Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Residents of Grootfontein have expressed their frustration over the continued poor state of the town’s roads and inconsistent waste collection services.
Community members, particularly those residing in the Omulunga township, where the tarred road links to Sam Nujoma Road in town, have voiced their concerns about the numerous potholes that have plagued the area for months.
“The roads have been like this for a long time, and every time they say they will fix it, the repairs only last for a few months. After three months, the roads are bad again,” said local taxi driver Tjihorua Kazetjindire.
The acting chief executive officer of Grootfontein Municipality, Indileni Lugameni, acknowledged the complaints.
He provided an update on the municipality’s plans to address the issues.
“Regarding the roads, we have a project implementation plan which we are currently following. At the moment, the department dealing with road maintenance is fixing the streets with potholes in town. After they have filled the potholes, they will seal them with a slurry seal so that they can be in better condition for a longer period, at least two to three years. A purchase order has already been given out,” he said.
Lugameni stated that the municipality was currently on site. However, when this reporter visited the site, there was no one present.
Lugameni noted that Grootfontein receives significant rainfall, contributing to the road damage.
To address such infrastructure issues, the municipality receives approximately N$3.5 million from the Road Fund Administration (RFA) per year.
In addition to road concerns, residents are also dissatisfied with the municipality’s waste collection services.
“They don’t collect our household refuse weekly as they are supposed to. It’s frustrating and unhygienic. The streets look like there is no municipality to clean them,” said community member Ndapewashali Amutse.
According to Lugameni, a mechanical problem with the municipality’s front-end loader has caused a delay in the collection of only garden refuse.
“Our front-end loader broke down due to mechanical issues two weeks ago, and to fix it, it could take approximately four to six months. As a result, the council has taken a resolution to procure the services of private machines, and we will resume with normal garden refuse collection this week,” stated Lugameni.
The municipality will convene the public budget consultative meeting for the 2024-2025 fiscal year on Wednesday.
