Katima Mulilo residents to protest “corrupt” town council Tuesday

KATIMA MULILO, 13 MAY – Some residents of Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region are planning to stage a protest on Tuesday against corruption and lack of transparency by their town council.

One of the organisers of the demonstration, Fabian Sampaya, told Nampa here on Friday residents will also demonstrate against pre-paid water meters that were installed without community consultations.

This, he said, came as a surprise to many residents because the community in informal settlements cannot afford to pay for such meters.
Residents are required to pay N$2 500 per person for the pre-paid meter plus N$833 for the card used to buy water.

On the issue of corruption, Sampaya alleged that the town council signed an offer with a businessman from Walvis Bay in December last year for the supply of dustbins to be delivered 28 days after the signing.

Another issue is related to the construction of sewerage lines in the Chotto informal settlement, which he claimed was first given to a company called Omatando and later withdrawn and given to ABC Constructor without following the correct procedures.

In response, Chief Executive Officer at the Katima Mulilo Town Council, Raphael Liswaniso made it clear that the whole package for the pre-paid meters is N$2 500 which the residents can settle in three instalments.

Liswaniso said residents are not required to pay for the card but once they pay the first installment of N$833 or N$840, they are issued with the card which enables them to purchase water.

“In any market people will always find different prices of the same product but the product might differ because of quality,” he stressed.
On the issue of the dustbins, the CEO said the offer was approved and the supplier was given 20 days to deliver but he did not and thus asked for extension to

February this year, after which it also failed.
This resulted in the cancellation of that offer.

On the issue of sewerage lines in Chotto, Liswaniso said Omatando did not meet the requirements and the tender was thus offered to ABC, which has a proven record in sewerage networks with the council.
Meanwhile, residents owe the town council N$57 million in water bills.
NAMPA