Poor roads irk Katima motorists

MOTORISTS have complained that potholes along the Hage Geingob Road at Katima Mulilo are damaging their motor vehicles.

The above is one of the busiest roads used by many people to enter or exit the Katima Mulilo central business district. Motorist Murphy Pangula complained yesterday that if the potholes are not covered, they might result in accidents.

“The potholes on this road are a big problem for us as they are damaging our vehicles, and might cause accidents. The council should fill them up,” he said.

He added that having potholes on the town’s main road gives it a bad image.

“Many visitors pass through Katima Mulilo, and having poor roads infrastructure is not good for the image of the town. The main road should not look like that,” Pangula stated.

Another motorist, Rejoice Kamwi, said the council should do proper road maintenance at the whole town.

“The Hage Geingob Road is not the only road with potholes. Both tarred and gravel roads need maintenance in our town. The council needs to act,” she stressed.

Tuckson Murima told The Namibian that the council needs a permanent solution to the problem because the potholes have been visible for too long.

“We cannot handle the damage on our cars anymore,” he lamented.

Katima Mulilo acting chief executive officer Franco Uirab said yesterday that they are aware of the potholes, and were not sitting on the situation.

“There are two issues along the Hage Geingob Road we are aware of. The potholes are, as we know, due to the heavy rains we experienced, with the Zambezi receiving over 1 000mm. With that much rain, the roads are almost always wet,” he stated.

“The rate of damage is, therefore, not correlating with the rate of repairs. We simply cannot keep up with the weather.”

Uirab said the three-way junction in front of the Woermann Brock business complex was heavily affected by the rain.

“This three-way junction has been hit hardest since it is the lowest point of the road and all the water collects there leaving the road at that point in a poor state,” he explained. “All municipalities receive a subsidy from the Road Fund Administration, but the budget we get at Katima Mulilo is way below the required funding. We need N$5 million, but only received N$2 million.”

He added that there are about 14,5 kilometres of tarred roads, and approximately 50 kilometres of gravel roads at the town.

“Again, we are not sitting idle; we do round-the-clock blading with a grader. However, the gravel road maintenance does not end with blading.

“When roads are washed away, you have to do regravelling, but as much as the council tries to do that, we are not in control of the rain. It is a vicious cycle, although it is seasonal,” he noted.

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