Residents cry foul over dumpsite

The refuse pile at Kehemu in Rundu is growing bigger by the day, partially blocking roads meant for cars and is now encroaching people’s yards.
Apart from the ugly sight, the stench emanating from the discarded bottles, cans, papers and rotten food is unbearable as passers-by also relieve themselves here when nature calls.
Some of those affected have been forced to build fences to block the refuse from entering their yards.
This site in the Kehemu informal settlement of Rundu has been there for almost two years and it seems the town authority is not doing anything about it.
If left unattended for much longer, it could lead to the outbreak of diseases.
People living around the refuse pile claim those from other residential areas and construction companies dump waste there, mostly after sunset.
Resident Frans Twahipira told Nampa the problem has become alarming, and appealed to the Rundu Town Council to intervene by, for starters, providing them with proper refuse collection bins.
“I am sure that if the area is provided with a proper refuse collection point, people will no longer dump refuse anywhere and anyhow,” he said.
Twahipira said residents have laid complaints with the town council, adding that he personally took up the issue with Rundu Town Council CEO Romanus Haironga.
In response, Haironga said his office is not aware of the dumping but informed this reporter that he will send the town council’s environmental health department to find out exactly where the area is.
“By law, no person is allowed to dump refuse anywhere around town, but you will find that there are still people who do not listen and continue to litter,” he said.
Haironga noted that the town council cleans parts of Kehemu because the roads in some areas are too sandy, making it hard for trucks to pass and clean other areas.
“That is why with the availability of funds, we are planning to open up roads in this area and gravel them in order for services to come in terms of refuse removal,” the CEO said.
He noted that Kehemu is one of the residential areas that did not have erven in the past, and council is now busy allocating erven in order for refuse removal services to be charged.
“This service we render should also help us recover cost. When we collect (refuse), you are expected to pay refuse removal costs,” he explained.
Last August, Nampa also exposed a growing refuse dump in the Safari residential area of the town.
A contractor was only appointed this month to clean up the mess in Safari.
“Remember, we had issues of non-consistency in refuse removal in Safari area so the (council) tender board decided to terminate the contract with Afrikana Investment CC. Now as from 1 May, we have a new company called Ngunga Investment CC,” said Fransiska Thikerete, the head of community services at the Rundu Town Council.
She told Nampa the new company started this month to work in Safari up to the end of the tender period, which is December
2017.
They have not received any complaints yet from the community of Safari regarding the non-collection of refuse, said Thikerete.
NAMPA