By George Sanzila
KATIMA MULILO – Residents of Shack Dwellers informal settlement are unhappy with the Katima Mulilo Town Council over what they say are adequate water services at the settlement.
The settlement, which is situated on the western periphery of Katima Mulilo, relies on two water points for over 200 residents.
What seems to exacerbate the situation is that residents from the adjacent Cowboy, which is another informal settlement, also use the two water points that break down frequently due to being overburdened.
Many residents travel over half a kilometre to the water points to fetch water for their daily needs such as for drinking.
A resident of Shack Dwellers who preferred not to be named accused the council of ignoring the plight of residents, adding that the limited water infrastructure has led to a serious water crisis as people from the two locations congest the two water points.
“They promised to install taps but they are not doing so. We have been experiencing this problem since February and nothing has been done. They don’t even inform us about what is going on. The only two water points are used by a lot of people and they tend to break down, leading to a serious water crisis,” lamented the resident.
It also emerged that residents were charged by the town council in February this year for the installation of taps at their homes but nothing further has happened.
“This problem started a long time ago. Some of the keys we use for the water points are no longer functional and council says they cannot replace them but they fail to provide us with an alternative source of water. We already paid money for the water meters so that they put in taps at each household,” said another resident.
Approached for comment the CEO of the Katima Mulilo Municipality, Charles Nawa, said the current water infrastructure in informal settlements was past its lifespan but the municipality was busy installing new water pipes and taps.
“People have to understand that the communal stand pipes are past their lifespan. We cannot find parts to repair these water points. We have started installing taps in informal settlements. Mahohoma as we speak has water taps per household,” explained Nawa.
Nawa said the taps were being installed in phases and appealed for patience from residents, adding that the municipality was currently busy with Choto, which is Katima Mulilo’s biggest informal settlement.
“People should be patient.
“We are currently busy with Choto, afterwards it will be Cowboy then Shack Dwellers because there are only a few people there,” said Nawa.
“We had the same crisis in Chotto before we began with the installations. We are already in the process of buying new stand pipes, about 50 units at a cost of over N$350 000, for Shack Dwellers and Cowboy. We don’t have a date as to how long this will take but we promise to have it at least finished before the end of the year. We are trying our level best to solve this problem,” promised Nawa.
According to Nawa as a short term solution to the crisis council had proposed that it puts up a communal water tap but the residents rejected the idea.
“We proposed that they contribute a small amount to pay for a public water tap but they refused. They were giving so many reasons but today they are complaining,” said Nawa.
Residents of Cowboy held a demonstration early this year over the same issue. The Shack Dwellers settlement, which stems from a network of community savings schemes, aims at securing cheap land and low-cost shelter for the unemployed and has so far realised about 178 housing units in Katima Mulilo.