Out of sight, out of mind

THE plight of people living in the Okahandja Park informal settlement on the outskirts of Katutura was thrust into the limelight yesterday.

Since Independence there has been a steady influx of people flocking to the capital in the hope of finding work and most of them end up living in destitution in the informal settlements mushrooming on the fringes of the capital. There are no toilet facilities, no running water, no electricity, no tarred roads and no streetlights in these settlements.Yesterday, Republican Party President Henk Mudge held a press conference at Okahandja Park to highlight some of the issues.He told residents that he had warned the City of Windhoek in the early 1990s of the mounting costs that would have to be paid to provide people with basic facilities.He said at the time he had been labelled a racist who did not want people to settle in the informal settlements.Today, he said, the City of Windhoek could not cope with the number of settlers and cannot provide basic things like running water, electricity and toilets.”The Government should stop spending money on unnecessary projects and start spending money on the people of the country who are still living in appalling conditions 17 years after Independence,” he said.Jeanette Ngarie, who has lived at Okahandja Park for 15 years, says the City of Windhoek asked the residents in 1993 what their needs were.Among things listed were toilets and streetlights, she said.Long-drop toilets were built but were kept locked.Only after last year’s polio outbreak were they unlocked so that the people could use them.Ngarie says the toilets are only drained once every six months and by that time they are overflowing and creating a health risk.As a result, people still relieve themselves in the veld, which entails crossing a busy road.There are only three streetlights in the whole informal settlement, leaving most of it in the dark at night and leaving residents vulnerable to violent crime.”When you hear something you are too afraid to stick your head out of your door in case you get hit over the head with a piece of iron,” Ngarie told The Namibian.According to her, they paid the municipality for the erven they live on, but no services were provided.There are no toilet facilities, no running water, no electricity, no tarred roads and no streetlights in these settlements.Yesterday, Republican Party President Henk Mudge held a press conference at Okahandja Park to highlight some of the issues.He told residents that he had warned the City of Windhoek in the early 1990s of the mounting costs that would have to be paid to provide people with basic facilities.He said at the time he had been labelled a racist who did not want people to settle in the informal settlements.Today, he said, the City of Windhoek could not cope with the number of settlers and cannot provide basic things like running water, electricity and toilets.”The Government should stop spending money on unnecessary projects and start spending money on the people of the country who are still living in appalling conditions 17 years after Independence,” he said.Jeanette Ngarie, who has lived at Okahandja Park for 15 years, says the City of Windhoek asked the residents in 1993 what their needs were.Among things listed were toilets and streetlights, she said.Long-drop toilets were built but were kept locked.Only after last year’s polio outbreak were they unlocked so that the people could use them.Ngarie says the toilets are only drained once every six months and by that time they are overflowing and creating a health risk.As a result, people still relieve themselves in the veld, which entails crossing a busy road.There are only three streetlights in the whole informal settlement, leaving most of it in the dark at night and leaving residents vulnerable to violent crime.”When you hear something you are too afraid to stick your head out of your door in case you get hit over the head with a piece of iron,” Ngarie told The Namibian.According to her, they paid the municipality for the erven they live on, but no services were provided.