Clemans Miyanicwe

KHORIXAS – Khorixas mayor Elizabeth Geises has defended council against any blame for the blocked drainage system at the town, saying residents have themselves to blame.

Geises said on Monday that some residents dump animal skins, plastics, spoons, tyres, stones and clothes in the north western town’s drains. 

“Town council employees are showing us things that are dumped into the drains, so we (town council) should not be blame for the blocked drainage throughout the town,” Geises said. 

The mayor advised the residents to cook animal skins and feed it to their dogs instead of dumping them in drains as this causes blockage.  “I beg all our town’s residents to look after the town’s infrastructure and guard it jealously. Let’s work towards a better Khorixas rather than breaking it down,” Geises emphasised.

While she admits that Khorixas has old sewage pipes, she was quick to insist that the stuffing of pipes was being caused by the residents themselves. 

“We are tired of the smell from the drains. The sewage pipes are old and we should not be blamed for the blocked drains,” one elderly lady cooking food a few metres away from the blocked drain told New Era while her daughter expressed fear of Hepatitis E infections. The running sewage water has been an eyesore throughout town since the past year and residents have taken their frustration to social media, council for the situation. Pupils from T. H. F !Gaeb Primary School and Welwitchia Junior Secondary School at the town last year has to cross running sewage water when they commuted to school, while children that do not attend school were often spotted playing in the sewage water.

Geises called upon residents to pay their municipal bills so that town council can improve infrastructure as the current monies in council’s possession end up paying salaries of employees.

“Let’s pay municipal bills so we can use monies for the development of our town as we currently spend monies on employees,” Geises said. 

Last year, New Era reported that the Khorixas Town Council was owed N$50 166 912 by its residents. When asked about household garbage not collected since December, Geises said the town council’s truck used for this purpose has been in Otjiwarongo for repair since last November.

Khorixas inhabitants who ran businesses and those who work in other towns were called upon to assist the council with buying a truck as well as dustbins so that the town can be clean. 

“We plead with successful business people and others who hail from our town to contribute towards cleanness of our town. We all must play our part by giving back.”  The Khorixas mayor also revealed to New Era that the town council have also asked assistance from the City of Windhoek to assist them with old dustbins and are awaiting their response. 

Geises also wishes the town’s residents a prosperous year in which residents have to be united towards developing the town through paying municipal bills on time; residents were called upon to give more attention to their children’s education by investing more time in their studies and not just invest in them financially.