The Okahandja Town Council says several development projects are nearing completion, including a new fire station with a cost of over N$17 million, and they are scheduled to be inaugurated next month.

Residents in the town that carries the title of Garden Town have continuously raised their voices about water supply, sanitation and land allocation, but Mayor Beatrice Kotungondo, at a media briefing attended by all councillors, announced that major developmental projects undertaken by the council are 90% completed.

"Today, we will see, feel, and touch the projects we are discussing. Now, I just want to give a little bit of background. When Okahandja was originally planned, it was designed to accommodate approximately 5,000 residents. Now, as per the census statistics in 2011, we had 24,300 residents. As one of the fastest-growing towns, Okahandja now has a resident capacity of 45,159. Now you must imagine that all of our equipment, including pipes and sewer lines, was designed to accommodate 5,000 units. The figure includes the hospital, the police station, and all other important services, which were planned for only 5,000 people."

Kotungondo boasted of the repair of 1,800 potholes since February and a N$12 million road infrastructure project, which is currently under construction in the town.

Further, the council announced that it sourced N$24 million for sewer pipe repairs. 

The new fire station, valued at over N$7 million, is expected to be inaugurated in three weeks. 

"The Nau-Aib office has been renovated and will be fully functional starting tomorrow, October 1st. It will be fully functional. And this speaks directly to bringing services closer to our people. Everything that is available at this office here in town will also be available at the office in Nau-Aib."

Residents have also complained of extended water outages caused by old pipes, sewage overflow in informal settlements, lack of clarity over funds collected for service upgrades, and disputes linked to relocation in areas such as Ekunde No. 2. 

The council said the new projects aimed to ease this pressure and bring services closer to the residents. However, community leaders say many issues remain unresolved.