by Eliaser Ndiyanale
LOCAL authorities have been told to develop urgent decongestion plans to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
This
directive is contained in a letter minister of urban and rural
development Erastus Uutoni wrote to mayors and regional governors last
week.
Uutoni said his instruction is in line with a directive of
minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula on the country’s
migration from stage 4 of state of emergency regulations to stage 3 as
announced on 12 August.
Uutoni implored Namibia’s local
authorities to identify settlements or residential areas in their
localities and establish the number of dwellings and people involved,
their employment status and income levels.
“Develop an urgent
decongestion plan outlining among others: the number of people who need
to be moved or relocated, the type of decongestion or relocation that
has been identified, recommended or decided to be undertaken, and the
availability of alternative land or an area where people can be moved or
relocated to,” he said.
The minister said if the land identified
has no basic services such as water and sanitation, critical works such
as earthworks, surveying, pegging and demarcation should be worked out.
He
said provision has been made for this in local authorities’ budgets,
and they are therefore urged to consider innovative ways to implement
the exercise.
“The decongestion is in response to the
Covid-19-related state of emergency and is aimed at saving lives, and
thus requires a change of priorities where necessary,” Uutoni said.
Last
week Shangula said to decongest densely populated informal settlements,
the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development would identify facilities
and venues where residents can be temporarily relocated to.
Local authorities would ensure the availability of water and ablution facilities at these temporary relocation centres, he said.
