Okahandja Park residents protest over lack of toilets

SOME residents of Okahandja Park, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek, last Sunday staged a protest about the lack of toilets in the area.

They are angry at the City of Windhoek for locking the pit latrines that were built in the settlement in 2002. This, they say, has forced them to relieve themselves in riverbeds and other open spaces, creating an unhygienic situation and making their children sick.They also dump their rubbish in the riverbeds.”We need flush toilets, because we pay a lot of money,” read one of their placards.Since January, the City charges them a one-off sum of N$129,98 for a plot on which they can erect a shack.Before that, a plot cost only N$73.Those without plots have to pay the local Water Committee N$20 a month to make use of communal water points.”The municipality should tell us why they are charging us this amount, while they do not provide us with toilets,” the protesters said.Municipal spokesperson Ndangi Katoma could not be reached for comment.This, they say, has forced them to relieve themselves in riverbeds and other open spaces, creating an unhygienic situation and making their children sick.They also dump their rubbish in the riverbeds.”We need flush toilets, because we pay a lot of money,” read one of their placards.Since January, the City charges them a one-off sum of N$129,98 for a plot on which they can erect a shack.Before that, a plot cost only N$73.Those without plots have to pay the local Water Committee N$20 a month to make use of communal water points.”The municipality should tell us why they are charging us this amount, while they do not provide us with toilets,” the protesters said.Municipal spokesperson Ndangi Katoma could not be reached for comment.