Stefanus Nashama
The Khomas Regional Governor, Laura Mcleod-Katjirua, said the Khomas Regional Council has set aside N$ 1.6 million for pit latrines, for distribution to rural communities which are not near running water.
In her State of Region address last week, Mcleod-Katjirua said that for the 2023/24 financial year, the regional council will implement a hybrid model of environmentally friendly dry pit latrines for those not close to water and flushing toilets for the communities close to water.
Although the Governor did not specify the number of pit latrines and flushing toilets to be constructed in the rural communities, she said the process will be run through the council’s basic rural sanitation program. She also did not indicate which rural communities in the region will be provided with these hygienic services.
Windhoek, as part of the Khomas Region, is the only town in the country with more informal settlements without flushing toilets, and residents have to go into river beds to relieve themselves. This is due to the number of residents and shacks that keep increasing each year.
At the same event, Mcleod-Katjirua lashed out at the Windhoek Municipality for reportedly slowing down the housing delivery of the National Housing Enterprise (NHE).
She said 18 plans for houses were submitted by NHE but these plans were delayed by the Municipality.
“Bulk services and town planning by the City of Windhoek is hampering the speedy construction of houses under this program. The 18 house plans are part of an informal settlement upgrade plan to construct houses in collaboration with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, the NHE, and the Windhoek municipality,” she said.
The Governor also presented in her State of the Region address that the Regional Council has achieved about 70 percent performance of land delivery within the region. However, she did not indicate the number of serviced plots in the region.
She only specified the Regional Council has provided some affordable houses through the schemes of mass housing, Windhoek housing, and building together.
She further alluded that the Regional Council has sold land worth N$324 million, and the Windhoek Municipality was allocated with erven at a value of N$80 million.
The Governor said the council has supplied 788 demarcated households at informal settlements with electricity.
