Storm water relief for Ehenye
Repeated flooding with heavy rainfall in Ehenya and Ekuku in Oshakati will finally be addressed with storm water channels.
Following the flooding of townships in Oshakati over the years, the town council has embarked on the construction of storm water channels in order to address the issue.
For the past two years during the rainy season areas such as Ehenye and Ekuku were always affected negatively downpours, with the flooding of houses limiting movement.
The owners of the affected houses spent thousands of dollars buying sand, which is a costly exercise that not everyone can afford.
This will however not be the case anymore at Ehenye, as the town council recently appointed Omatando Construction to construct storm water channels in the area.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of April.
When Namibian Sun visited the site, the contractor was busy installing the storm water channels, something the residents of Ehenye have welcomed.
Some residents raised concerns about not being able to receive visiting motorists when construction is in full swing.
However, they applauded council's efforts to address the issue of their yards being filled with storm water during the rainy season.
According to Oshakati Town Council CEO, Werner Iita, the project should have commenced last year but because of the festive season and the government procurement process, it was delayed.
Iita said the storm water channels have been budgeted for and will continue to be budgeted for in the coming financial years for other townships. “We have budget for storm water channels and we are still going to budget for the next financial year. We don't want our houses to be flooded anymore, especially the new townships. That is the wish of the council,” Iita said.
Last year it was reported that blocked culverts and the construction of houses on uneven ground was the cause of the flooding of houses built under the mass housing scheme at Ehenye.
Many of the 209 houses at Ehenye were built on elevated ground while the yards still need to be filled with sand to bring them to the same level.
As a result when it rained the pools of water yards made mobility almost impossible. Some residents had to walk through deep water to access their front door.
KENYA KAMBOWE
For the past two years during the rainy season areas such as Ehenye and Ekuku were always affected negatively downpours, with the flooding of houses limiting movement.
The owners of the affected houses spent thousands of dollars buying sand, which is a costly exercise that not everyone can afford.
This will however not be the case anymore at Ehenye, as the town council recently appointed Omatando Construction to construct storm water channels in the area.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of April.
When Namibian Sun visited the site, the contractor was busy installing the storm water channels, something the residents of Ehenye have welcomed.
Some residents raised concerns about not being able to receive visiting motorists when construction is in full swing.
However, they applauded council's efforts to address the issue of their yards being filled with storm water during the rainy season.
According to Oshakati Town Council CEO, Werner Iita, the project should have commenced last year but because of the festive season and the government procurement process, it was delayed.
Iita said the storm water channels have been budgeted for and will continue to be budgeted for in the coming financial years for other townships. “We have budget for storm water channels and we are still going to budget for the next financial year. We don't want our houses to be flooded anymore, especially the new townships. That is the wish of the council,” Iita said.
Last year it was reported that blocked culverts and the construction of houses on uneven ground was the cause of the flooding of houses built under the mass housing scheme at Ehenye.
Many of the 209 houses at Ehenye were built on elevated ground while the yards still need to be filled with sand to bring them to the same level.
As a result when it rained the pools of water yards made mobility almost impossible. Some residents had to walk through deep water to access their front door.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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