The Ongwediva Town Council has completed two sewer reticulation projects to improve sanitation.

The first will ensure sewer reticulation at Extension 15, while the other will secure the same for the location, Sky Phase 1.

Both projects, costing N$15.2 million, were officially inaugurated by the Urban and Rural Development Minister.

Ongwediva Mayor Taarah Shalyefu says an application for sewerage connection normally costs more than N$2,000, but the council considered the economic situation of residents, who can now be connected for free until December.

In this exercise, the Council will forgo N$1.3 million.

It is the council's expectation that all 620 erven at the two locations will be connected over the period.

The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, stressed that sewage systems are vital for achieving good sanitation in any given area.

If not properly treated, sewage systems can cause serious health hazards.

"It is worth noting that as many of our towns and settlements are growing in population, we are experiencing a serious lack of access to proper sanitation in many of our communities, which is a vital first step to fighting community exposure to harmful bacteria and diseases. Efforts are currently underway across the world and in Namibia in particular, not only to treat wastewater and offer adequate sanitation but also to recover and reuse the valuable nutrients and freshwater we flush away daily as waste."

Uutoni says the ministry will continue to lobby for more funds for local authorities that work closely with the electorate and are better positioned to resolve their own problems.