More toilets, showers for Zambezi school

PUPILS at Sikosinyana Senior Secondary School in the Zambezi region’s Sibbinda constituency will no longer have to resort to the bushes when nature calls.

This is because the government has built a new ablution block, consisting of eight toilets, six ba-sins and four showers worth about N$500 000.

Sikosinyana Senior Secondary School is the first of 32 schools in the region to benefit from the govern-ment’s Covid-19 school infrastruc-ture renovation and construction programme, at a cost of about N$14,9 million in the Zambezi region.

Regina Ndopu-Lubinda, chief regional officer of the Zambezi region, during the handing over ceremony last Friday said the project was initiated by the government to address the dire need for school in-frastructure in the country to be able to adhere to Covid-19 regulations.

“Through this programme the government aims to ensure there are adequate ablution facilities and water at schools,” she said.

Ndopu-Lubinda said 17 more ab-lution facilities will soon be handed over as contractors have already completed 50% the work.

“We are hopeful that all contrac-tors will meet the same deadline,” she said.

Ndopu-Lubinda said about six additional ablution blocks are be-ing built by the Namibia Training Authority (NTA), and 50% of this project has been completed at four schools thus far, while work at the remaining two schools are 30% completed.

The construction of six hostel blocks at various schools in the re-gion is also underway and expected to be completed soon.

Sibbinda constituency councillor Ignatius Chunga, who spoke at the same event, urged pupils and teach-ers to guard ablution facilities against vandalism, as a lack of access to proper sanitation causes huge chal-lenges in the learning environment.

“The facility should at all times be kept clean. All Covid-19 health protocols should be observed at all times. I would like to call on teach-ers to keep educating pupils and the community at large on Covid-19 regulations,” he said.