Malakia Nashongo
ONDANGWA – Five toilets were handed over to five beneficiaries at Ontanga and Oshitayi villages in Ondangwa Urban Constituency on Monday.
The toilets were constructed under the rural sanitation programme run by Oshana Regional Council through the constituency office.
Councillor of Ondangwa Urban Constituency Leonard Negonga presided over the handover.
The toilets are meant for people who cannot afford to construct or purchase their own ablution facilities, thus aiming at enhancing sanitation awareness within the rural communities.
These facilities were constructed under the 2017/2018 financial year and about 10 more facilities will be constructed under the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 financial years.
According to Negonga, rural communities lack sanitation facilities and make use of the bushes when nature calls, which is unhygienic and harmful as during the rainy season the human waste is washed away by the rainwater and ends up in the ponds and wells, which will lead to water contamination.
This programme aims at improving health and quality of life, ensure hygienic environment, protect water sources from pollution and stimulate economic development. Negonga urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the facilities and make use of them for them live in a clean and healthy environment.
On her part one of the beneficiaries expressed her gratitude for what the government is doing in ensuring that services are brought closer to them. “We used to make use of the bushes when nature calls but now we have toilet facilities,” explained Ndatoolewe Frendrick, a beneficiary.
The programme was initiated by the Ministry of Regional, Local Government, Housing and Rural Development now known as Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and was piloted in Zambezi, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and Kavango regions before it was rolled out to other regions.
*Malakia Nashongo works for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology Oshakati, Oshana Regional Office