• by Rebecca Munetsi (windhoek)
• Friday, March 11, 2011
• Inter Press Service

For Namibia's capital city, the goal of sustainable water and sanitation is a major challenge for the 21st century.

Windhoek had just 140,000 inhabitants at independence in 1990. In 20 years, the population has more than doubled to 300,000 people, according to the city government, with between 20 and 30 percent living in informal settlements.

These unplanned areas have grown at a rate of 9.4 percent each year, making the provision of water and sanitation a serious challenge.

Geraldine van Rooi, Head of the Sustainable Development Section of the city's planning department, says the City has come up with a multi-pronged response.

There is policy to regulate orderly, environmental urban development, and a statutory document that governs land use rights, as well as a strategy for informal settlement upgrading and management.

The Development and Upgrading Strategy, drawn up in 1999, has led to construction of ablution services and the installation of prepaid water taps in Windhoek’s informal settlements. Four major upgrading projects have been completed at Havana Extension 1 and Havana Proper, at Ongulumbashe, and Okahandja Park.

Reviews from residents are mixed.

'It has improved,' says Paulus Siwombe, a resident of the Babylon Informal settlement. 'I am happy at least I can collect water using my card, keep it in my 25 litre container and go for even a week. And our toilet is nice because we keep it clean,' the 29-year-old says. 'You see, we used to go in the bush for the toilet and we used to have old taps for water, but now things are changed for the better. You just recharge your card, fetch your water or if you don’t have the card you can borrow and pay the owner something.'

Elizabeth Upapa, also from Babylon is not satisfied. 'They built us toilets, but they are dirty and not enough. One toilet for more than 100 people? It is not fair. We also need our privacy.'

The cost of water from the public taps using a prepaid card is also an issue for her. 'Yes, we have the water, but I am not happy because it is expensive,' said Elizabeth Upapa, also a resident of Bablyon. 'The recharge card starts at 10 Namibian dollars ($1.50 U.S.) upwards: where do we get the money? They should give us the water for free.'

Siwombe laughs at this. 'No, nowadays you cannot go without water here in the lokas (the location). It is cheap and we can also use our spoons and other keys if the money finishes...'

He says the toilets in his section of Babylon are clean because he and other youth take turns to clean it in the morning and evening.

Zulu Shitongeni, councillor for the Tobia Hainyeko constituency which includes Babylon and other impoverished parts of the city, says the government is steadily upgrading informal settlements. So far they have spent 1.3 million dollars for improved water and sanitation.

'We are happy. The process is ongoing. Last year we managed to put in place an additional 187 toilets to the existing 225 for a cost of around six million [Namibian dollars - 870,000 U.S.] while we spent roughly three million dollars for 177 additional toilets.'

Several communities have adopted their own local water management systems to support government's efforts, according to the Shack Dweller Federation. Under this system, people form groups to take collective responsibility for a local water bill, and these groups take charge of monitoring each others' usage of water and payment for the system.

Confronting the challenge of servicing all its residents' needs, accounting for both population growth and the water-poor climate, the city of Windhoek has called for central and regional governments as well as the private sector to get involved in helping the municipality to provide proper water and sanitation services.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

Where next?

Advertisement