Rehoboth residents demand action over power, water crises
Rehoboth residents have called for urgent action over recurring power outages, poor water quality and what they described as a failure by the town council to communicate effectively with the community. The concerns were raised in a petition submitted to the Rehoboth Town Council and discussed during yesterday’s council meeting.
The petition, dated 29 September and addressed to the Chief Executive Officer Ronald Windswaai, said residents were experiencing frequent and sometimes prolonged electricity interruptions, poor water quality and unreliable water supplies. According to the petition, power outages occur regularly and can last for several hours or, in some cases, days. Residents said the interruptions have resulted in food spoilage, disrupted people working from home and created risks for households dependent on medical equipment.
The petition also attributed some of the outages to ageing infrastructure, exploding transformers, cable theft and overloaded substations. Responding to the concerns, the council acknowledged that Rehoboth’s electrical infrastructure is ageing and said work was already under way to address the problem. The council said it had rehabilitated underground electricity cables in Block A and was planning to attend to other identified areas as funding became available. It also said it had partnered with NamPower and was implementing plans to improve the town’s electricity network.
The council acknowledged that some outages were sudden and could not always be predicted, but said planned outages would be communicated to residents. The petition also raised concerns about the quality and reliability of the town’s water supply. Residents claimed that water sometimes appeared brown or milky, had an odour and contained visible particles. They said some households were forced to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking, placing additional financial pressure on residents. The council said it had engaged NamWater over the matter and that short-, medium- and long-term measures were being considered to improve water supply and quality.
The council also acknowledged reports of unexplained water interruptions in parts of the town, saying it was investigating reports of water disappearing and returning without any apparent repairs being carried out.
Workers had been sent to investigate the issue, with the council promising to provide a report to the community.
Communication was another major concern raised in the petition. Residents complained about a lack of updates during outages, uncertainty about restoration times and unanswered calls, emails and social media enquiries.
The council acknowledged shortcomings in its communication and said the issue would be addressed.
The council said the concerns raised in the petition would be evaluated throughout October, with progress expected to be reported at the next ordinary council meeting. Residents have also called for an independent audit of the town’s electricity and water infrastructure, as well as a publicly available plan and timeline for repairing and replacing failing infrastructure. The petition warned that the service delivery problems were contributing to economic hardship, particularly for small businesses operating from homes, while repeated power interruptions and the cost of purchasing bottled water were placing additional pressure on households.
