Katima Mulilo
The councillor of Kabbe North Constituency in Zambezi Region, Peter Mwala, is disappointed in the shoddy workmanship on the Isize-Luhonono road in Kabbe North.
The construction of the 33-kilometre gravel road across the flood-prone areas started in January last year but it was recently halted due to the floods that have affected the region.
Mwala is disappointed that the road “is not high enough” as according to the initial plan the road was to be constructed high up to allow the strong and fast moving floodwater to pass through the culverts.
However, in most parts of the road the floodwater flows over the culverts.
“The road is not high enough and the culverts are very low; we wanted them to construct the culverts in such a way that people can pass through with their canoes, but that is not the case as the culverts have been submerged,” explained Mwala.
Mwala was also disappointed that some culverts were directed to people’s villages particularly at Malindi, where the road passes close by some villages and Malindi Primary School.
“How can they direct the channel of the culverts to people’s villages. This means if the flood pushes hard these villages will be easily flooded,” complained Mwala.
Mwala’s sentiments were shared by the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Tjekero Tweya, who visited the region last week.
Tweya was appointed by President Hage Geingob as the minister responsible for assessing government developments in the Zambezi Region.
“The situation is worrisome as our people are being crippled and cut off from the country. The contractor has moved a bit slow and he needs to speed up productivity,” said Tweya.
For about 10 kilometres from Malindi to Luhonono the entire road has been submerged by water. This has brought the construction of the road to a halt up until the floodwaters completely subside, which is likely to be in August.
The construction of the Isize-Luhonono road will cost government over N$447 million.