Africa-Press – Namibia. The residents of Tuhingireni informal settlement in Rundu have expressed anger and frustration over the lack of electricity in their area, blaming it for the high criminal activity.
The residents told a community meeting held in the informal settlement on Sunday they feel unsafe and unprotected.
The spokesperson of the group, Sarafina Shifafure, said for 18 years they have been excluded from accessing municipal services such as electricity connection and having proper roads.
“We are an informal settlement with close to 3 000 households, yet we remain in the dark with no electricity, no safety and no dignity,” she said.
Shifafure said some households contributed N$750 each (totalling N$120 000) to co-fund electrification in 2017.
“This came about after the Rundu Urban constituency office pledged N$292 000 to support the effort,” she said.
The Rundu Town Council failed to budget for electricity in the following years, forcing the withdrawal of the funds, which were then paid back to the households that had contributed to the pool fund, Shifafure said.
“The lack of electricity in the neighbourhood has turned it into a hunting ground for criminals. Just last month a teenage boy and a woman were murdered, with the criminals just vanishing into the darkness,” she said.
The police can also not patrol the area due to bad sandy roads and no streetlights, she added.
“The community is demanding immediate action from the region’s leadership or they will approach the Presidency if nothing is done.”
Loede Tjirunda (23) another resident of Tuhingireni, said she fears for her life and is still traumatised after criminals robbed her of her phone inside her yard this year.
Another resident, Gurvy Kaveii, said he has lived in the area for eight years and has not had the privilege of electricity or access to serviced roads.
“We feel we are not part of the Harambee house,” he said.
Rundu Urban councillor Victoria Kauma said the land belongs to the Rundu Town Council and if it is not surveyed as is the case, no development can come to it.
She said the money her office pledged is still available but its release depends on the town council spearheading the way forward.
The Northern Regional Electricity Distributor head of communications, Simon Lukas said the responsibility of identifying the areas where electricity can be connected solely lies with the Rundu Town Council.
“We just connect the streetlights or electricity and maintain the infrastructure,” he said.
The council’s assistant public relations officer Edeltraud Haindaka said the issue is still under investigation and after a report is completed, they will inform the nation on the way forward.
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