By Hoandi !Gaeb Mariental In what can be seen as a major development for the Block E area at Rehoboth since independence, the Rehoboth Town Council has now started tarring a road in an effort to link the former ‘black township’ with the rest of the town. Mayor of Rehoboth, George Dax, confirmed in an interview with New Era that the drive for capital development at Rehoboth has now been shifted to the Rehoboth East Constituency, which includes Block E, where most of the formerly disadvantaged people reside. He said the first phase of tarring roads has been completed in the Urban West Constituency. The next road to be tarred will be the one that starts from the Roman Catholic Church at the town to Block E. The total length of the road will be 3,4 km at an estimated cost of more than N$1.2 million. According to Dax, funds for the construction of the road were generated through the sale of erven at public auctions recently and the road has been identified as a priority, as several complaints were received from the public regarding health and safety hazards originating from dust. The mayor is committed to bringing services to the people and is of the opinion that tarring this road will reduce the dust problem and also add value to property at the town. The project will be completed before the end of the year. The mayor also announced that the council has resolved to upgrade the sewerage network in the Block E area. The council has also decided to develop erven in Block E where low-cost housing through the Build Together Programme can be provided to the local community. All these projects are going on as part of the council’s five-year strategic plan. Meanwhile, the mayor also announced a resolution by the town council to embark on a programme in which town lands will be commercialised. “The council has bought into the idea of commencing with commercial farming on already identified camps. Livestock farming is considered a priority, although other forms of farming will also be considered in the future,” he said. Through the decision the council will manage all activities on the commercialised land and income generated through this activity will be injected into other capital projects, such as maintenance of infrastructure. The mayor says the decision was prompted by the council’s drive to create and provide employment for community members, and also to manage the assets of the council effectively and efficiently. There are presently more than 20 camps of which some are on tender for commercial farming. Most of the camps are on lease for communal farmers. However, the council is experiencing problems with payment by tenants, hence the decision to manage the land for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the town.