The SRA hopes that visitors and residents had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and now well rested are ready to tackle the year ahead with energy and lots of enthusiasm. What strikes one about this town and its people is their friendliness, willingness to assist as well having a generally positive attitude about matters. The school children in their bright uniforms making their way to their respective schools certainly brightens up some gloomy mornings.
Well, the New Year has started with a flurry of activity with the Swakopmund Municipality hard at work with road works, installation of new sewer lines, repairs, and maintenance and very importantly the repairs to the Beach walkway.
Municipal Gardening Equipment
The Municipal Gardens, as always, have presented themselves in their pristine glory welcoming visitors to our beautiful town. However, the Parks and Gardens Department have a battle on its hands with both tractor lawn mowers broken, waiting for repair parts to arrive. The department is now looking to acquire two new ride-on mowers. One will just have to wait and see whether or not the budget allows for this acquisition to be approved.
Clock Tower Maintenance
It has been pointed out that the Clock Towers around town need cleaning. The private Company responsible for the upkeep of the various Clock Tower displays will be requested to attend to this should no response be received, then the relevant department within the municipality itself will take action to address the matter.
Public Toilets at the Mole
The installation of a public toilet at the Mole as well as the erection of cubicle facilities have been approved by the Swakopmund Council at its meeting on 25 January in the amount of N$ 4 million for the installation thereof and the bidding process will proceed in the new financial year followed by the construction phase.
Orange Bin Recycling
The Orange Bin recycling operation contract has been quite a headache for the municipality due to the fact that the five year contract expired last year and the contractor wanted to increase the collection rate which the Council felt was unaffordable. The Municipality has done excessive research with the possibility of running the recycling operation itself but due to excessive investment costs required, it was felt that the Council should go out and advertise an open National Bid for interested companies to to submit tenders and hopefully the collection process will again be up and running soon.
Orange Raft Vandalised
As Swakopmunders we looked forward to the reinstatement of the floating raft for the holiday season at the Mole but sadly the raft had a very short lifespan in the water as vandals over the holiday period decided to cut holes into the flotation barrels and the Municipality had to remove it for fear that it would totally sink and might cause injury to unsuspecting swimmers. Why do some people take great pleasure in vandalising other people’s property?
Traffic Congestion
With Swakopmund becoming more and more popular as a tourist destination, traffic congestion is becoming a headache for residents and tourists alike. Tobias Hainyeko Street where it swings past Otto Guenter is a problem and there is talk of making the three lanes into two as the road narrows with congestion as motorists search for street parking on both sides of the road. Another suggestion is to make Ludwig Koch Street past the Museum a two-way road.
Serve on the SRA Committee
The SRA is making an appeal to residents interested in being prepared to serve on the SRA Committee with a view to the Local Government Elections to be held next in 2025 as there is a need for the SRA to nominate Councillors. Each political party must nominate ten people wishing to serve as a councillor. Our goal would be to greatly increase the number of votes in order to secure at least a third SRA Councillor seat on the Council.
Lower Crime Rate over the Festive Season
It appears that the crime rate was down over the holiday period due to the greater visibility of the Tourist Protection Unit which played a vital role in the prevention of street crime. A big thank you to Councillor Matthias Henrichsen who took charge of coordinating all the various safety and security organisations over the Festive Season. He will continue to make sure that the safety and security of residents and tourists remains a high priority.
Government Buildings in State of Despair
The state of disrepair of many Government Buildings in Swakopmund is of great concern and last year the SRA submitted a detailed report on these buildings to the Erongo Regional Governor, Hon. Nevelle Andre Itope. Councillor Wilfried Groenewald has had a follow up meeting with the Chairman of the Erongo Regional Council and there has been an undertaking given that repair work will commence. So, we will wait and see!
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