The Katima Mulilo Town Council has begun repairing potholes and damaged roads after heavy rains, backed by a N$4 million budget.
Motorists earlier this year expressed their dissatisfaction with the dilapidated state of the roads, saying their cars were being damaged and their mobility was limited.
Katima Mulilo mayor Kabende Kabende yesterday told The Namibian that road repairs could not start sooner, mostly because of the rain and the challenges the council faced in sourcing bitumen from outside the region.
Kabende said on top of the N$4 million for road maintenance for the current financial year by the Road Fund Administration (RFA), an additional N$9 million has been allocated for road works.
“Delays in both availability and delivery of materials have unfortunately impacted the pace of our road maintenance works. However, we are now busy with road maintenance that prioritises roads and streets carrying heavy traffic, and the rest will follow.
“We have also started with blading of gravel roads across town. However, progress has been slower than anticipated due to machinery-related challenges,” he said.
Kabende said progress on the N$13 million upgrade of Richard Muhinda and Soweto streets to bitumen standard had been affected by utility service challenges and relocation requirements.
“However, the contractor has since accelerated implementation, and the revised anticipated completion date is now October, compared to the initial target of August,” he said.
According to the mayor, the council has also budgeted over N$60 million for capital projects during this financial year, including land servicing, stormwater systems, and municipal services infrastructure.
He said these are among other strategic projects intended to improve service delivery and support the growth of the town.
“We remain committed to improving infrastructure and service delivery despite the operational and logistical challenges we sometimes face.
Our focus this financial year is not only on road maintenance and upgrades but also on broader capital investment that will strengthen municipal services, improve resilience to flooding, and support orderly urban growth,” he said.
Zambezi regional governor Dorothy Kabula-Simushi, during her state of the region address on Monday, said the town council has entered into various multimillion-dollar partnerships to address the housing backlog, improve sewer challenges, and formalise some locations.
She said the town council has provided the Namibia Housing Enterprise with land to construct 542 houses, while also rerouting the gravity sewer line at Extension 1 at a cost of N$1.6 million.
“The council is also busy with the construction of a stormwater reticulation system from Ngweze Primary School to Dr Hage Geingob Street at a cost of N$1.7 million.
Infrastructure development at Diary, Nova, and Macaravani West is at N$89 million. Rerouting of the gravity sewer line at Extension 7 will cost N$1.9 million. Construction of the treatment sewer plant is currently ongoing,” she said.
