Lorato Khobetsi
The chairperson of the Hardap Regional Council Gershon Dauseb has urged residents of Stampriet to pay for municipal services to ensure the village council meets its financial obligations and development plans.
He further said the political leadership in the region is committed to providing services to communities at a low cost with their cooperation.
“We must commit ourselves to generate income for development; shockingly, the Stampriet Village Council, to me, is at a very weak spot. I am saying Stampriet Village Council is bankrupt,” said Dauseb.
Dauseb was speaking at the official unveiling of a 305 cubic litre elevated water tank last week in Stampriet.
The 20m high tower was erected to increase the water pressure to the location and subsidise 50% of the water to the village from Namwater reservoirs from its boreholes.
“We are paying close to N$14 per cubic metre to Namwater. I think we need to get to the second phase as fast as possible so that we can reduce that unit cost by half – not so that the people cannot pay for services but that the people can continue to so the 50% goes to the development of Stampriet,” the chairperson added.
The tower was constructed by K-Hapu Investment CC at a cost of approximately N$3.9million.
Steven Auseb, business development manager at K-Hapu Investments CC, said with population growth, development is compulsory.
“Water is the basic resource that the people need, and it goes with development, so these guys have set themselves up for the future; the tank is here, and the infrastructure will be here for generations,” added Auseb.
The tower will also be used to supply water for future developments such as the envisaged housing extension and agricultural projects.
The chairperson of the Stampriet Village Council, Elretha Kamutindi, called on the community to safeguard the newly erected infrastructure against vandalism.
Lorato Khobetsi is an information officer at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in the Hardap region.