Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Residents in Iitapa village and surrounding areas in the Okahao Constituency say government officials failed to act after being alerted to sewage being dumped near homes and communal farmland.
According to the Ekwawo Community Foundation, health inspectors confirmed the incident during a site visit, but no steps have since been taken to address the issue.
The foundation said it reported the issue to the Waste Water Management office under the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Okahao.
This comes as the foundation has raised concerns over unsafe sewage disposal in villages under the Okahao Constituency.
The foundation says the situation poses health and environmental risks to people and livestock.
The most recent report indicates issues at Iitapa village.
Local early childhood development centres and primary schools have allegedly discharged sewage near residential areas.
In a letter dated 9 May, addressed to the executive director of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Sikongo Haihambo, the foundation’s Development and Health Committees called for urgent action.
The foundation’s Development and Health Committees reported the discharge of sewage from early childhood development centres, schools, clinics, and private homes into open areas near homes and communal farmland.
The foundation said similar cases have been reported in Otamanzi and Ogongo constituencies, including in Oluteyi and Eendombe villages.
Some sewage is being dumped in open pans, old wells, bushes, and even in the Etaka Canal, which carries water from Olushandja Dam to Uuvudhiya in the Oshana Region.
“These acts pose a serious threat to community health, livestock, and groundwater sources. They also undermine food security in the region,” the foundation said.
Some contractors told the foundation that the distance to the sewage ponds in the town of Okahao is too far.
They also pointed to the lack of use of the pond at the Indira Gandhi Health Centre at Onemanya as a reason for improper dumping.
Efforts to get a response from the regional office of the Ministry of Health and Social Services in the Omusati Region were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
A resident of Iitapa village, Amalia Nangolo, shared how the dumping affects daily life.
“The smell is terrible, and we are worried about our children playing nearby. Occasionally, we discover animals consuming water from the same area where the sewage dump was located. We do not feel safe,” she said.
The Ekwawo Community Foundation is in the process of registering as a Section 21 company.
It has over 350 members, mainly from the Okahao and Otamanzi constituencies. The foundation said it is ready to help the ministries through voluntary work and community engagement.
