Namibia – Bucket Toilets Are No More in Aranos

WINDHOEK – The village of Aranos in the Hardap Region no longer has the bucket toilet system, unlike other village councils like Gibeon in the same region.

The last of the bucket toilet system was phased out in 1995 and was replaced by the pumping or slopping system, whereby each house has its own drain.

According to the chief executive officer of the village, Niklaas !Goraseb, all residents that built their houses through the build-together programme were able to build a toilet.

The informal settlements at the town have the Ecological Sanitation System, also known as the EcoSan system, or dry toilets, which do not use water.

!Goraseb said 40 EcoSan toilets were already built for the informal township, while 40 more are earmarked for building.

The CEO however said the village would be better off if it had the flowing sewerage system whereby the sewerage goes straight to a central sewerage pond and thus phase out the sewerage collection by trucks.

“Although the pumping system is better than the old bucket system, it is also costly as the trucks have to be replaced or maintained every three years,” !Goraseb said.

According to !Goraseb, the tanks carrying the sewerage are damaged by the urine in the sewerage and thus have to be replaced often, which is a costly exercise.

He said installing the flowing system would be very costly for the small village. A feasibility study by one engineering company gave a quote of N$12,5 million.

“We sent the quotation to the Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development last month already and are waiting to hear from his office,” he said.

Another plan that the village has is to build a dam, so that it has its own water and does not depend too much on NamWater for water.

Aranos is inhabited by around 7 000 people of whom 60 percent are unemployed.

!Goraseb noted that some of the inhabitants depend on casual work on neighbouring farms.

The village has five schools, a hospital, police station, a court, an agricultural and veterinary office, Pep Stores, Nampost and an Agra store.

Source – New Era

Namibia – Roads Toilet Debate Revived

WINDHOEK – The idea of erecting flushable ablution facilities along the national road network is still alive, and the final decision will be made next month on whether or not to go ahead with the plan.

Roads Authority, together with the Ministry of Works and Transport, will embark on a second public consultation meeting to solicit public interest, to decide whether to scrap the idea or implement it. The first meeting took place in Windhoek in September last year.

Roads Authority, which is entrusted with information gathering, say they are planning another consultative meeting outside Windhoek. This will be the second consultative meeting since the idea of public toilets along the national road was mooted.

“The idea is not dead, we only have to consult with stakeholders after which a decision would be taken,” said spokesperson for Roads Authority, Audrin Mathe.

In September last year, the Minister of Works and Transport, Helmut Angula, proposed the idea to Cabinet, citing the dilemma facing motorists along the country’s vast and long tarred roads.

Cabinet instructed his ministry to look into the problem and the result was for Government to seriously consider modern measures that will relieve motorists and passengers when nature calls while travelling along the country’s long-distance roads.

The proposal is that ablution facilities of flushable nature, and not the pit latrine type, be constructed along the entire national tarred road network, at intervals of at least 20-kilometre distance.

Read More – New Era

Namibia: Rural Sanitation Services Now Under Agriculture Ministry

Cabinet has endorsed the implementation of the Revised Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Policy (WSASP-2008) and the transfer of the provision of sanitation services in rural communal areas to the Directorate of Rural Water Supply in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF). This function resorted under the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS).

[A]ccessibility to safe water for the rural population increased from 43 percent in 1991 to 80 percent in 2001, but adequate sanitation only increased from 16 percent in 1992 to 18.9 percent in 2000.

[...] The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry in collaboration with the ministries of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development (MRLGHRD), and Health and Social Services will draft a strategic plan on sanitation and budget for it.

Read more: Wezi Tjaronda, New Era, 17 Oct 2008

Namibia: Today Is Hand Washing Day

By Petronella Sibeene, WINDHOEK

Today, Namibia joins the rest of the world in commemorating the first ever Global Hand Washing Day.  (…)

In Namibia, the main event is scheduled to take place in the Ohangwena Region today.  (…)

Namibia, particularly the northern regions, have just come out of a cholera outbreak that claimed 37 lives. In addition, in the Kunene Region, only 2 236 cases of acute diarrhoea were reported at different health facilities with 10 cases being confirmed as cholera.  (…)

“It is a very important day for Namibia especially that we have just come out of a cholera situation. We are advocating the washing of hands with soap to kill the bacteria or germs,” the Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Richard Kamwi told New Era. (…)

Read all NewEra.com

Namibia: A Toilet With No Tang

Close to 400 households in Otjiwarongo were recently fortunate recipients of the environmentally-friendly dry toilets labelled the Otji-toilet in Orwetoveni.

The facilities were handed over to the households in the central town by the European Commission (EC) in Namibia.

[...]

The dry toilet system has the capacity to save households at least in the margin of N$100 per month through cutting-out operating and maintenance cost, said Peter Arndt, project manager of the Clay House Project - a European-funded project providing reasonable housing made out of clay.

[...]

After a few months [...] accumulated solids are collected by the municipality for dumping at the sewage plant.

[...]

The toilets were installed at the behest of the Municipality of Otjiwarongo after the town approached the EC with the idea in the hope that it will cut costs on water and sewerage plans at the town.

Source: John Ekongo, New Era (Windhoek) / allAfrica.com, 12 Aug 2008

Namibia – Water, Sanitation Policy Reviewed

More than US$350 million will be needed for Namibia to attain Vision 2030’s long-term targets for sanitation services and improved water supply.

According to 2001 statistics, 78 percent of rural folk still answer to nature’s call in the bush. Only 12 percent have access to proper toilets, while 10 percent use non-improved facilities. Although the situation of urban dwellers looks better because 70 percent are estimated to have adequate sanitation facilities while 17 percent still use the bush, the urban coverage is decreasing due to growing informal settlements.

Regarding water, 98 percent of the urban population has access to safe water, while in the rural areas the coverage is 80 percent.

With estimates that 73 percent of the population projected at 2.8 million in 2030 will be living in urban settlement, more facilities will be needed to cater for them. The improvement of water supply will require US$92 million, while sanitation services will need US$288 million, for the country to attain long-term goals of Vision 2030.

More – NewEra

Namibia: French Give N$365000 for Toilets

Donations aimed at helping thousands of Namibians who were severely affected by floods in most northern parts of the country continue to pour in.

On Friday, the French government donated N$365000 to the Namibia Red Cross Society to be channelled towards the construction of toilets. Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Libertina Amathila, received the donation.

Lack of toilet facilities in the north is of concern to health officials especially after the regions this year reported cholera and acute diarrhoea outbreaks. French Ambassador to Namibia, Philippe Bossière, says the donation is in response to President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s emergency call to the international community earlier this year to assist flood-hit regions in the recovery period.

More – New Era

Namibia: VIP Loos Provide Some Hope

The construction of 146 ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines in Opuwo, northern Namibia, which began in September 2007 is nearly complete. This is part of an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) to stem the spread of cholera. Opuwo made headlines in 2006 after more than 400 suspected cholera cases were reported at the state hospital. Apart from the VIP latrines, the project also involved community mobilization and health education, clean-up campaigns and the construction of a public toilet at the Epupa informal market.

The costs of building the VIP toilets (N$335 150) were shared equally between the ministry and other stakeholders, who did the groundwork and provided the super structure, and the community, who had to complete the walls with materials of their own choice. Even though the community had only constructed walls for 63 out of 146 VIP toilets so far, some residents were already using the incomplete toilets especially at night. Some residents complained that the VIP toilets were too small.

Read more: Michael Liswaniso, New Era (Windhoek) / allAfrica.com, 13 May 2008

Namibia: Poor Toilet Facilities Hamper Cholera Efforts

Lack of pit latrines and general toilet facilities in the northern regions of the country is likely to compromise health officials’ efforts in curbing cholera, a disease that has since early this year claimed more than 37 lives.

Regional Health Director for the Ohangwena Region Dr Naftali Hamata has said if no drastic measures are taken to address the situation, the affected areas should be prepared to have cholera cases every rainy season.

Since Friday, 1 406 suspected cholera cases were recorded in the Ohangwena Region with 17 confirmed laboratory cases and 19 deaths, Dr Hamata said.

Read More – New Era

Namibia – Lagging in sanitation

Although Namibia is ahead in meeting its Millennium Development Goal on access to clean water, it is lagging far behind in providing adequate sanitation to its people.

This was said by EU Ambassador Elisabeth Pape at the official opening of the Luederitz sewage treatment facility on Friday.

Pape said Namibia was too slow in improving sanitation in rural and urban areas alike.

Read More – allAfrica