Nuusita Ashipala
Oshakati-Blocked culverts and the construction of houses on uneven ground is said to be the cause of flooding of houses built under the mass housing scheme at Ehenye in Oshakati, New Era has established.
Many of the 209 houses at Ehenye were built on elevated ground while the yards still need to be filled with sand to bring them to the same level.
As a result when it rains the pools of water in the yard make mobility almost impossible. Some residents now have to walk through deep water to access their front door.
It was further established that NHE was aware the houses were prone to be flooded and homeowners were asked to fill their yards with sand at their own cost.
“We complained about all these things from the onset but we were told to fill our yards ourselves. This is really unfair as we were expecting to buy problem-free houses,” a resident complained.
Oshakati Town Council public relations officer Katarina Kamari said the council would work in collaboration with NHE to address the problems, including the issue of flooded roads.
Kamari said the council initially blocked the culverts to prevent water from flowing into houses, but the plan did not work out as anticipated.
“The culverts were blocked so that the water is channelled into the oshana, but since there is already water in the oshana, the water is diverting back to the houses,” said Kamari.
Kamari said the council does not want to play the blame game but the best would have been to even the ground before constructing the houses.
“If the yards were levelled the houses will not have been flooded because the stagnant water in the yards is rainwater. Another problem is that the houses are constructed on clayey ground so the water does not easily drain,” said Kamari.
NHE’s manager of corporate communication and marketing, Eric Libongani, could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.