Residents moved to higher ground
Residents of informal settlements who were relocated by the City of Windhoek from riverbeds and other areas to lessen their exposure to flooding have applauded the move.
More than 200 residents of informal settlements in Windhoek were relocated to avoid their shacks being flooded.
In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, some residents said the decision was commendable as some of them had sleepless nights.
Simsolja Mpingana said she felt great relief. “I am very grateful that I was moved from where I first resided. My shack was literally built in the riverbed. It was not nice because the water was up to our waists, just imagine the small kids. I am very happy that the municipality relocated us to higher ground,” she said.
Panduleni Joseph said he is glad that the city officials advised him to move his shack to higher ground not far from where it was originally located. “I only come to realise that I was living in a riverbed when the city officials approached me. I am thankful,” he said.
Frieda Negonya said something like this “should have been done a long time ago, but everything has its own time and I am thankful.”
When asked whether the relocation was permanent, the City of Windhoek’s spokesperson Harold Akwenye, said: “The people we have moved out of harm’s way will stay where they have been moved until the city sorts out the land issue. We are hoping that once the land issue is resolved we can give them land. It is not plots that the city has allocated to them permanently, it was just to get them out of harm’s way.
-Nampa