Mariental nervously eyes the sky

A CRUCIAL report on the future of Mariental is to be released next week, as the annual rainy season draws near and residents and businesses become jittery about the prospects of facing yet another devastating flood.

The Mariental Flood Task Force (MFTF) was supposed to release its report in July this year but the deadline was extended to October 3 due to the workload. Mariental’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Nghiwilepo, told The Namibian yesterday that they were all unsure about the town’s future, as they were waiting for the report and recommendations by the MFTF.The Municipality, after consulting the MFTF and the Ministry of Local Government, has slapped a moratorium on further development west of the railway line as an interim measure.”It could be lifted depending on what measures are recommended for action.We are of the opinion that it was a good decision because we could not allow people to further develop in an area that has become flood prone, especially if we did not know what the Government-appointed task force was going to recommend,” Nghiwilepo said.The Namibian has it on good authority that the MFTF was looking at relocating the town – something that could backfire on the Municipality if it were to allow residents to develop properties, just to be told afterwards to relocate.The Municipality already faces a N$450 million lawsuit for damages from a group of 25 people who accuse the Town Council of negligence and failure to prevent the floods that displaced hundreds of families in March 2006.As a result of the floods and subsequent insurance claims of around N$100 million, the Namibia Insurers’ Association (NIA) stopped insuring the town’s flood-affected areas from October 1 last year.Nghiwilepo said the NIA was willing to reconsider its decision if the riverbed was cleaned or something else done to protect the town from future floods.So far, however, nothing has been done to avert future floods.According to a member of the Community Flood Committee of Mariental, no real effort had been made to alleviate the risk of flooding since February 2006 and the inability to make decisions or take corrective action was a deterrent to potential investors.”Urgent action is needed, as forecasts predict an above-average rainy season.There is an imminent risk of loss of property and human life,” the committee member told The Namibian.Nghiwilepo agreed that nothing had been done to clear the riverbed since the 2006 flood.”The Municipality and Hardap Regional Council took this concern to the highest offices and the advice that we got was to be patient and allow the consultants to finish their work without putting pressure on them to hasten the process,” he said.He said the Council was aware of the predictions of a good rainy season.”With the current status of the river, we are concerned that should there be a flood of the same magnitude as 2006, the situation could be worse in terms of damage and the collapse of the town’s economy, as some businesses are still recovering from the 2006 flood.Should there be a flood, most of the businesses will not be able to resume because they do not have insurance and will not get financing from banks,” Nghiwilepo said.He said the Mariental Municipality was confident that once the MFTF report was presented to Cabinet, Government would do something to protect Mariental from future floods.Hundreds of families at Mariental were displaced last year as floodwaters swept through the town after the sluice gates of the Hardap Dam were opened and the Fish River burst its banks.The flood also forced some businesses to cease trading.The first flooding of the southern town occurred in 1972 when the Hardap Dam sluices were opened fully, 10 years after the dam was built in 1962.Flooding occurred again in 1974, 1976 and 2000.Mariental’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Nghiwilepo, told The Namibian yesterday that they were all unsure about the town’s future, as they were waiting for the report and recommendations by the MFTF.The Municipality, after consulting the MFTF and the Ministry of Local Government, has slapped a moratorium on further development west of the railway line as an interim measure. “It could be lifted depending on what measures are recommended for action.We are of the opinion that it was a good decision because we could not allow people to further develop in an area that has become flood prone, especially if we did not know what the Government-appointed task force was going to recommend,” Nghiwilepo said.The Namibian has it on good authority that the MFTF was looking at relocating the town – something that could backfire on the Municipality if it were to allow residents to develop properties, just to be told afterwards to relocate.The Municipality already faces a N$450 million lawsuit for damages from a group of 25 people who accuse the Town Council of negligence and failure to prevent the floods that displaced hundreds of families in March 2006.As a result of the floods and subsequent insurance claims of around N$100 million, the Namibia Insurers’ Association (NIA) stopped insuring the town’s flood-affected areas from October 1 last year.Nghiwilepo said the NIA was willing to reconsider its decision if the riverbed was cleaned or something else done to protect the town from future floods.So far, however, nothing has been done to avert future floods.According to a member of the Community Flood Committee of Mariental, no real effort had been made to alleviate the risk of flooding since February 2006 and the inability to make decisions or take corrective action was a deterrent to potential investors.”Urgent action is needed, as forecasts predict an above-average rainy season.There is an imminent risk of loss of property and human life,” the committee member told The Namibian.Nghiwilepo agreed that nothing had been done to clear the riverbed since the 2006 flood.”The Municipality and Hardap Regional Council took this concern to the highest offices and the advice that we got was to be patient and allow the consultants to finish their work without putting pressure on them to hasten the process,” he said.He said the Council was aware of the predictions of a good rainy season.”With the current status of the river, we are concerned that should there be a flood of the same magnitude as 2006, the situation could be worse in terms of damage and the collapse of the town’s economy, as some businesses are still recovering from the 2006 flood.Should there be a flood, most of the businesses will not be able to resume because they do not have insurance and will not get financing from banks,” Nghiwilepo said.He said the Mariental Municipality was confident that once the MFTF report was presented to Cabinet, Government would do something to protect Mariental from future floods.Hundreds of families at Mariental were displaced last year as floodwaters swept through the town after the sluice gates of the Hardap Dam were opened and the Fish River burst its banks.The flood also forced some businesses to cease trading.The first flooding of the southern town occurred in 1972 when the Hardap Dam sluices were opened fully, 10 years after the dam was built in 1962.Flooding occurred again in 1974, 1976 and 2000.