Drimiopsis schools without water, power

PEOPLE at Drimiopsis in the Omaheke Region have been without electricity since NamPower last Tuesday cut off the village’s power supply due to non-payment.

Because the village’s water pumps need electricity, it is now also without water, says Katjinaani Ewald, a teacher at Drimiopsis Primary School. He said although teachers and workers at the Mokganedi Tlhabanello High School use pre-paid electricity, they cannot reconnect their power as there is only one electricity meter for the whole village.”And that is the point that owes NamPower money,” NamPower’s Marketing Manager John Kaimu told The Namibian yesterday.He declined to say how much the Omaheke Regional Council, which is responsible for Drimiopsis, owes the power utility.”We do not provide power to individuals but a whole area,” said Kaimu.He said the Omaheke Regional Council had so far made no arrangement with NamPower to get the electricity reconnected.The situation at the village’s schools is dire.Ewald said the power cut was forcing pupils to relieve themselves in the bush because there was no water to flush the toilets.”The two schools are now forced to use gas and wood for cooking,” Ewald added.He said the two schools and other people were sharing water from a 10 000-litre tank that had been brought in, but it would not last long.The Drimiopsis Primary School has 489 pupils while Mokganedi Tlhabanello High School has 590.Ewald, who is the Nantu branch chairperson at Drimiopsis, said teachers and other school workers from the two schools would protest at the Omaheke Regional Council today to register their disappointment.Efforts to get comment from the Chief Regional Officer of the Omaheke Regional Council, Balbina Pienaar, proved futile yesterday as she was in a meeting.He said although teachers and workers at the Mokganedi Tlhabanello High School use pre-paid electricity, they cannot reconnect their power as there is only one electricity meter for the whole village.”And that is the point that owes NamPower money,” NamPower’s Marketing Manager John Kaimu told The Namibian yesterday.He declined to say how much the Omaheke Regional Council, which is responsible for Drimiopsis, owes the power utility.”We do not provide power to individuals but a whole area,” said Kaimu.He said the Omaheke Regional Council had so far made no arrangement with NamPower to get the electricity reconnected.The situation at the village’s schools is dire.Ewald said the power cut was forcing pupils to relieve themselves in the bush because there was no water to flush the toilets.”The two schools are now forced to use gas and wood for cooking,” Ewald added. He said the two schools and other people were sharing water from a 10 000-litre tank that had been brought in, but it would not last long.The Drimiopsis Primary School has 489 pupils while Mokganedi Tlhabanello High School has 590.Ewald, who is the Nantu branch chairperson at Drimiopsis, said teachers and other school workers from the two schools would protest at the Omaheke Regional Council today to register their disappointment.Efforts to get comment from the Chief Regional Officer of the Omaheke Regional Council, Balbina Pienaar, proved futile yesterday as she was in a meeting.