Windhoek Mayor, Ndeshihafela Larandja, has expressed disappointment over the low turnout by residents at pre-stakeholder engagement meetings.

The sessions aim to inform residents about the city's operations, ongoing challenges and achievements across various departments.

Mayor Larandja emphasised that such meetings are crucial, not only for transparency but also for fostering public participation..

"To give you a platform to ask the relevant questions, for you to also understand what is supposed to be done and what we think should be done. This platform is really important for everyone, and I urge the public, especially the targeted groups, to attend these meetings so we understand one another and make sure that we are on the same level of understanding as to how things should be done instead of how they are. There are challenges, really, but we managed as a council also to succeed in many areas, and these are the most crucial things we want to share with the public."

Addressing the recurring issue of pipe bursts in various areas of Windhoek, the City of Windhoek's Rowan Adams highlighted that nearly 60% of the city's sewer network is affected by collapsing pipes.

He attributed the problem to ageing infrastructure and the type of materials used, adding that measures are currently in place to tackle this challenge.

"We need to replace the infrastructure. We have already started the process, and this financial year council has a very rigorous budgeting scheme to make sure that we start this process and that we can at least do the replacement within the next 3 to 5 years, according to how the budget allows it."

The CoW also negotiated an increased allocation from the Road Fund Administration for routine road maintenance in the 2025/2026 financial year, raising the amount from the traditional average of 15 million to 45 million.

However, Adams noted that this is still not sufficient to meet the city's infrastructure needs. 

Residents have been urged to settle their outstanding debts to enable the city to continue delivering essential services.