Rundu weighed down by waste
RUNDU – Although the Rundu Town Council is doing its best to keep the town clean, waste management has become one of its biggest challenges.
Piles of boxes, bottles and other waste materials are scattered around the town and the roads are also full of potholes.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rundu Town Council, Romanus Haironga, said although the responsibility of refuse collection lies with his institution, the services were outsourced to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to collect refuse on its behalf.
Some of these contractors seem to be struggling to fulfil their contractual obligations, Haironga said.
He stated that although the contractors are of help to them, residents should also try to work with the council and the refuse removal companies to keep the town clean.
He said residents contribute to the problem since some of them dispose of their waste and other materials in areas not designated as dump sites.
“Some residents dump waste such as building rubble and branches in front of their houses, expecting council to remove the waste,” said Haironga.
He explained that this type of refuse is not the council's responsibility, but an agreement could be made for it to be done for a fee and depending on the quantity to be collected.
One of the contractors, Ruben Kudumo, told this agency his company collects refuse in the Queenspark residential area, where there is some cooperation from residents. The only challenge is disposing of the refuse at the town's dump site some five kilometres away, which he said is not properly managed as his trucks' tyres are damaged by the broken bottles strewn all over the site.
“It is just the dump site which is not in a good state,” he said.
Another contractor, who requested anonymity, said there are challenges, but instead called on the residents of the town and the business community to work together alongside the council towards producing a clean town.
“The councillors should start educating residents on the benefits of having a clean town,” he said.
Asked about allegations of mismanagement of the dumping site, Haironga said the council hopes to address the matter with a proposed waste management programme.
He said at the moment there is an educational programme in place where councillors educate the community on keeping the town clean when they host community meetings.
“These programmes also target schools to see how we can change people's mentality,” he said. - Nampa
Piles of boxes, bottles and other waste materials are scattered around the town and the roads are also full of potholes.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rundu Town Council, Romanus Haironga, said although the responsibility of refuse collection lies with his institution, the services were outsourced to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to collect refuse on its behalf.
Some of these contractors seem to be struggling to fulfil their contractual obligations, Haironga said.
He stated that although the contractors are of help to them, residents should also try to work with the council and the refuse removal companies to keep the town clean.
He said residents contribute to the problem since some of them dispose of their waste and other materials in areas not designated as dump sites.
“Some residents dump waste such as building rubble and branches in front of their houses, expecting council to remove the waste,” said Haironga.
He explained that this type of refuse is not the council's responsibility, but an agreement could be made for it to be done for a fee and depending on the quantity to be collected.
One of the contractors, Ruben Kudumo, told this agency his company collects refuse in the Queenspark residential area, where there is some cooperation from residents. The only challenge is disposing of the refuse at the town's dump site some five kilometres away, which he said is not properly managed as his trucks' tyres are damaged by the broken bottles strewn all over the site.
“It is just the dump site which is not in a good state,” he said.
Another contractor, who requested anonymity, said there are challenges, but instead called on the residents of the town and the business community to work together alongside the council towards producing a clean town.
“The councillors should start educating residents on the benefits of having a clean town,” he said.
Asked about allegations of mismanagement of the dumping site, Haironga said the council hopes to address the matter with a proposed waste management programme.
He said at the moment there is an educational programme in place where councillors educate the community on keeping the town clean when they host community meetings.
“These programmes also target schools to see how we can change people's mentality,” he said. - Nampa
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