Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare is in Grootfontein to assess the cholera situation as the outbreak threatens the town, especially its informal settlements. 

He emphasised that the lives of residents in the highest-risk areas are not second-class, adding that council plans must align with the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6). Dr. Ngurare also supported the establishment of a disaster risk task force, an initiative recommended by Grootfontein Mayor Moritz Gaingob. 

He called for the urgent mobilisation of unemployed youth to help clean the town and advised drilling boreholes to improve access to safe water. 

The Prime Minister requested that the main work be carried out in-house without tenders. He urged all stakeholders to work together to produce a comprehensive report detailing short-term to long-term interventions, with submission no later than Saturday. 

Mayor Gaingob explained that the town’s sewage system, originally built for 10,000 people, is now under severe strain as the population has grown to around 50,000 inhabitants. 

He added that the council has allocated N$100,000 towards improving infrastructure. 

Key stakeholders included officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the security cluster, and health authorities. 

Dr. Ngurare will visit the areas most affected by the outbreak tomorrow, including Kap en Bou, Soweto, and Blekkiesdorp, which health authorities have flagged as the highest-risk zones.