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Local News|
Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - Web posted at 9:47:43 GMT Ohangwena residents vent their road rage OSWALD SHIVUTE at OSHAKATIRESIDENTS of the Ohangwena Region, mostly from the Okongo Constituency, last week took to the streets to demand the tarring of the main gravel road between Elundu and Okongo. |
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The villagers said the road had become unusable as it had been damaged by heavy trucks. Heavy trucks from Angola and Zambia use the road to link up with Oshikango where they collect goods. Okongo residents also took issue with politicians who had visited the constituency since 1991 and had promised that the road would be tarred, but, up until now, nothing had happened. The demonstrators, who handed over a petition to Ohangwena Regional Officer Daniel Kashikola at Eenhana, said the Elundu-Okongo road was so bad that the number of accidents along the road had increased dramatically. They also said patients referred by the Okongo District Hospital to Onandjokwe or Oshakati Hospitals were dying on the way because of the bumpy road. The petition said between 1998 and September 2003, 132 vehicles had been involved in accidents on the road, with 179 people injured and 29 dead. The petition said 2001 had been the worst, with 63 road accident injuries and nine deaths on the road recorded. "The road is completely destroyed by heavy trucks, especially from Angola and those of local business people," the petition states. The villagers also said development of the Okongo Constituency was being hampered by the bad condition of the road Community members said they were requesting Government, through the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, to respond to their demand before November 30. |
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