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Five Rand in need of sand to block floodwater

2021-01-18  Albertina Nakale

Five Rand in need of sand to block floodwater

OKAHANDJA - Following heavy rains experienced as of last week until the weekend countrywide, some vulnerable residents of Five Rand settlement were left flooded after water entered their shacks.

When New Era visited the affected residents on Friday, some were busy mending their yards in an attempt to keep out rainwater.
Unfortunately, the majority of them being poor and vulnerable cannot only afford sandbags that cost N$10 each but also a load of sand to block the rainwater.

The residents have acknowledged that they are residing in the area illegally, but they feel neglected by their elected representatives. They argued that the municipality should come to their aid as it’s a natural disaster.

They lamented that the N$100 per sand load is just too expensive, as many are unemployed and live below the poverty line.
Andreas Sakeus, the only resident, who managed to raise N $100 to procure a truck of sand, narrated that the rainwater flooded his whole yard.
He said he bought the N$100 sand load from the municipality.

“When the whole yard gets flooded, you can’t even walk out of the house. The water has entered my shack from both angles. My bed and cupboard got damaged. I then decided to go buy sand for N$100 from the municipality. They don’t even level the sand; they just dump it and go. For those who can’t afford to buy, they don’t get any sand for their yards. They must help everyone like in Windhoek because here residents are unemployed,” he bemoaned.

In the meantime, he said they are trying to help themselves but the municipality must come to the rescue.
Approached for comment, Okahandja mayor Natasha Brinkman said the council has assessed the situation and will deliberate the way forward today.

On the sale of sand to residents to block rainwater, Brinkman could neither confirm nor deny the residents’ allegations.
“The municipality is not directly selling sand to residents. We discussed on Friday and the CEO told us that the municipality is not directly selling sand. The way forward will be discussed today (Monday),” she said. 
The mayor added some retail shops in the town centre were also flooded. However, she said the damages were not severe as seen in other parts of Namibia.

Another affected resident, Helena Amwaanyena said rainwater has been flooding them since December, which was compounded by overflowing sewage water.
“We tried to block our yards with sand and rocks but it got washed away as the water currents were very strong. We want loads of sand to block water from entering our yards. The water is flowing from far and it’s not healthy for our kids when playing. There is also a lot of mosquitos here now that it is raining,” Amwaanyena said.

She said the rainwater damaged her wardrobe. Luckily, she put her bed on bricks to save it from ruins.
Meanwhile, Elina Mizi whose shack got flooded said she bought sandbags to block the water but to no help.
“Its like Zambezi River here. That water standing in the road flows into my yard. We want the municipality to fill these holes. The rainwater damaged my fence, TV, and documents,” she noted.

Erica Ndjombo said the rainwater went into her house. “If you don’t put any sand, the water will enter the house. It’s dark, we don’t have power. We can’t make a fire outside. We want power. We lived here for 10 years but still no power. They only gave us communal taps due to coronavirus,” Njombo charged. – anakale@nepc.com.na


2021-01-18  Albertina Nakale

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