Africa-Press – Namibia. A local resident has accused the Oshakati Town Council of negligence after a fire allegedly originating from the municipal dumpsite destroyed her grazing land and fencing materials.
Laina Erastus said the fire, which broke out last week, caused extensive damage to her farming property, including grazing areas critical for feeding her livestock and fencing materials vital for managing them.
“This incident has caused me serious financial loss and disrupted my farming activities and my life at large,” Erastus lamented in a written complaint addressed to the council.
She said this was not the first time a fire from the town’s dumping site had reached her property.
She said over the years, her grazing land has been destroyed by fires from the town council’s dumping site on seven separate occasions.
“On each of those occasions, I tried to engage the council for compensation, but nothing came of it,” she said.
Erastus believes the fires could have been avoided had the council implemented proper fire control measures and regular monitoring at the dumpsite.
In response, Oshakati mayor Leonard Hango said his office had not yet received any formal complaints regarding such incidents.
“But if it’s so, there should be employees responsible for controlling fires and ensuring it does not spread beyond the dumpsite,” he said.
Hango added that the blaze could have been fuelled by strong winds.
The mayor then questioned why affected residents had not reported previous incidents directly to his office.
“If the damage was caused by the council, then the demand for compensation is legitimate. I will sit with the right department to discuss the cause of the fire,” he stated.
Meanwhile, another resident, Sem Shilongo, raised concerns over the proximity of the dumpsite to residential areas.
“The town council just bought a plot from one of the neighbours and placed the dumpsite there without considering the impact on us,” Shilongo said.
He added that the location of the site poses health and safety risks to both people and animals and called on the town council to relocate the facility further away from homes.
Oshakati is not the only town facing scrutiny over the management of its dumpsite.
In Okahao, residents have raised concerns about the town’s dumpsite being too close to grazing fields and homesteads.
Some farmers have reported livestock falling ill after scavenging near the dump.
“We’ve seen goats eating plastic and other harmful materials near the site. It’s dangerous, but there’s no proper fencing or control,” one resident noted.
Environmental groups in the region have warned that poorly managed dumpsites pose serious health and environmental risks, especially in rural and semi-urban areas where residents rely on nearby land for farming and livestock.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
