2015-05-28Staff Report 2 Windhoek Residents of Nziba village at Makanga west of Katima Mulilo in Zambezi Region have been living in the dark since 2013 when lightning struck the electricity transformer and for nearly a year the inhabitants of this village have been in a crisis, as they do not have water. The issue is said to have been reported to Nored in Katima Mulilo and the transformer was replaced, although the new transformer only worked for a week and since then the village has been in darkness. This is according to the village Induna John Muzilikazi, who narrated to New Era yesterday that the situation has remained like that since 2013 even after follow up reports. “We have been in the dark since 2013 and nothing has happened ever since they replaced the transformer which only functioned for a week. I have tried several times to report this matter but they are not doing anything, they only tell me we will look into the matter just like that, now we don’t know which one is a better way to report this issue,” lamented a frustrated Muzilikazi. He, however, said nearby villages are not affected but only his. Meanwhile, when New Era enquired on the matter, an unidentified electrical technician at Nored Katima Mulilo where the problem had been reported, was hesitant to respond on the matter saying he was not authorised to speak to the media and he instead referred this reporter to the head office in Ondangwa where several efforts to get clarity also proved futile. In the same vein, Induna Muzilikazi said it was not only the nightmare of the power but the water as well, saying the village has been without water since last year when the mounted solar pump could no longer pump water into the tank. “This issue has dragged also just like the one for electricity, we reported the matter to the office of rural and water supply. Although they came to inspect the problem when it was reported but it was unfortunate they never returned to fix it, we are still hanging until now waiting for them to come and fix,” stressed Muzilikazi. He said the only time they came was when he approached them to at least clean the borehole which was releasing dirty water due to the material that has rusted, however after cleaning the borehole they did not place the pump handle but rather closed the entire borehole. “Now we don’t know what to do, fetch water from nearby villages which is approximately 5 kilometres, which is very far only those with cars are better off and now it has become worse, as those people now restrict the volume of water to be fetched at their tank and recently have resorted to charging us N$1 depending on how many containers you are carrying. It’s draining us, we call on them to act with urgency,” narrated Muzilikazi. However the chief of water supply Oscar Mulonda could not be reached for comment, as he is in South Africa for the COSAFA Cup. 2015-05-28Staff Report 2
