Taxi drivers in Walvis Bay have petitioned the municipality on the deteriorating conditions of the roads in some parts of the town and called for immediate maintenance.

The taxi drivers in a petition handed over to the council on Wednesday, expressed their frustration with the road conditions in Kuisebmond and alleged discrimination against the road users, noting that Council does not allocate any budget for the upkeep of these roads.

“We have observed with great concern, progressive and high standard road maintenance in the town areas, however such magnitude of road maintenance is not happening in Kuisebmond,” Ananias Mbango said on their behalf.

According to the taxi drivers, the situation particularly in Agaat and Volstruis streets is so dire that when sewer systems are damaged, the entire road is filled with filthy water and they are forced to make long detours in order to transport clients living in that area.

“We previously gave suggestions as to what could be done to fix the potholes in hotspots, however not many of our suggestions were considered, hence we are demonstrating at one of the affected areas so that Council can witness with their own eyes the issues we are talking about,” Mbango said.

Walvis Bay Councillor and chairperson of the management committee, Richard Hoaeb received the petition on behalf of the local authority and told the aggrieved group that their concerns would be addressed, but that they should be patient as this cannot be done overnight.

“The municipality is not silent about the issue as there was a budget made for these roads and we are already underway with operations in regards to the maintenance of these roads, following consultations with all suburbs,” he expressed.

Hoaeb added that although budget consultations were done in all suburbs, where the amount of money budgeted for each suburb was indicated, the council has to spend high amounts just to fix old infrastructure, especially the sewerage, which is the main problem at the town.

The councillor also urged residents to pay their municipal accounts and rates and taxes, saying failure to do this also places a strain on the municipality, resulting in it being unable to deliver services fully.

Source: Namibia Press Agency