Rundu: The residents of Tuhingireni informal settlement in Rundu have expressed anger and frustration over the lack of electricity in their area, blaming it for frequent criminal activity. The residents said they feel unsafe and unprotected during a community meeting held in the informal settlement here on Sunday.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the spokesperson of the group, Sarafina Shifafure, said for 18 years they have been excluded from receiving municipal services such as electricity and 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 informed this news agency that in 2017, some households collected N.dollars 750 (totalling N.dollars 120,000) to co-fund electrification. “This came about after the Rundu Urban Constituency Council office pledged N.dollars 292,000 to support the effort,” she said.
The Rundu Town Council failed to budget for electricity in the following years, fo
rcing the withdrawal of the funds, which was then given back to those households that contributed, 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 dark,” 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, who is also a resident of Tuhingireni, said she fears for her life and is still traumatised after criminals robbed her of her phone in the yard of her house this year. Another resident, Dr 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 like we are not part of the Harambee house,” he said.
Rundu Urban Constituency councillor Vicky Kauma said the la
nd belongs to the Rundu Town Council (RTC) and if it is not surveyed as in this case, no development can come to it. She said the money her office pledged is still available but that it depends on the town council to spearhead the way forward.
The Northern Regional Electricity Distributor head of communications, Simon Lukas, said the responsibility of identifying the area where electricity would be established solely lies with the Rundu Town Council. “We just connect the streetlights or electricity and maintain the infrastructure,” he said.
RTC assistant public relations officer Edeltraud Haindaka said the issue is still under investigation and after a report is completed, they will inform this news agency.