City to pay Dolam victims

THE Windhoek City Council says it will compensate families of Windhoek’s Dolam area for damage suffered as a result of recent heavy rains.

However, the City says its disaster-management response plan, social responsibility and humanitarian considerations should “not be construed as an acknowledgement of debt or liability relating to the cause of the floods or the flooding”. Compensation through its public liability insurance will be determined based on market value, Mayor Matheus Shikongo has said.The offer to compensate Dolam residents has, however, not been extended to residents of Acacia – where the Arebbusch River stormed through more than 30 properties – or elsewhere in Windhoek where flooding caused damage to houses.Shikongo said at a City Council meeting on Wednesday night that an assessor’s report had been finalised and submitted to the City on the extent of the damage to the Dolam properties, but an independent consultant appointed to investigate the cause of the flood still has to submit a report.Shikongo said the Dolam flood was deemed a “special emergency” and not a major disaster.”Council has noted with concern the unfortunate negative public and political attention that this matter has drawn,” said Shikongo.He said the City was cognisant of the trauma and distress affected residents had suffered but that emergency relief could only be sustained within the limits of the available resources.Last week, the City offered to clean and disinfect the Dolam houses, saying it was in the residents’ best interest to return to their homes.Fourteen families are still living in the Sam Nujoma football stadium, more than three weeks since they were forced out by the flooding.Shikongo said the stadium’s mechanical ventilation system could pose a health hazard to the people living at the stadium if they continued living there for much longer.The City has also committed itself to investigating various options to find a permanent solution to the problem of flooding in Dolam.Residents have complained that the construction of the Sam Nujoma Stadium has exacerbated flooding in the area.Shikongo only made fleeting mention of the structural damage to property at Acacia and extended thanks to the City’s Emergency Services who helped with the placement of sandbags, but made no further mention of any action the City plans to take in this area to prevent a repeat.Despite the damage the floods caused, Shikongo reminded residents that the rains were a welcome source of water for the City.He said the City was thankful that the damage to property did not also mean loss of life.Compensation through its public liability insurance will be determined based on market value, Mayor Matheus Shikongo has said.The offer to compensate Dolam residents has, however, not been extended to residents of Acacia – where the Arebbusch River stormed through more than 30 properties – or elsewhere in Windhoek where flooding caused damage to houses.Shikongo said at a City Council meeting on Wednesday night that an assessor’s report had been finalised and submitted to the City on the extent of the damage to the Dolam properties, but an independent consultant appointed to investigate the cause of the flood still has to submit a report.Shikongo said the Dolam flood was deemed a “special emergency” and not a major disaster.”Council has noted with concern the unfortunate negative public and political attention that this matter has drawn,” said Shikongo.He said the City was cognisant of the trauma and distress affected residents had suffered but that emergency relief could only be sustained within the limits of the available resources.Last week, the City offered to clean and disinfect the Dolam houses, saying it was in the residents’ best interest to return to their homes.Fourteen families are still living in the Sam Nujoma football stadium, more than three weeks since they were forced out by the flooding.Shikongo said the stadium’s mechanical ventilation system could pose a health hazard to the people living at the stadium if they continued living there for much longer. The City has also committed itself to investigating various options to find a permanent solution to the problem of flooding in Dolam.Residents have complained that the construction of the Sam Nujoma Stadium has exacerbated flooding in the area.Shikongo only made fleeting mention of the structural damage to property at Acacia and extended thanks to the City’s Emergency Services who helped with the placement of sandbags, but made no further mention of any action the City plans to take in this area to prevent a repeat.Despite the damage the floods caused, Shikongo reminded residents that the rains were a welcome source of water for the City.He said the City was thankful that the damage to property did not also mean loss of life.