Khorixas council to fix !Goas area

FOR over two decades, the residents of !Goas area at Khorixas have lived with flooding sewage, as drains are blocked, but this will soon be history, according to the chief executive officer of the Khorixas Town Council, Andreas /Howoseb.

/Howoseb told that next week the Khorixas Town Council will invite tenders to fix the blocked sewerage system at !Goas area. The town council will use part of the N$4 million allocated for capital projects at Khorixas to address the !Goas issue (blockage of drains), /Howoseb said.

The town council does not know how much it would cost to fix the !Goas area sewerage system yet. They will only known after the engineers give them a quotation.

“We will give out a tender to clean the sewerage system so that we can have a long-lasting solution. The main problem is due to the things that are thrown into the sewerage system,” /Howoseb said. The sewer system is also old, as it was built during the apartheid era.

Clothes, animal hides, stones and nappies are some of the objects people throw into the drains, which lead to the blockage, according to /Howoseb.

Residents of !Goas were told to stop throwing objects into the drains.

A resident of !Goas, Charlotte So-oabes, said that they are tired of the smell, “For years now, we are facing this problem (blocked drains). Our stomachs get full from the smell.

We cannot enjoy a meal due to the smell and faeces from the drains. Our stomachs are getting full like when you eat peas. Can you not get the smell?” So-oabes, who lives with her elderly parents who are over 70 years of age, said.

Another resident of !Goas, Aron Geiriseb, said: “The council does not give us attention.The only time they attend to us is when the sewage water is flooding heavily. How can a person eat among faeces lying next to your house. The flies are all over your food?”

Geiriseb added that he does not know what the town council does. “They (town council) always have excuses when we raise the complaint. We hope they will do something this time, as the CEO (/Howoseb) was speaking on the radio, saying they will find a solution to our problem.”

/Howoseb was yesterday interviewed by Kaisames Radio (formerly Damara/Nama radio) about the challenges the residents of !Goas face, and what plans the town council has for them and the whole of Khorixas.

Children also play nearby the flowing sewage.