Rundu residents threaten to overthrow mayor
Lack of water worsens hunger, poverty woes
Residents of the affected informal settlements say the last time their taps flowed with water was in September last year.
Frustrated residents of Ndama's Sun City and Long to Long settlements have issued an ultimatum to the Rundu Town Council to restore their water supply within seven working days or face a community uprising aimed at overthrowing the current mayor, Gabriel Kanyanga.
The water crisis, which has been ongoing since September 2023, has driven many residents to cut pipes in a desperate bid to access water. Residents are forced to travel long distances to fetch water, often facing dangerous situations, especially at night.
Speaking at a petition handover at the Rundu Town Council on Tuesday, the spokesperson of the concerned group, David Nekaro, said the communities last saw water flowing from taps in September 2023.
"Despite several attempts to engage the Rundu Town Council, our efforts have been in vain. The management has refused to meet with the committee responsible or even come to the communities to engage with the people. Instead, the council has opted to engage with select individuals for publicity purposes, sidelining the affected people and their representatives,” he said.
“As responsible inhabitants of our town, we are well informed about the history of our town's water crisis, but what is disheartening is the selective occurrence of this matter. As from 2021 till the beginning of 2023, our town has been faced with these challenges at times, but in random parts of the town, except since September 2023, when only informal settlements became the subject of this,” he noted.
Corruption allegations
According to Nekaro, the town council has been making the same excuses for the lack of water – broken pipes – but he dismissed these.
“We know very well that there is a classified determination taken by powerful people with politicians in the council to sacrifice the people at informal settlements and protect those in developing locations close to the central business district due to water scarcity in Rundu town. This is unjust, unfair and a clear political harassment of innocent people," he claimed.
He also claimed the council has charged people for water that they hadn’t used.
“Many people have been receiving notifications to settle unknown debts,” he said, accusing the technical workers of the council of being involved in corrupt exercises to illegally connect and disconnect pipes, “a matter that is already before the council management, though they have failed to address it."
Nekaro warned about the impact of a lack of safe water.
“By not providing us with water, it has multiplied our already great hardships of hunger and poverty. We are reduced to sub-humans as a result, and this has exposed us to several diseases and sanitary issues.
"We have people with small businesses who have been forced to close as a result. We believe that this matter is out of hand and pushing people into an irrepressible and desperate position,” he added.
Demands
The group is demanding the immediate restoration of water within seven working days and the cancellation of unverified debts. The group has also demanded an internal investigation at the municipal level into the matter.
Deputy Rundu mayoy, Johanna Kakondo, received the petition on behalf of the council. According to her, Ndama and Sun City are not the only areas without water.
She said it's not the municipality's "will that you have been without water for a long time. The problem is not only with the town council but also with the people who are making illegal connections with water, and thus we are doing all we can to come up with solutions for the water crisis.”
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The water crisis, which has been ongoing since September 2023, has driven many residents to cut pipes in a desperate bid to access water. Residents are forced to travel long distances to fetch water, often facing dangerous situations, especially at night.
Speaking at a petition handover at the Rundu Town Council on Tuesday, the spokesperson of the concerned group, David Nekaro, said the communities last saw water flowing from taps in September 2023.
"Despite several attempts to engage the Rundu Town Council, our efforts have been in vain. The management has refused to meet with the committee responsible or even come to the communities to engage with the people. Instead, the council has opted to engage with select individuals for publicity purposes, sidelining the affected people and their representatives,” he said.
“As responsible inhabitants of our town, we are well informed about the history of our town's water crisis, but what is disheartening is the selective occurrence of this matter. As from 2021 till the beginning of 2023, our town has been faced with these challenges at times, but in random parts of the town, except since September 2023, when only informal settlements became the subject of this,” he noted.
Corruption allegations
According to Nekaro, the town council has been making the same excuses for the lack of water – broken pipes – but he dismissed these.
“We know very well that there is a classified determination taken by powerful people with politicians in the council to sacrifice the people at informal settlements and protect those in developing locations close to the central business district due to water scarcity in Rundu town. This is unjust, unfair and a clear political harassment of innocent people," he claimed.
He also claimed the council has charged people for water that they hadn’t used.
“Many people have been receiving notifications to settle unknown debts,” he said, accusing the technical workers of the council of being involved in corrupt exercises to illegally connect and disconnect pipes, “a matter that is already before the council management, though they have failed to address it."
Nekaro warned about the impact of a lack of safe water.
“By not providing us with water, it has multiplied our already great hardships of hunger and poverty. We are reduced to sub-humans as a result, and this has exposed us to several diseases and sanitary issues.
"We have people with small businesses who have been forced to close as a result. We believe that this matter is out of hand and pushing people into an irrepressible and desperate position,” he added.
Demands
The group is demanding the immediate restoration of water within seven working days and the cancellation of unverified debts. The group has also demanded an internal investigation at the municipal level into the matter.
Deputy Rundu mayoy, Johanna Kakondo, received the petition on behalf of the council. According to her, Ndama and Sun City are not the only areas without water.
She said it's not the municipality's "will that you have been without water for a long time. The problem is not only with the town council but also with the people who are making illegal connections with water, and thus we are doing all we can to come up with solutions for the water crisis.”
[email protected]
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