‘Poor planning’ blamed for Rundu's sewerage woes

Kavango East governor Bonifatius Wakudumo has blamed Rundu's persistent water and sewerage problems on poor town planning, highlighting the urgent need for infrastructural improvements.

"The challenges we are facing today are the consequences of inadequate planning," he said during a recent meeting with urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni.

Wakudumo highlighted that Rundu’s rapid, unregulated growth overwhelmed the town’s outdated infrastructure, which was never designed to accommodate its current population. "If we don’t plan the town properly, this is what happens. It’s not the fault of the current councillors, but rather those who were in office before. Proper planning should have been done years ago. Now, we are forced to deal with one issue at a time rather than addressing the root cause,” he said.

"No one in Rundu knows how many people are arriving each month or where they are coming from. The town is just growing and growing, while the infrastructure remains the same. What we have in place was built long ago and cannot handle this pace of expansion.”



Prime example

Wakudumo cited the recent closure of Ndama Junior Primary School due to a water shortage as a prime example of the crisis.

The school, which serves over 1 300 learners and has 37 staff members, was forced to suspend classes for two weeks after Kavango East education director Christine Shilima deemed the water shortage a health hazard. Classes resumed last week, according to chief education officer Asser Kandere, but the underlying issues remain unresolved.

"A septic tank meant for a single household cannot support a school with more than 2 000 learners. The ministry of education has larger, standard septic tanks, but they aren’t being installed here. If there is no proper plan, the central government can provide the plans they used for other facilities like regional council offices or police stations,” Wakudumo said.

"A larger tank would need to be emptied maybe once a week, while the current small tank fills up in less than a day. This is an issue that needs urgent attention from the technocrats in the line ministries. The constant need for emptying [the tank] disrupts the school's administration and creates unnecessary delays in addressing other concerns.”



Serious predicament

The governor further urged the regional council to hire a contractor to empty the tanks regularly, rather than waiting for schools to request it.

“When someone responsible for procurement is away, like at a workshop in New York, schools are left in a serious predicament. We cannot operate like this. The procurement process is slow, and schools end up waiting too long. We are dealing with the lives of learners and teachers, and this system is failing them,” Wakudumo said.

According to the education directorate in the region, the initial tender for emptying septic tanks at schools was halted due to a dispute, forcing it to rely on private service providers.

The Office of the Attorney-General advised that, in the absence of an active tender, the directorate must submit requests to the procurement management unit, it noted. This process requires schools to first send requests for services, after which the necessary documentation is prepared - a lengthy process that often leaves schools in limbo.



Permanent solution

The Kavango East Regional Council chairperson Damian Maghambayi confirmed that a meeting was held on 3 October to discuss the issues at Ndama Junior Primary School.

"We didn’t want to point fingers. We asked the education ministry and the Rundu Town Council to explain the problem, and we documented everything comprehensively. The matter has since been forwarded to the governor’s office, and some aspects were referred to the ministry of agriculture, water and forestry. However, we were advised that only the ministry of urban and rural development can resolve it," he noted.

Maghambayi stressed that while the tender dispute is ongoing, it should not delay critical services. "The tender dispute only affects one specific contract. It does not prevent us from advertising new tenders or continuing to provide essential services.”

Uutoni commended the education directorate and the town council for their prompt efforts to reopen Ndama Junior Primary School.

"I’m pleased the school has reopened, but we must consider whether this is a permanent solution. As the school population grows, we might face the same challenge again," he said.



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