Africa-Press – Namibia. VILLAGERS of Muyako in the Katima Mulilo Rural constituency have raised concerns over the poor state of the 60km-long Bukalo-Miyako-Ngoma road.
They are also threatening to stop contractors from mining sand in their area until the stretch of gravel road that links the village to several government service providers, conservancies and water points is prioritised.
Muyako village headman Patrick Matengu on Monday said he is mobilising villagers to stop selling gravel from their fields to contractors who use it to rehabilitate roads elsewhere.
“With every election we are told there is a budget to upgrade the road, but we do not see any progress. The government is not treating it well. We want to drive on a tarred road like in other areas. Our cars are breaking down all the time. This is a very busy road and it needs regular maintenance, but it does not happen,” he said.
Concerned resident Sylvester Kabajani said the road needs to be upgraded to unlock the economic potential of the area.
“It is not being prioritised like other roads in the region. A tender was advertised on 3 December last year through the Roads Authority (RA) for companies, but nothing concrete has come of that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Katima Mulilo Rural constituency councillor Warden Simushi said construction work on the road was delayed by incessant rains.
He, however, assured the villagers that the RA has since started working on upgrading the road.
“There are procedures which need to be followed when a tender is advertised, and they take time. However, only the RA can answer how far the selection process for that tender is,” he said.
RA spokesperson Hileni Fillemon says they have deployed different teams to repair the roads in the area.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation and appropriate remedial action will be taken for each situation,” she says, adding they have allocated about N$1,2 billion for the rehabilitation of roads countrywide.
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