RUNDU, despite being the biggest town in Kavango East, does not have children’s playgrounds, a community activist has complained.
Shipapo Kapwali said he has worked in many towns in the country, and they all had places where children can play, except for Rundu, which is the capital of Kavango East.
“Here, children play their sports activities or other games on residential roads. When a car passes, they give way and then continue playing,” he lamented.
There are also no platforms at Rundu for childhood development activities.
“A playground is supposed to be a place of interaction, communication and expression that can be accessed by children coming from various backgrounds,” Kapwali said.
The community activist added that he has been trying to initiate such platforms for children, but the local authorities have little understanding of about the importance or value of such facilities.
“This is a total disappointment, and could in fact be a violation of children’s rights,” he continued.
The town has a lot of daycare centres, but these cannot be compared to a playground, he elaborated, saying the children at Rundu are segregated as those in Millennium Park cannot meet children from Tutungeni.
Kapwali stated that he had on numerous occasions tried to meet the former mayor of Rundu, Verna Sinimbo, but for some reason, this never materialised until she left office.
The public relations officer (PRO) of the Rundu Town Council, Benjamin Makayi, admitted that despite plans, the council has not been able to develop any playground for children.
“The desires are there because the town planning scheme makes provision for open spaces, which could be developed into playgrounds or any other desirable recreational facility,” he added. Makayi said the council had a plan to develop a community park, and one of the components in the design is a playground for children, but this plan is taking too long to execute due to financial challenges.
“However, council encourages residents or any interested individuals or businesses that would like to develop playgrounds for children to approach the council to lease land for such purposes,” the PRO noted. – Nampa
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