THE Mariental Municipality says Government officials and NamWater are to blame for the misconception that the town is flood-prone, which led to the exclusion of areas downstream of the Hardap Dam and Fish River from insurance policies.
Mariental’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Nghiwilepo, said yesterday certain officials within the Ministry of Agriculture and NamWater “wanted to shift responsibility and blame” by misinforming the town’s residents and the rest of Namibia that the town area west of the railway line was a flood zone. They also claimed that “the Municipality unlawfully allowed development to continue there”, Nghiwilepo said.”These allegations are disparaging to the local authority, the residents, businesses and town as a whole,” he said.Members of the Namibia Insurance Association have sent out notices to clients countrywide that, from October 1, they will no longer insure areas below the Hardap Dam and Fish River.”The exclusion will be effective until such time as the riverbed is cleared of reeds, proper flood management of water and proof of a workable action plan, with completion dates, are in place,” one insurance company wrote to clients.Insurance companies suffered massive flood-associated losses of more than N$100 million in the Mariental area after heavy rains at the end of February.The flooding at Mariental has been a contentious issue for years.This year alone, there have been four separate floods in the area, costing the insurance industry in excess of three times more than previous claims.Debates have raged in the print media as to who was to blame for the flooding, but the issue remains unresolved.Government appointed a task force to investigate the issue but its findings will only be out by July next year – by which time the town will probably have been hit by another flood.Nghiwilepo said Mariental was built in 1912 but the part downstream of the Hardap Dam was never declared flood prone.Approval for town development and surveying is granted by the Namibia Planning Advisory Board and the Office of the Surveyor General.”Since the first flood of the late 1920s, no part of Mariental Municipality was declared a flood area or any restrictions on development imposed as a result of flooding.After the 1972 flood and again in 1990, flood lines were drawn up by Water Affairs and Bicon Namibia indicating the flood lines,” Nghiwilepo said.He said areas developed west of the railway line after 1990 were not below the flood lines.It remains unclear why the Mariental Flood Task Force is taking so long to reveal its findings.They also claimed that “the Municipality unlawfully allowed development to continue there”, Nghiwilepo said.”These allegations are disparaging to the local authority, the residents, businesses and town as a whole,” he said.Members of the Namibia Insurance Association have sent out notices to clients countrywide that, from October 1, they will no longer insure areas below the Hardap Dam and Fish River.”The exclusion will be effective until such time as the riverbed is cleared of reeds, proper flood management of water and proof of a workable action plan, with completion dates, are in place,” one insurance company wrote to clients.Insurance companies suffered massive flood-associated losses of more than N$100 million in the Mariental area after heavy rains at the end of February.The flooding at Mariental has been a contentious issue for years.This year alone, there have been four separate floods in the area, costing the insurance industry in excess of three times more than previous claims.Debates have raged in the print media as to who was to blame for the flooding, but the issue remains unresolved.Government appointed a task force to investigate the issue but its findings will only be out by July next year – by which time the town will probably have been hit by another flood.Nghiwilepo said Mariental was built in 1912 but the part downstream of the Hardap Dam was never declared flood prone.Approval for town development and surveying is granted by the Namibia Planning Advisory Board and the Office of the Surveyor General.”Since the first flood of the late 1920s, no part of Mariental Municipality was declared a flood area or any restrictions on development imposed as a result of flooding.After the 1972 flood and again in 1990, flood lines were drawn up by Water Affairs and Bicon Namibia indicating the flood lines,” Nghiwilepo said.He said areas developed west of the railway line after 1990 were not below the flood lines.It remains unclear why the Mariental Flood Task Force is taking so long to reveal its findings.
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