The |Khomas Regional Council has stressed that it will continue to prioritise rural sanitation and hygiene to improve the living standards and quality of life for its people.
Over the past five years, the regional council has constructed over 700 toilets at a cost of N$11,3 million.
Through its rural sanitation programme, the |Khomas Regional Council has continuously been constructing toilets in various localities in the Windhoek Rural Constituency in an effort to eliminate the practice of open defecation.
A total of 82 toilets, constructed at a cost of over N$1 million, were handed over to 82 households in the Stinkwater community.
A Beneficiary of Stinkwater, Helena Kapuka, says, "I was going to the bush before the toilet was here. Now I am very happy as I have a toilet at my home that I can use."
The council also handed over water infrastructure and a garden at Hamis and Opdam settlements.
"From my point of view, I am happy for what the RC has done for us, and the government has assisted by drilling two boreholes, one at Hamis and one at Opdam, and I am so delighted for the people to have gotten water who suffer a lot, and we appreciate it, and I hope it doesn't stop there," says Paul Vries, a community leader at Hamis Settlement.
Community Leader at Hamis Settlement, Rudolf Phillander, says, "Thanks to the government for the toilet, the goats, and the garden the RC has given us because we have a big garden outside and we are planning to support our family from that garden."
Sarie Vries, a community leader at Opdam Settlement, says, "Thank you for the water that you gave Opdam; it's like you gave us life today. We saw that we didn't only vote for leaders who only speak but are also working."
The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, says, "I see you are a united community here. When I look at the property that was provided by the regional council, you have maintained it, and I am again appealing to you to continue maintaining this infrastructure for our generation and generations to come because the government is not only looking at this area."
Council also embarked on a pilot project, converting dry pit latrines to flushing toilets at Farm Verdruk.
Flushing toilets were handed over to five households.
The Khomas Regional Council has implemented and supported various programmes and projects within the Windhoek Rural Constituency, including the Rural Sanitation and Water Intervention Programme,
"I wish to reassure the community members that, in pursuit of our mission, the KRC will continue to prioritise rural sanitation and hygiene to improve the living standards and quality of life for our people. We will do this by accelerating sanitation coverage in our rural areas in order to maintain the well-being and dignity of our people," says KRC Chairperson John Moonde.
For the past two weeks, the Council handed over various projects under its minor capital projects around the region.
Councillor of Windhoek Rural Constituency Piet Adams says, "In some quarters, these handed-over projects were seen as campaign strategies, but I must say we have been given a mandate for five years and no prescribed time limit when to deliver things. In the first 2 to 3 years, it will be difficult, but later you start to see progress."