Martin Endjala
The Luderitz Town Council plans to construct an additional water reservoir to address the water demands of the town’s inhabitants.
The town’s mayor, Phillipus Balhao, said this on Monday during a telephone interview with the Windhoek Observer.
Balhao said that the current water reservoir lacks the capacity to deal with the demand load, hence the need to construct an additional reservoir.
This comes after the council received N$91 million from the central government via the national planning committee to upgrade and develop the town’s infrastructure.
“Basically, with that fund, our ambition is to prepare as much of the town’s infrastructure as we can, as it is futile to develop many houses now if our infrastructure is already struggling to accommodate what we have,” he said.
He said the existing one can not cope with the loads anymore, adding that when the reservoir reaches a certain level, the areas that are on a higher elevation do not receive water because of the low water pressure.
“We are going to be upgrading our pump stations and possibly if approved, a few vehicles just to capacitate our team because we really struggle with transport at this moment, and it is something we need urgently,” he stated.
Balhao, however, raised concerns about the lack of community engagement with the council, stating that residents need to start taking this meeting seriously.
He said this following a meeting on Sunday that aimed to update the community on its capital budgets and projects and collect public input.
“The community must understand that these projects and infrastructure are not for the council but for the town, and we are doing this to inform the public about our plans so that at the end of the day, they do not come back and say we did not communicate,” said Balhao.
The mayor urged the community to always use meetings of this nature to voice their input or raise their concerns.
He said that as part of upgrading its infrastructure, they have already sent out bids to upgrade and maintain its existing water waste plant.
This includes upgrading the 33-kilovolt overhead electricity lines in the industrial area, expanding townlands, and conducting a study on water waste plants.
“A lot of road maintenance will also be taking centre stage; we will also service 100 residential plots for now, amongst other things.
Balhao further explained that the council also received a €5 million (Euro) grant from the German government to be implemented by GIZ.
The grant will focus on capacity building in terms of staff members and upgrading equipment and systems.
The money will also be used to fund the just transition, which will deal with assessments of the social economy.
“This ensures a just transition as we transform Luderitz into a city. The third pillar is for any consultation we need in terms of environmental expertise, the mental impact of the town, expansion, and urban planning. It will also look at surveys,” explained Balhao.
Last year, a cabinet decision ordered NamWater to immediately repair and maintain the current water distribution systems in order to reduce inefficiencies.
This directive is part of a strategy to mitigate the risk of water shortages. The Cabinet’s decision announced a series of urgent measures to secure the water supply for the Central Areas of Namibia (CAN) before July 2025, in a desperate move to address the impending crisis.
