THE Legal Assistance Centre is taking action against the Otavi Village Council for failing to provide adequate water and sanitation facilities to the Otavi Informal Settlement.

LAC’s move follows a much publicized story which also came out in last week’s Informanté in which residents were questioning council expenditure in the face of deteriorating or non-existent ablution facilities.
Norman Tjombe, LAC Director, this week said his staff witnessed the deplorable state of the communal toilets at the settlement.
“Water in the toilets, built to service the more than 4,000 residents, has been turned off. Instead, people have used the entrance and surrounding area  to relieve themselves, Tjombe said.
Tjombe said all Namibians should have access to fair public services, the right to proper housing and the right to safe living conditions.
“This is really about fundamental freedoms - the right to dignity, the right to safety and security and the right to non-discrimination, based on socio-economic status,” he said.
Tjombe also said of great concern for the Otavi Informal Settlement residents are the six water points which most of the impoverished residents can’t afford to pay in order to access water.
“In November 2007, the Ombudsman carried out an investigation on the health conditions in and around the toilets at the informal settlement in Otavi. A report was then submitted to the Ministry of Regional, Local Government and Housing, the Regional Health directorate in Otjiwarongo and the Otavi Village Council.
“In 2008, a reassessment was done by the team from the Ombudsman. The obligation of the village council was not fulfilled, the Ombudsman’s report stated,” Tjombe said.