KATIMA MULILO – Katima Mulilo mayor John Ntemwa said the town is making strides in various spheres despite being negatively portrayed on social media platforms.

He was speaking at a hastily arranged media conference on Tuesday afternoon.

He said he called the media briefing in accordance with section 11 (5) (a) to (e) of the Local Authority Act of 1992 to inform, clarify and address matters of public interest, outline the achievements of the 7th Council and provide updates on ongoing project developments. 

In addition, the media briefing was to respond to what he described as ongoing social media statements directed at the Katima Mulilo Town Council (KMTC) and its leadership by the Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa.

Apart from settling the NamWater debt amounting to N$64 million in the 2021/22 financial year, Ntemwa listed several developmental initiatives that KMTC has undertaken over the years. 

He noted that KMTC initiated the construction and upgrade of a one-kilometre interlocked section of Lifasi Road using council funds, which alleviated flooding in Hage Geingob Street. Additionally, the council cleared over N$140 million in liabilities to third parties without increasing rates and taxes for residents of the town for the past three years.

The mayor highlighted several major agreements that KMTC and other stakeholders have managed to sign. 

Among these is an agreement with the Roads Authority for the engineering and design of nine roads to be rehabilitated and constructed.

“One of which will see the construction of the University of Namibia sewer trickling plant to be constructed under the KfW funding agreement. The second part is the development of the Katima Mulilo town treatment plant and sewerage rehabilitation concept note for funding through donors and the central government,” he said.

The initiative has so far secured N$491 million to be funded by the government in three phases for the construction of phase one of the modern sewer treatment plant. 

This includes the refurbishment of 24 pumps around the town, with designs and groundbreaking completed and construction scheduled to commence by August 2025.

Other notable agreements are with MTC and a development workshop for the formalisation of plots.

All these were achieved despite several challenges, such as delays in ministerial approvals dating back to 2016. – Nampa