Africa-Press – Namibia. SHAROLDINE BOCK
RESIDENTS of Aroab and its surroundings are hampered by the severely damaged MR26/C16 gravel road between Keetmanshoop and Aroab.
Villagers who regularly travel to and from Keetmanshoop to access essential goods and services have recently been impeded by the poor quality of the road after heavy rains.
Road users complain that the roads are muddy, some parts have been washed away or are submerged by a river, while the alternative MR26 or Warmfontein route is also inaccessible due to being submerged under water.
Aroab Health Centre nurse Kamari Datius on Thursday said the road is not conducive for the clinic’s bus and they can only transport patients with their two 4×4 bakkies, which limits the number of patients they are able to transfer at one time.
Datius said it can take up to five hours to reach Keetmanshoop, a trip which typically takes just over 90 minutes.
“When patients are in an accident and in critical condition, they are not able to reach Keetmanshoop on time,” he said.
He suggested that the Roads Authority consider increasing the surface of the road with sand, place more bridges and construct the road to bitumen standard.
The damaged road also affects farmers trave lling to Keetmanshoop and Mariental to sell small livestock.
“It affects the area,because most of these farms have small tourist facilities like campsites and those sorts of things. It affects everyone who works within the area or who wants to market their animals,” said Aroab Farmers Association’s James Turner.
Turner asserts that the road is not safe and that a number of fatal accidents have occurred on it over the years.
Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency councillor Gertjie Witbooi also believes the Roads Authority should consider upgrading the road to bitumen standard, in accordance with the //Kharas Regional Council’s resolution dated 15 October 2021.
“We urge the Roads Authority to hear our plea. This road will bring so many advantages when it’s tarred. It is a shortcut of 460km to the Northern Cape, just 80km from the Klein Menasse border post, 160km then you are in the south area of Botswana. It is the interlink of better opportunities for our people,” Witbooi said on Wednesday.
“This road will also develop the infrastructure process of Aroab. We can have a better and bigger Aroab if this road can be constructed,” he added.
On Monday, the //Kharas Regional Council wrote a letter to the Roads Authority requesting a consultative meeting on the matter.
Roads Authority CEO Conrad Lutombi told The Namibian yesterday that two years ago their feasibility study indicated that that road was not economically viable.
“We went ahead to put it on our programme for the upgrade to bitumen standard but in the eantime we launched what we call a low volume seal strategy, where we will surface most of the roads which are not economically viable and where the traffic is at a low volume.
“We found that it is not viable because of the fact that we are receiving heavy trucks on that road.”
Lutombi added that the process is now in the detailed design planning phase, however, he’s unable to say when construction will commence due to financial challenges.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
