NEWS - NAMIBIA
| 2013-07-26Omuthiya battles businessman over illegal connection
Hileni Nembwaya
THE Omuthiya Town Council is at loggerheads with a businessman over illegal water connection to his farm.
The water connection to the farm of Matias Amupolo from Onakasino village was discovered on 24 May.
Amupolo applied for water connection to his farm which is within the Omuthiya town land on 27 January 2011. His application was approved and a water connection to his farm was done by the council’s staff members. He was allocated one water meter to his farm.
The Omuthiya Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Mbango, said in a statement that while Amupolo had been allocated only one water meter to his farm, he had allegedly added another water connection to his pipeline illegally.
“The team discovered that there was an illegal water pipeline connected to the pipeline supplying water to Amupolo’s farm with unaccounted water because it did not have a meter,” Mbango said.
On 24 May the council sent a technical team to investigate the matter, after receiving a tip off from members of the community who discovered that there was no stop valve for a particular pipeline when they were busy digging an underground water pipeline in Onakasino village.
Amupolo dismissed the allegations by the council, saying he was never told anything with regard to the water being disconnected at his farm by the council.
“I only found out about the disconnection when one of my cattle herders told me that the water had been disconnected,” said Amupolo.
He said he had a meeting with the council on 4 July but they had not come back to him about a follow up.
Amupolo said his 27 cattle are still at his farm without water to drink.
Mbango said the council had held a meeting with Amupolo, but he denied any knowledge of the pipeline bypass and did not shed more light on the matter.
The water connection to the farm of Matias Amupolo from Onakasino village was discovered on 24 May.
Amupolo applied for water connection to his farm which is within the Omuthiya town land on 27 January 2011. His application was approved and a water connection to his farm was done by the council’s staff members. He was allocated one water meter to his farm.
The Omuthiya Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Mbango, said in a statement that while Amupolo had been allocated only one water meter to his farm, he had allegedly added another water connection to his pipeline illegally.
“The team discovered that there was an illegal water pipeline connected to the pipeline supplying water to Amupolo’s farm with unaccounted water because it did not have a meter,” Mbango said.
On 24 May the council sent a technical team to investigate the matter, after receiving a tip off from members of the community who discovered that there was no stop valve for a particular pipeline when they were busy digging an underground water pipeline in Onakasino village.
Amupolo dismissed the allegations by the council, saying he was never told anything with regard to the water being disconnected at his farm by the council.
“I only found out about the disconnection when one of my cattle herders told me that the water had been disconnected,” said Amupolo.
He said he had a meeting with the council on 4 July but they had not come back to him about a follow up.
Amupolo said his 27 cattle are still at his farm without water to drink.
Mbango said the council had held a meeting with Amupolo, but he denied any knowledge of the pipeline bypass and did not shed more light on the matter.
