Staff Reporter
RESIDENTS of “Kasikili Island” in the Oneshila informal settlement of Oshakati, whose houses have been flooded since December last year, have not yet received any assistance from the town council despite their desperate plea for permanent relocation.
And the situation is getting worse by the day as the rain continues to fall in the area.
Children’s safety and hygiene are their biggest concerns, as well as the discomfort of sleeping in the water — literally.
Many houses are either flooded or surrounded by water, and some residents have vacated their residences to live with relatives or friends elsewhere.
However, many are staying put, saying that they have nowhere to go. “The town council is our only hope. They must relocate us permanently from this flood-prone area,” said Petrina Makanda.
In December, Oneshila’s Local Authority Development Committee chairperson, Agatus Antanga, visited the affected households and alerted the Town Council about the situation, but no action has been taken yet.
The Town Council had earlier moved several flood-affected households from other informal settlements to high ground in Onawa following consecutive heavy downpours.
Oshakati’s Kasikili Island is surrounded by water pans and was for that reason named after an island in the Chobe River on the Namibia/Botswana border.
