Okahandja municipality plans to relocate the dumping site with an alternative site already identified.

Residents continue to settle near the dumpsite, most of them having done so illegally.

"Since 2023, the municipality has planned relocating its dumping site away from residential areas to resolve special conflicts caused by unapproved community settlements. Therefore, the Council has proposed that the new dumping site be relocated from the existing and planned township to ensure compliance with environmental and public health standards," said the Deputy Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Evelyn !Nawases-Taeyele.

In Grootfontein, the proposed landfill site is already cleared through an environmental impact assessment and is expected to be established 5.5 kilometres southeast of the town.

"In accordance with the Grootfontein Strategic Plan 2023-2028, the council intends to relocate the dumping site and establish a landfill site 5.5 kilometres further away in the southeast of Grootfontein. The invested landfill has already been cleared through an environmental impact assessment process."

She further reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to improve environmental hygiene and to minimise community exposure to air and water pollution through the municipal councils.

Nawases-Taeyele was responding to UDF MP Nico Somaeb, who questioned the living conditions of residents in Okahandja and Grootfontein who settled close to dumpsites.