Katima spends N$8 million on sewage tender

MACHEL SITENGUTHE Katima Mulilo Town Council has spent nearly N$8 million on addressing sewage problems, which have been occurring since November.

Burst pipes and sewage puddles have become a common sight, giving some locations an awful stench. Almost every location has one or two burst pipes and sewage flowing everywhere, an inspection by found.

The town council’s public relations officer, Chrispin Muyoba, attributed the situation mostly to old infrastructure, as some of the pipes were installed in the early 2000s.

“The town is embarking on a programme to address the sewage problem. This programme will take about six months. I think it will be complete in August,” said Muyoba.

The town council reportedly spent N$8 million on a tender that started on 20 December 2020. The tender was awarded to a private company from Ondangwa, Shivute Construction CC.

The town is also battling water problems, with locations like Cowboy, Butterfly and Greenwell the worst affected. Not only are they living with burst sewers, they go for two to three days without running water.

Twenty-one-year-old Eric Silimbani says it is hard to live without water. “I go to school every day and I need to take a bath before I go. Not only that, I need to cook and do all sorts of things. Water is life but people don’t see this,” said Silimbani, adding that when the water comes back at around 21h00, it is usually brown and sandy.

Another resident of Cowboy said: “As a mother, living without water nearby is impossible. I cannot use this brown water for my baby. Maybe for me but not for my baby. We are in serious trouble and need serious help from the town council,” she said.

“The availability of consistent water at Katima depends on the distance. Places near NamWater usually get their water easily. Problems like that usually happen because pipes break down. We have old infrastructure, as I said earlier on,” Muyoba said.