OMUTHIYA – The governor of Oshikoto region, Penda Ya Ndakolo, has told the community of Omuntele who have been demanding the construction of a tarred road in the area, that there are no funds at the moment for such a project.
Although Ya Ndakolo acknowledged the road is in a sorry state, he emphasised there was nothing to be done at this stage.
“I have travelled that road six times to assess it and it is in bad shape and I do sympathise with the community, but I would like to appeal for calm as government solicits funds,” he said.
“As we are speaking there is a road being constructed that leads from Casablanca to Elavi, so after that is done council will sit and discuss whether that can be prioritised,” he said.
The surface of the 15-kilometre stretch that adjourns from the B1 road at Engoyi has been washed off leaving a bare layer of sand, which forces motorists to abandon the road and use sideways. The situation is even worse when it rains.
“We also have a road masterplan in place which is guiding us on what are the priority projects to tackle, so we cannot jump things but to follow that channel. I can’t promise when that can be resolved, but I can assure that once funds are availed surely something will be done,” said Ya Ndakolo whose office was petitioned to look into the issue. The community have been up in arms as they argue that not even regular rehabilitation is a solution to alleviate the problem.
They further claim that frequent accidents occur on the road due to its roughness and that the situation is worse during the rainy season when it is covered with water and becomes inaccessible.
Based on that they insist the Roads Authority find ways to construct a new tarred road as a matter of urgency.
However, during a meeting in July, RA said they could only re-gravel the road to a better standard as a short-term solution.
– osimasiku@nepc.com.na