He said 2018 would be a year of stock taking and reckoning, and implored all employees to renew their dedication and galvanise their efforts in order to improve the living standards of all people.
“It is very important that we do an inventory check. We must know what is wrong in order for us to correct it, and therefore we must act on inadequacy, mediocrity, bureaucracy and laziness,” he said.