SWAKOPMUND – Residents of the Swakopmund constituency have recommended that the constituency be split into two parts, namely Swakopmund North and Swakopmund South, to enhance service delivery.
At a public consultation meeting on Tuesday, a number of attendees noted that the drastic increase of the population in the constituency since the last national census hinders efficient service delivery to residents.
The poorly-attended meeting was held after the constituency failed to properly present its recommendations to the fifth Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission during its visit to the region last week.
The constituency was given a grace period of 18 days by the commission to conduct proper consultations with residents in order to assess the current boundaries of the region and constituencies to determine and recommend to the president whether changes to the boundaries of any region, constituency and local authorities are required.
Recent preliminary results from the National Statistics Agency revealed that the population of the Swakopmund constituency is 71 921, making it one of the largest constituencies in Namibia. The figure increased by 59.3% from the 44 725 recorded in 2011.
Community member Sarah-Leigh Elago voiced concern that the constituency is overwhelmed by the increase in population, hindering efficient and effective service delivery.
“The DRC informal settlement on its own has grown a lot over the years and as a result, service delivery is provided at a slow pace. Most voters in this constituency are in the Mondesa area, but they remain disadvantaged in terms of services such as sanitation and a decent road network,” she expressed.
Swakopmund councillor Heinrich Hafeni concurred with Elago, saying despite the fact that the constituency office is working tirelessly to deliver timely services to all its residents, it is just not possible for one office to handle the growing population.
The constituency’s population growth is attributed to the development of numerous suburbs over the past 10 years. These include Ocean View, Hage Heights, Mile 4, Jabulani, Matutura, Rossmund, Nonidas, Extensions 27, 30, 31 and the settlements of DRC proper, Wagdaar. -Nampa