By Simon Liseli
THE Katima Mulilo Town Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr.Raphael Liswaniso has clarified some delays of the constructions of Lifasi Street.
He responded to concerns raised by local residents of Katima Mulilo on why Lifasi Street is dragging for so long, saying that the delay is being caused by many hiccups such as Telecom pipelines laid underground that needed to be relocated, including the review of opening certain areas to allow business to continue operating.
The road is being interlocked by Ash Trading and investments, a local construction company that was tendered by the Katima Mulilo Town Council to upgrade the street.
The construction of Lifasi Street is part of the signed MoU reached between the three public entities such as Katima Mulilo Town Council (KMTC) , Roads Authority (RA) and Road Fund Administration (RFA).
The memorandum of understanding is aimed in upgrading three tarred roads in town that includes Sam Nujoma street, the longest street in Katima Mulilo, Hage Geingob street and Lifasi street, currently under construction that started before the signing of the MoU.
According to Mr. Liswaniso the first phase of Lifasi interlocked street is expected to be completed before the end of October this year, that starts from the traffic lights (robots) of Hage Geingob and Lifasi street to Ngweze Primary School some 500 meters and will be opened to its users.
This project is being funded by Road Fund Administration (RFA) where funds are not easily coming for the construction to be completed as expected by users.
“We are working into sections; however, you can see the speed we have taken, all cables have been identified and relocated, firstly it was to work with other stakeholders like Telecom, MTC and etc. , to relocate their lines as the road has been expanded to two lanes (dual carriage), which also contributed to the delay of the implementation of the road” explained Mr. Liswaniso.
He commended residents of Katima Mulilo for giving the council opportunity to showcase their provision of service delivery to them.
With Sam Nujoma and Hage Geingob streets , KMTC CEO said only the memorandum of understanding was signed and announced but it was not pronounced on when to start.
“Immediately when will have a go ahead, ground ceremony will take place and then construction will commence” he promised.
However, Mr. Albert Mbeha, owner of Ash Trading and Investments said that interlocking of Lifasi Street seems to be delayed because of Telecom network cables that connects the region to the entire country and SADC countries that need to be taken care of to avoid damages that could cut off communication among SADC countries.
He added that as per plan of the street, it should be of the high quality for the benefit of the town and its residents.
“As we go on with interlocking this street, we must be very careful with Telecom network cables and they are a lot, especially on this phase one where the road has been expanded, if anything happens to those cables it will be a problem as communication channels will shut down” he noted.
Mr. Mbeha appeals to residents of the town to be patient as construction is underway by interlocking the street with expensive materials that will benefit the residents of the town and the entire region.
Ends…
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