KATIMA MULILO – The Katima Mulilo Town Council will resurface roads which have been damaged by water due to rain that has been pouring in the past weeks. The targeted flooded streets to be resurfaced are in the suburbs of Choto, Cow Boy and Mahohoma. 

During a media briefing on Thursday last week, town council chairperson Lister Shamalaza stated even though the rain season is not yet over, council resolved to resurface the most affected streets as it is a matter of urgency.

“In the short term plan, we are going to pump out water from the flooded streets, and put some gravel on such surfaces, but for the long term plan, we will see how we can upgrade our roads so that the water cannot affect our people,” he said. 

According to council spokesperson Muyoba Muyoba, the town wants to create accessibility, as some residents find it difficult to reach their houses due to flooded streets. He however cautioned that some residents who are affected were already given plots to higher ground, but they do not want to move.

“We are going to identify those who were supposed to move but did not move, if we will have to do forceful eviction, then we will do it. Some of them have already built where they are supposed to relocate, but they are still hanging on to the old plots, so we are going to attend to it,” Muyoba said.

The chairman of Choto suburb Jimmy Sikwela, thanked council for trying to fix the flooded streets, he however questioned whether this will solve the problem at hand. 

“I would like to thank the town council for wanting to resurface the streets, However, we are always facing flooding every rainy season,  I am therefore not sure if this will be a solution. Because after resurfacing the streets, water might be flowing directly into people’s houses. What we need here is a permanent solution,” said Sikwela.